Case study: Big Dance Pledge 2016
Louise White is a dance artist based at The Old Town Hall in Hemel Hempstead and leads Let’s Dance, an older people’s dance group. Having signed up to this year’s Big Dance Pledge, Louise shares with us her approach to using the online resources and developing a version of Akram’s choreography that’s unique to the group.
Having trained as a dancer in London and previously worked for Darts (Doncaster Community Arts) and with the South Yorkshire Dance Consortium, I relocated to Hemel Hempstead and started work by getting involved with my local theatre. I have been delivering dance workshops for older people for Get Set Go Dacorum – the local Sport England physical activity initiative, alongside working in schools.
Let’s Dance meets weekly at The Old Town Hall theatre in Hemel Hempstead, where we dance on
stage for an hour and a half. The
group are active older people, both men and women ranging from 50-87 years of age.
Being able to begin with Akram’s choreography and develop movement with Let’s Dance provides an opportunity for us to focus on the creative process of making dance. The dancers experience new movements, creating a dance language that is meaningful and unique to them, expressing themselves and exploring the themes within the context of their own lives. Dancing standing, sitting or kneeling provides a choice, which has no judgment and means that the piece is varied and accessible.
As a dance practitioner it’s highly exciting because it’s Akram’s work, requiring you to stop, think and keep thinking. It means that the process (always the best part for me) is all about creative engagement, a fantastic artistic journey that we are taking together.
Info
toth.dacorum.gov.uk/dance
Louisewhite@talktalk.net
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Animated: Spring 2016