People Dancing

By Ruth Till

I believe our methodology for community dance comes from our individual experiences, working as a team with a common aim, the context within which we work, and the needs and aspirations of those we work with.

What we bring
I believe that the way I work as a community dance practitioner has been developing from the moment I was born, through a range of influences, many that I recognise and many of which I am probably not even aware. The experiences we all bring are totally ours only and that's our unique contribution. Here are just a few to consider. What about our first encounter with dance that had a lasting impact? What is absolutely ingrained from our dance training, the good, the bad and the indifferent? I think for me it is the ability to work hard and for long hours plus expectations of high standards and bags of energy. What about shock learning on the job such as: making masses of mistakes but being able to recognise them; finding what we were doing just wasn't working and having to really think about what those on the receiving end were really receiving and why it was not relevant and recognising pretty quick that being a good dancer was, in many situations, just about the least important skill required. Working with, listening to or just meeting inspirational people, not just in dance, is a luxury which brings new insights into the way we work. Observing others working with groups in dance and non dance situations gives us a real chance to learn new skills and refine our own. Having to be up to date for our work to have any relevance keeps us on our toes. Respecting that all people are different and do things differently, but all have the ability to achieve, affects the methods we use. Then there are those odd comments that come winging your way and stay with you forever and affect the way you work. These are just some of the simply "us" things we each bring to our profession and continue to bring as experiences flood in.

Working together with one voice
Put all this wealth of experiences in the pot remembering each member of the team has an individual and positive contribution to make. Add the Rubicon factor, which is specifically to deliver community dance and nothing else and has been doing so for 28 years. Let the team find a way of working together and speaking with one voice and while you're doing it make sure you set up a good support structure and look after them. Value the contacts. It's their support and understanding that is vital for success. They know how their group is and what they need.

Add all the external influences like, for example, working in inner city urban areas, with all the tightly squashed terraced houses and recognise what an expensive luxury space has become and don't we all need space to move in. Look at the health factor and the urgent need for everyone to engage in physical activity and remember that dance is the one highly energetic physical activity in which everyone can not only participate but achieve and for an added bonus dancing gives more than physical activity. Spare a thought for the funding situation and the opportunities created by lottery funding and the struggle for sustainability now the money is getting less as the demand gets more. Take on board the long overdue recognition that arts and culture matter, though a lot is still at the talk stage. Heave a sigh for our old education system with its falling apart buildings, which demands our youth spend too much time being silenced and sitting at desks and achieving good SATS and GCSEs so the school doesn't fall to the bottom of the league tables. (One gets the feeling in some schools that it's not only the buildings that are falling apart but that young people are on the brink of being out of control.) And in the same breath be really thankful for some of the most wonderful teachers that we have the pleasure of working alongside. At the other end of the scale think of our elderly homes and day care centres where old people sit all day watching television with perhaps a weekly visit from the hairdresser and know that they probably led far more exciting and dramatic lives than we ever will. They deserve regular time to dance as much as anyone. It's called access.

Access
And there's the word access. It is in our defining what access really means and how we make dance accessible in the context of all that has already been said (and much still to say) that dictates and goes on dictating our methodologies. If our first engagement with dance made it wonderfully accessible, for so many that first engagement rendered dance totally inaccessible and that still happens. So, this is more than looking at access in standard marketing terms (though I suspect the principles are all there) or in the accessibility of the buildings we use.

We aim to provide consistent, relevant, challenging and high quality dance activities to as many people we possibly can.

As we push the boundaries of access further out so we have to provide for each participant, the same opportunities, consistency of provision, progression routes and best quality as we give to our long established youth and adult groups. Our methodology seldom includes the stand alone short term projects on the basis that they tend to highlight lack of access to the best regular provision, for those who participate, because that's all they get. It is not good enough just to provide a tick for the funding body's access box, or to do the "community bit" in order to get the cash. Our dance leaders have to know how to work long term with many different groups and form strong partnerships with the contacts in the various centres. They have to know how to work with very difficult groups, unmotivated, with behavioural problems etc and then have to find suitable progression routes so they are not set up to fail but are allowed to work to their potential in their time. One of the most exciting things about this long term way of working is the emerging of some really stunning dancers in their own way, who want to do more but who would not thrive following traditional dance training routes. This is an interesting challenge and raises questions about training for young people.

We have to be sure that the content doesn't render the session inaccessible because it is inappropriate and makes participants feel silly or incompetent. On the other hand we have to provide the opportunities for participants to take risks and to reach beyond that which they (or their carers) believe they can reach. Perhaps we are all guilty of making dance inaccessible from time to time without realising it.

Our work has to be relevant to each person and each group and that means different methodologies for nearly every group. This may be a sweeping statement but dance that is relevant to boys is different to girls and the sessions reflect this. It's something to do with different kinds of energy and taking risks. Each elderly session, and there are six at present in Cardiff, is totally different. Our leaders have know how to work with a group, not what to do with them. They have to listen and respond to the group, to be absolutely aware, to be able to go with a plan or completely go with a whim, to know when to change, stop, go, challenge, praise, to manage groups with a concentration span of 30 seconds, and they have to always give their very best to each group even if it is the sixth session of the day.

So where does creativity come in all this? Well, it's bubbling away all the time because with participants it's their dance and their way of moving that is their contribution and with the leaders it's their way of drawing it out and moulding it together that creates the dance.

Do our dancing communities see themselves as being a part of the dance world and if not are they missing out? Yes they do, but their dance world might be smaller and more selective than ours, or perhaps ours is smaller and more selective than theirs. For many of the groups, sharing their work at our annual dance development nights might be their highlight and they don't forget what they see and enjoy. Kids dancing for kids, it's a great combination. For the flagship youth groups it might be the exchanges with groups from other countries that expands their dance world (and much else). For some it's being part of the bigger picture that is Rubicon which mean something and of which they are proud. Performances need to be relevant and we are selective because we know what they will enjoy. They miss out only because of lack of opportunity and the cost. What is the "dance world" to a break dancer, an elderly person in a residential home, an asylum seeker etc. etc.?

And isn't this methodology not unique to dance? Shouldn't we always be looking beyond dance to develop our methodology? And shouldn't we be looking at the groups we work with to find the right methodology for them?

Ruth Till is director of Rubicon Dance. For more information see: www.rubicondance.co.uk or email: info@rubicondance.co.uk

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Animated: Spring 2004