In a modest room on the 4th floor of Segedunum Roman Fort & Museum, we have had the pleasure of seeing the Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s Performance Collective grow from a group of relative strangers to a confident and expressive performing company. As commissioned choreographers, we had 12 sessions to co-create a dance piece that could be performed for the Hadrian’s Wall 1900 Festival, with the extra challenge of the performance location being a grassy rooftop in the middle of the Northumberland countryside!
The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre’s Grassland Roof provides a unique terrain, with long grasses, precious wildflowers, and a winding sloped pathway leading up to spectacular views of the Whin Sill. Navigating this rooftop walk, avoiding crushing any ‘important looking’ plants underfoot, whilst also executing contemporary dance movement is no easy task; but the Performance Collective took all this in their stride – literally – and moved their audience to tears with their performance.
Walking into our first rehearsal back in May, we would never have guessed that we would reach that point at the end of the 12 weeks. As freelance dance artists, we both had plenty of teaching experience, including delivering for mixed age groups, inclusive sessions, and in all kinds of settings. Nevertheless, we both felt a sense of apprehension as this would be our first time facilitating a group of people with Parkinson’s. Luckily we had specialist practitioner Molly Grey to support the sessions, as well as dance artist Olivia Paddison, so we knew we would be supported. Participants arrived, a circle was formed, and Molly led us through our very first seated dance warm-up to ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’. From that very first song, all dancing together in a circle, we knew we were part of something special.
The Performance Collective includes two married couples, five other individuals, and a mix of neurological conditions. Each member brings their own individual personality, their own experiences, and their own relationship to dance. Many already attended weekly sessions with Molly, during which she guides them through a series of upbeat routines with a colourful variety of props, however for most of the members this was their first foray into a creative process. As one member charmingly put it, she “wasn’t too sure about this interpretive dance thing…” but luckily, they all took to it like ducks to water.
We wanted to explore themes of strength and fragility, inspired by Hadrian’s Wall and its long history. These two opposing concepts mean something to everybody, we’ve all had times where we’ve felt strong and others when we’ve felt fragile; but this is perhaps even more relatable for people living with Parkinson’s.
We wanted to create a work that explored the two ideas physically, through movement qualities and props, but also gave the performers the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences. Creating movement from scratch can be a daunting process, so we worked a lot with improvisation, exploring the ideas of soft and strong through music and imagination, before constructing and refining duets and trios. It was great to experience the group members offering ideas, using their knowledge of the wall’s history and sharing their sparks of creativity, working together and being so generous with their minds and their bodies.
It was beautiful to watch the confidence in the room grow as the weeks went on; from a slight tension in the air when first being asked to improvise, to enthusiasm and creativity as the members worked together to create their movement. We had soldiers patrolling the wall, heavy bricks being lifted, eddies of wind moving through grass, and a gorgeous fluttering of fingers to represent the crumbling wall.
The choreography came together surprisingly fast, and before long we had a ten minute promenade performance ready to go. The day came, and we all made the journey into rural Northumberland and up to The Sill. After a brief rehearsal to get to grips with the grassy surface, and a tiny hint of rain starting to fall, excitement was running high as friends and family gathered to take part in a Movement for your Mind session led by Molly. The fun of Molly’s dance routines soon replaced any nerves with laughter, and the room was filled with a palpable sense of joy as people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds bopped and twirled together, complete with pom-poms and silly hats.
After a quick lunch, the rain chose not to spoil our plans, and the performance went ahead perfectly. The sense of pride we felt while watching each of those nine dancers perform with such focus, heart, and care for one another, is unparalleled. The audience that gathered was made up of friends, colleagues, children, grandchildren, and some members of the public who were lucky enough to be visiting The Sill that day; and each and every person was absorbed by the dance. The gorgeous images captured by Alice Elizabeth Photography go a long way to illustrating the magic that was made up on that rooftop.
Reflecting now, whilst making plans for the Performance Collective’s next performance at Dance City, as part of the Inspire Festival in October, it is clear that everyone involved in the project has grown and developed because of it. For us as choreographers, it was an honour to work with the group, to learn from them and to make genuine friends. We’re grateful to them all for welcoming us and going along with our ideas, for having patience and most of all for giving so much heart and soul to every movement. We’re also grateful to have been supported along the way by Molly, Olivia, and the People Dancing team, who have made this process just as much about us improving our skills as it has been about creating a valuable experience for the dancers.
The words that come to mind to sum up our time with the group so far, are: openness, connection, and just the beginning.
Images: Alice Elizabeth Photography.