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