A little recap and a good PDL catch up!

Hello dancers!

It’s been a while since we last got in touch and so, still at the dawn of this new year, we want to look back at what we achieved over 2021 and share our plans moving forwards.

What have we done?

Between June and September 2021 PDL programmed and ran 11 weeks of professional classes in the city, delivered by 9 guest teachers, 8 of whom are Northern-based artists . Two of these weeks were dedicated to our Graduate Artist Scheme, under which we mentored 2 early-career artists. Overall the sessions were attended by 338 dance artists, with a further reach of 14.600 peeps engaging with PDL through our website and social media channels. 

Not bad for a pandemic year, right?

2021 was also the year of the handover. The former PDL team - Kate Cox, Rachel Fullegar and Sofia Edstrand - was joined by Charlotte Arnold, Anna Cabré-Verdiell and Joao Maio, who have been receiving consistent mentoring on the planning, delivery and evaluation of the programme, with the intention to run and lead the organisation with a new vision.

So what now?

Since the classes ceased in September, we have been re-imagining and re-designing the programme; we hosted 2 round table discussions with local independent artists and ongoing conversations with PDL’s former and new partners to better understand and support the needs of the Leeds Dance Community and the resources within the city, to fulfil these necessities.

We are currently planning our next move, which is putting together a new ACE application to further develop the programme whilst continuing to :

  • Support professional development and talent retention in the city

  • Enhance employment for freelance dancers in Leeds

  • Build a more resilient independent dance community in the city 

  • Support the transition from learning to professional environments

  • Work on audience development

  • Provide a talent pipeline

We are also splitting the Graduate Artist Scheme into two strands; one directed at those still in education or recently graduated who need more practical support when it comes to planning and delivering classes, and another dedicated to more experienced performers who may not have developed a teaching practice but have already a well-established artistic path.

Didn’t manage to speak your mind about PDL?

Hit us with your ideas, suggestions or random thoughts through our feedback form just one click away from you and let’s shape PDL together!

That’s all for now!

Big hug,

Anna, Charlotte, Joao and Kate



We want to hear from you! - PDL Round Table Discussions with artists

We are fast approaching the end of this round of classes and so it feels appropriate to bring everyone together. We recognise that morning classes support the ecology of the independent scene in Leeds as a place to train, explore and socialise (it’s an argument that we’re well versed in), but as we are just a small selection of artists working in Leeds, we need and want to hear your voices.

We will be running two open discussions, where we can reflect on the current and previous rounds of classes, and where ProDance is headed for the future. The first discussion will take place after class, so please feel free to stick around after. You don’t have to attend class to attend (but we strongly encourage it). No worries if you are going to be late, or need to leave early, if you have a baby in tow or have no opinions and just want to listen - all are welcome!

We are also looking to livestream and record the sessions so that you can still participate if you are unable to attend in person or catch up if the times don’t work for you. More details to follow.

Round Table Artist Discussions Dates:

Thursday 2nd September 

11:30am - 1:30pm (after class with time to cool down!)

North Space, Yorkshire Dance

Book a spot here: https://bookwhen.com/prodanceleeds/e/ev-sjr0-20210902113000

Friday 1st October 

12:30pm - 2:30pm

The Dance Studio Leeds

Book a spot here: https://bookwhen.com/prodanceleeds/e/ev-sf8d-20211001123000

Refreshments will be provided!

Please book a place if you would like to attend (places are free, it’s just so we can keep a check on social distancing and remaining covid safe).

Please contact us on contact@prodanceleeds.com if you would like to discuss any access requirements or have any further questions.


Anna, Kate, Joao and Charlotte

A quick Covid-19 update from ProDanceLeeds

The so-called ‘Freedom Day’, Monday the 19th of July, is already behind us and so are the legal restrictions that have been living with us for a long while. Even though cases in England - and pretty much everywhere in Europe - are rising and starting to threaten public health systems again, Boris Johnson and his government have set their minds on this rather rushed de escalation of the social measures. This means that under UK law, as from last Monday there’s no limitations on how many people can meet both indoors and outdoors, face covering is no longer required although still recommended in crowded and enclosed spaces, and social distancing is no longer a thing.

