Cultural Shift
“supporting the development of disabled choreographers”
Photo for Cultural Shift Show on the 24th November 05 at Stratford Circus.
Cultural Shift is a pilot professional development programme, supporting the development of disabled choreographers. It is the first programme of its kind in the UK and aims to address the lack of disabled choreographers in the integrated and mainstream dance sectors. This is a real opportunity for journalists/ commissioning editors who are interested in disability and dance to witness the beginning of what is set to become a ground breaking initiative in this field.
In August 2005, five dance artists were selected on the programme following an application and audition process. They are all at different stages in their career and for the first time they will be given the opportunity and the resources to work on choreographic ideas they will be able to explore with fellow choreographers, dancers and critics.
The programme includes:


Artists Profile
The five selected artists to take part in Cultural Shift are:
Caroline Bowditch is an independent dance artist based in Newcastle. She is a founder member of Weave Movement Theatre, a successful mixed ability dance company based in Melbourne, Australia. She has extensive personal and professional experience in practice, research and consultancy in the areas of dance education, genetics, arts and disability.

Thomas Clark is a dance artist based in East London. Following a career as a mechanical engineer, he got involved in dance and graduated in 2001 from the University of East London’s first fully inclusive HND Performing Arts in the Community course in the UK. Since then he has worked across East London both performing, teaching and training as well as working with Ann Dickie on the Foundation for Community Dance’s co-mentoring scheme as part of POTENTIAL.

Joanna Dunbar is a profoundly deaf performer, choreographer, writer and teacher who aims to create and share work that challenges the relationship between the oral and the visual. Since graduating from her MA in European Dance Theatre Studies at the Laban Centre, she has worked with mixed ability dance theatre groups Company Chaos (Australia) and Green Candle Dance Company (UK).

Mark Smith is a freelance dancer, teacher, actor and choreographer. He trained at the Royal Ballet School and at London Studio Centre. He has performed and taught across the UK with companies including Green Candle Dance Company, Graeae Theatre Company, Signdance and La Ribot. He has performed his solo work at venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Jackson’s Lane, ICA, Albany Theatre and The Place. He would like to establish his own dance company.

Thomas St. Louis is a dance artist based in East London. Following his graduation from the University of East London’s HND Performing Arts in the Community course he went on to become a founder member of integrated dance company, Tardis, which toured across the UK and Germany. Tom has worked on integrated dance projects internationally, including working with Adam Benjamin in Senegal, South Africa and Japan. He also received an Arts Council Fellowship to teach and choreograph movement in Soweto in Limopop.

Workshop Programme (5 – 20 September 2005)
The artists took part in a range of practical and theoretical workshops exploring choreography led by some of the leading artists involved in the choreographic and integrated dance sectors.
Deliverers on the programme include:


Creation (26 September – 24 November 2005)
The artists will be given free studio time over nine weeks and will have the support of a mentor for advice and feedback about their work. The mentors include:
Adam Benjamin, Jeanefer Jean-Charles – ex Artistic Director of Bullies Ballerinas, Bettina Strickler – ex Artistic Director of Protein Dance, Yael Flexer – Artistic Director, Bedlam Dance, Frank Bock – Artistic Director, Bock and Vincenzi

Performance
The artists will premiere their work as part of Xposure05 on:
Thursday 24 November 2005, 8pm
Stratford Circus, Theatre Square, London E15 1BX
Tickets: £5
Box Office: 08700 600 100 / click here

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