RESEARCH PROGRAMME: COMMISSIONS ROUND 3
August 2023: 4 NEW PROJECTS COMMISSIONED BY DCNW
Dance Consortia North West has awarded an additional 4 commissions to artists in Round Three of the DCNW Research Programme which looks to create growth for dance in the North West by developing and sharing work that explores the future of dance.
Supported by Arts Council England, the 2-year programme which to date has commissioned 14 projects, is now focused on sharing and showcasing work through open labs, platforms, live performances, symposiums and dissemination events.
The 4 recipients in this round will create increased opportunities to perform and/or generate increased engagement with audiences and networks, and will share their work, resources and knowledge to further develop work and careers and strengthen the dance sector.
Successful recipients in this round include creative director and teacher Chad Taylor, an artist collective led by UCLan Dance, Mel Brierley and Penny Collinson, and an artist collective from 24 Hope Street.
Round Three is set to compliment and amplify Rounds One and Two.
24 Hope Street
In this third round there will be more work around dance integration with digital technologies; an increased dissemination of practise, methodologies and learnings; and a greater coming together of artists to strengthen networks and invigorate the current landscape.
Paul Smith, DCNW Partnerships Director
24 Hope Street Artists Collective: Digital Open Labs
24 Hope Street will experiment with the use of technology when making dance. This newly formed collective of 11 North West based dance makers and a creative technologist look to increase the potential of Liverpool’s dance makers by developing the scope of digital technology in dance through a series of open labs. The labs will bring together artists, technologists and critical observers - the 'outside eye' - to understand the enhanced potential of dance making when technology is paired with dance from the first stage of creation.
Chad Taylor - Lost Online
Chad Taylor asks what the negatives and positives are for dance given the digital evolution of social media and online trends during and after the Covid lockdowns. Hip Hop creative and dancer Chad will open the conversation around how social media has sparked a culture of self-validation – and how this can affect a person’s mental health. His exploration will take place through development of his piece ‘Lost Online’, which he will adapt from a digital piece (originally commissioned by Z-arts & HOME) to a live performance for stage and non-traditional spaces.
Photo Credit: Tae Dahunsi
UCLanDance Collective - Shared Dances: Choreographies of Care
A collective of dance-based transdisciplinary researchers from UCLanDance will ask: How can we best articulate and share movement-based transdisciplinary research in settings across the North West & beyond, and how can we develop a robust network that supports and critiques such work? Shared Dances: Choreographies of Care will disseminate the learning, methodologies and impact of co-created work from 9 movement-based practitioner research projects, creating opportunities for open and progressive dialogues that evaluate and celebrate the work.
Mel Brierley and Penny Collinson - Ten Conversations
Dr Mel Brierley and Penny Collinson, in collaboration with a group of experienced dance, health and wellbeing artists living and/or working in Cumbria and Lancashire will ask: How can health & wellbeing and dance in the community practitioners more effectively promote, develop and find support for the growth of their practice, research and training? The project seeks to reach more people in diverse communities and those with specific health and wellbeing needs. Together, the artists will look to spark strategic dialogue and form stronger partnerships to ensure quality work is more visible, accessible and clearly communicated.
For Round Three there is a focus on making space to share ideas, work and knowledge with other artists, professionals and venues to progress the sector.
Sue Harrison (Chair, DCNW)
Supported by