At ProDanceLeeds we celebrate theatres, museums and libraries being able to reopen and operate at full capacity, gigs and festivals coming back and life getting back to a certain ‘normality’. However, we want to continue making our sessions as inclusive and accessible as possible, and therefore we want to facilitate for those less comfortable with the latest government recommendations to still be able to join us in class. That’s why we have decided to take it easy and stick with the Covid-19 policy that has been in place in our classes so far. This means that we will keep a limitation on the number of participants per class and will keep encouraging our teachers to facilitate their sessions in consideration to Covid-19 safety measures as social distancing. 

You are more than welcome to wear face covering in class, although we want to stress the fact that it is not a legal requirement and therefore others might not choose to do the same. Furthermore, hand gel will still be available in every studio our classes take place on, so feel free to splash away!

Your feedback is always welcome, so please do get in touch if you have any comments or suggestions on this or any other matter.

Big hug and stay safe,

The PDL team



The Handover

Hello dancers of Leeds!

The last time we were together for a ProDance class was in 2019, which feels like a lifetime ago. I’m sure you have been wondering what on earth we’ve been doing since then!

After the last classes of the third iteration of ProDance finished we were left with a big dilemma. Arts Council was not particularly keen to fund another round of classes as it does not fund regular, continuing provision on this scale. We saw that each time other artist-led organisations working via project funding embarked on the Grantium portal, they reinvented the wheel to get more money to continue their classes. Often they also produced platforms, residencies, mentoring schemes and all manner of ways of keeping artists afloat, connected and nourished artistically. This supported the case for a class to accompany these activities. 

What those artist led organisations do is vital work, but it is incredibly time consuming. The truth of our situation was that with Gracefool embarking on an 18 date tour, we were busy with the company, taking on more work as our projects got bigger. We didn’t feel we had the capacity to take this on. We also got tired of repeatedly arguing what we saw was an obvious case for regular class provision. Our lives changed. Some of us moved away from Leeds and out of the industry. 

In the background, things kept ticking away and in the six months before the pandemic hit, we were tentatively building a new model, one in which we could be (mainly) independent from ACE. This would have hopefully had the support of the brilliant dance ecosystem we have in Leeds of international organisations of all scales. 

But then the world changed and we were back to square one. 

Whilst figuring out how on earth we personally and professionally were going to survive this, we started to dream of other solutions. We’ve always believed that ProDance would eventually be handed over to new artists with fresh, innovative ideas and we felt that the project desperately needed this at this point in order to survive. We’ve decided to do just that. Kate will stay on in the new team and Rachel and Sofia will do a little consultancy on the project, but other than this, it will be in new hands.

We’re very proud of what we achieved. We’ve helped to build a burgeoning independent dance community in Leeds, making it a viable place for dancers to live, train and work through the community and training offered via our classes. The city looks very different from when we started.

All that’s left to say is that we’re passing on the classes to artists who we trust will continue with openness, innovation, passion, integrity and, most importantly, fun...

So, here we are! Charlotte Arnold, Joao Maio and Anna Cabré-Verdiell, the new and younger PDL team ready to maintain the standard of the programme and keep the boat moving forward!

Anna- How lovely it is to inherit a money making project that we didn’t lift a finger to build up. I feel like Donald Trump in the eighties, so ready to take over papa’s business and become even richer and dreadful.

Joao- ahhh… PDL is a not for profit programme, darling.

Anna- Wait, what? Not for profit? 

Charlotte- Ooooh well… let’s do it anyway! It’s nice to do something for the arts’ sake every so often, isn’t it?

Anna- Almost everything we do is for the arts’ sake already, Charlotte!

Joao- Ladies, ladies, calm down, we’ll work it out. I have already spoken with 277 potential investors, emailed every organisation, trust and charity in Yorkshire that could offer in kind support to the cause and developed 24 different strategies to keep the next couple of ACE applications looking fresh and distinct from one another. 

Charlotte- Yeah, I’ve also done some work on it over the last few weeks... updating the database of teachers living in and around Leeds, contacting dance institutions and studios in the city to check their feasibility supporting PDL and pre booking space. Then, just for fun, I’ve drafted a 6 to 9 months action plan that you can all access through the Google drive that I’ve set up for us to work more efficiently.

Anna- Ok, so...What is left for me to do then…?

Joao- …hmmm...Why don’t you…

Charlotte- Why don’t you write something…for the blog?

Anna- Ok then! Here we go:

A few months back, the ladies from PDL called us in for a meeting. Rumours were that they were looking to hand over the programme, so when they asked for us to be their successors, we spat out our answers in unison: YES!

