The Making Space activities encourage the exploration, discussion and practice of making and presenting new choreography, both for and with young people.
The pilot stage of this project ran from November 2010-April 2011 with opportunities for new choreographers, youth dance leaders and their groups to develop their choreographic ideas through a series of events and workshops. Tools for Translation, a workshop for professional dance artists including the four The Making Space choreographers, explored the nature of creating choreography with young people. Following this, eleven youth group leaders took part in Interchange, a workshop led by The Making Space choreographers. The choreographers then offered a series of choreographic workshops for the youth dance groups at their own venue. The project culminated in the Choreographic Space, a day long creative workshop and networking event for all the groups involved in the project, at Siobhan Davies Studios.
The Making Space Network 2011-12 aims to build on The Making Space, by developing a network of youth groups in south London, offering youth group leaders and young people the chance to exchange ideas about choreography and to engage with professional artists. The programme focuses on choreography, exploring various approaches to making work and discovering ways to translate these approaches with youth dance groups that work in a range of dance styles. The Making Space Network offers a platform for choreographers and youth dance groups to share their ideas and increase their understanding and skills for making new dance works. Siobhan Davies Dance is planning commissions for the choreographers to work with the youth leaders and their groups to create new work for Big Dance 2012.
Through the Street Genius initiative, a young person from each group acts as an ambassador for their group. The Young Ambassadors will identify areas of potential exchange between their groups such as performance opportunities, shared classes and workshops.
The Making Space 2011/2012 programme:
13 September 2011: Training for Young Ambassadors
22 October 2011: Interchange: A workshop for youth dance leaders and their groups, led by the Making Space choreographers, at Siobhan Davies Studios.
25 October 2011: Networking Meeting: Young Ambassadors represent their groups at a meeting with local authority arts officers and choreographers.
19 November 2011: Choreographic Space: Workshops, discussion and sharing activities for youth dance leaders and groups involved in The Making Space Network, at Siobhan Davies Studios.
February 2012: Networking Meeting: Planning towards The Making Space Network Big Dance 2012 involvement.
As the Big Dance Hub for south London, Siobhan Davies Dance is working closely with the local authorities to provide opportunities to create a stronger infrastructure for youth dance in the local area, build partnerships, and stay aware of interests and needs of youth dance such as exciting performance opportunities.
If you are a youth dance group based in south London and would like to take part in The Making Space Network, or would like to know more about Siobhan Davies Dance’s involvement with the Street Genius initiative, including how to apply, please contact Janine Harrington, Creative Projects Coordinator on janineh@siobhandavies.com or 020 7091 9659.