Since hands were shaken, we - the old and the new and younger PDL people - have been regularly meeting in a lovely, yet badly illuminated zoom room, where we have immersed ourselves into the deep waters of the PDL departments. We are still in training, but hopes are that we will very soon graduate. Then, we will strive to keep up the ever so valuable work of our predecessors, and together with you, dear freelancer, we must keep the show ongoing.

Watch this space as we will very soon announce the teachers facilitating the next block of sessions. Classes will run three times a week from Tuesday to Thursday starting the week commencing 21st of June. 

See you very very soon!

The PDL team

We are back!

Dearest Leeds dance community:

Hello, hello, hello! 

Long time no see, yes, we know, but we are still here. We may have been quiet but we haven’t stopped thinking of you, and now the time has finally arrived to reach out and give you a little spoiler on what may be awaiting us on the ProDanceLeeds horizon. 

When the last set of classes finished in 2019 we set about making more concrete plans for how ProDance would continue. Knowing that ACE don’t fund continual training, but understanding that consistent, high quality, professional classes is what helps keep us dancers afloat physically, mentally and artistically, we set about working out a model which would need minimal Arts Council input. These were tentative steps which would potentially involve greater input and investment from our partners in the city, maybe a new legal structure and, perhaps the administration capacity that goes with it. We were moving slowly and carefully, doing our research and trying to learn a whole new set of skills.

Then came the pandemic. 

We’ve sat tight, waiting for a moment where a path forwards might become clearer. Now as the restrictions are beginning to lift, we’ve put together a brand new plan. It took some maths, planning and programming, and a fair amount of patience, but with a little caution and loads of excitement, we are hoping to launch a four month block of classes back very soon!!

When?! Where?! Who?! 

Yeah, yeah, we know that you want to know it all, but curiosity killed the cat, remember? And too many  spoilers would ruin the finale, so hold on just a wee bit more. 

It’s not the long term, forever and a day plan we hoped for at the beginning of 2020. But it is something to give us a jump start out of this pandemic business. 

So far, we have done pretty much all that’s in our hands and are now waiting on the Arts Council to give the ultimate thumbs up on this four months programme, as it will be funded by the small pot left from our last ACE bid. We are hoping to get an answer pronto, so fingers crossed, classes will be able to recommence around mid June. 

We’ll explain more about this and our thinking about a new long term plan for the classes very soon.

Can’t wait until June to dance?

Well, lucky for us, the ladies from ACCA are bringing back their sessions in partnership with The Dance Studio Leeds. ACCA’s sessions will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from the 18th of May and until PDL is ready to go.

That’s all for now, but watch this space cos it’s about to get loud!

Yours,

the PDL Team

We just can't get enough (of ProDance)

That’s why this week isn’t, as previously stated, the last week of ProDanceLeeds this autumn: we have ONE MORE WEEK to go! Whoop whoop. Come to Yorkshire Dance next week and join us for a week with:

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Neil Callaghan & Janina Rajakangas

This class will share methods from their latest creation ‘Over your..Body’. Working to physically articulate moments where words fail us. Jointly taught by Neil Callaghan & Janina Rajakangas the class will work on the connection between internal emotion and external movement.

Through this dance between the inside and the outside we will address questions such as: How do we allow ourselves to access and embody internal states? And how can this shake us out of our habitual ways of dancing? How can we work with others to find the intimacy within ourselves.

The class will involve touch and working with others.

Hope to see you there!

Kate, Rebecca, Rachel and Sofia

Tree Rings - Nadine Freisleben [Anna reviews]

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Tree rings.
Also known as annual growth rings, these circular concentric folders store the history of the tree they belong to; information about its age, its surrounding or the weather conditions which it has been exposed to each year of its life. What’s the human equivalent of tree rings? Skin seem the straight answer, but apart from estimating someone’s ethnicity, age or fitness level, one wouldn’t be able to discover much more about someone only by dermis observation. I’m not a total fool; I understand that trees and humans are very different creatures and reading a person’s history is far more intricate. I wonder if stereotypes appeared as a sort of unreliable yet necessary ‘human rings’.

This week’s guest teacher at ProDance Leeds is Nadine Freisleben. The class starts with a beautiful choice of mild techno music, bringing Berlin to my senses. We improvise across the floor, letting Nadine guide us into more specific variations which culminate in a short floor phrase. Then we practice some inversions where she takes the opportunity to introduce the idea of moving the body through shifting the pelvis. The techno beats fade out to open the space to African rhythms. Nadine explains her African roots, dancing and choreographing with local companies in Nigeria. We cross the room following her, exploring the musical and physical approaches of west African dances. Bouncing our feet, pelvis, shoulders, rip cages… the room becomes the preface for the soon coming Chapeltown Carnival.
We finish the session dancing through some repertoire from a new piece Nadine is working on. The aim of her creation is to challenge the traditional western approach to rhythm and play with the African and Arabic paradigm, as she mentions the input of her partner who is Arabic and a musician.

On my way out of class simplicity strikes me. Nadine’s history spoke to me through her dancing and her generosity. I’ve discovered on her a ring that talks of Berlin and its techno culture; a ring that shakes her body in Nigerian waves and a flourishing ring which is sniffing the potential of Arabic rhythms.

 

                                                                 By Anna Cabré-Verdiell Bosch

 

-You can still catch her class Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at NSCD from 9.30 to 11.00-

We're adding a few more classes for you...

We have a few more classes to announce this summer!

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First off, w/c 22 July there’s our final Graduate Artist Week with Thom McKeon and Emma Hopley teaching class.

Thom is a freelance dancer based in Leeds. Having graduated from NSCD he has worked with Charlotte Spencer Projects, That Ribeiro Company, Vanessa Grasse and currently doing the artist internship programme at Open Source Arts.

Emma is a dance artist based in Manchester, just beginning life as a freelancer. She has recently graduated with an MA from the University of Salford/ Joss Arnott Dance’s Emergence Dance Company, having completed her undergraduate training at Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

We’re super excited to have them both onboard and hope you’re all ready to come and join their classes.

Secondly, we had another week of classes to fill and back on popular demand is Matt Lackford and Jennifer-Lynn Crawford splitting w/c 19 August between them.

Hope to see you there!

Kate, Rebecca, Rachel and Sofia

Change to schedule

Tomorrow’s class: Wednesday 24 January, will be taught by Ben King instead of Ella Mesma:

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Ben is a freelance dance performer, choreographer, and teacher. He has performed work by Ransack Dance, Simple Dance Company, Maxine Doyle to name a few. Choreographic works include Ingrid Sørensen & Dancers, Nós a duet collaborated with Fernanda Prata. As a teacher Ben has been leading various workshops for professional national and international dance companies such as Focus Dance Company, Simple Dance as well leading classes at Siobhan Davies/Independent Dance, Spinae Dance Festival, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Ben’s class will utilise different exercises and games, shifting between structured improvisation and taught form so the participants can find freedom within a certain style. The physical language we find we will allow us to explore; moving from intention and/or sensation, flow, risk and trust, playing with in/out of balance, and use of weight. Ben is committed to seeking the relationship between mastery of craft and technique with each unique expression of the individuals to find something real in performance.

New Bird - Sandrine Monin [ Anna reviews]

Andrew Euan

Andrew Euan

A real sense of spring was filling the streets this morning on my way to the studio. Spring is in essence renaissance, which from its original French etymology means ‘rebirth’, to ‘be reborn’.  Maybe as a coincidence or maybe as an ideal match, this week’s guest teacher is a French lady who is, professionally speaking, growing anew herself. Sandrine Monin, formal dancer at Phoenix Dance Theatre for the past five years, has recently embarked on the adventure of freelance artistry. With a palpable thirst for new horizons and a big smile on her face, Sandrine Monin takes the space; and we follow her into it.

The class begins nice and slow; a stretchy floor phrase that awakens the body, tuning into core and thighs. We stand up to continue working on a series of traditionally structured exercises which cover plies, tendus, upper body work, balances... although it’s used subtlety, Sandrine’s material is highly  Cunningham influenced. It brings my thoughts back to renaissance, it being a movement that stands for the revival of classical-based art. I notice in my body the memories of familiar yet half forgotten shapes; I take the challenge to remember a language not spoken for a long time. As the session moves forward, the dynamics increase and so does our obstinace to fill up those blanks in our bodies and minds.

The session culminates with a phrase and an adagio where classic and contemporary are fused. I suspect the phoenix bird does not leave behind the knowledge acquired from its previous lives with every renaissance. I suspect it’s not a matter of starting from zero, but starting from fresh, with new eyes to see new possibilities, without dismissing that what has been gathered, but with the desires to gather even further.