transition|Gen(h)ome
Choreographed
by Wayne McGregor|random
dance
Interview of Mira Balachandran
Gokul by Holly Bee
Hi there,
Congratulations on
the success of the Random Dance Project. I thoroughly enjoyed observing
the whole process, and have found that it was a great project to observe
for my Community Dance Case Study at Hope University.
Bisakha has asked
me to evaluate the whole process of the Random Dance Project, which will
benefit my community dance Case Study also.
Please could you answer the questions below in order to help with the
evaluation.
1. How did you find
out about this project? Were you approached, or did you approach the organiser?
Was approached by Bisakha.
2. How did you feel
about the project before it was up and running? Did you feel it was achievable
with the children taking part? Did you have any doubts? I
was absolutely excited about the project.Felt positive about it all along.Was
very interested in the whole topic of heritage and what it means to young
people today's society.And very excited that Random were going to work
with the children.
3. What are your
thoughts and feelings on the whole process of the project? Do you think
this project has benefitted the children? If so, in what ways?
It has exposed my group to a whole new genre of dance, ie: western contemporary
dance. I ahve a mixed group of children from different ethnic backgrounds
and it was an eye opener for them and their parents about the existence
of different dance styles. Also to work in an intensive way is very beneficial
to developing the discipline of practice, repetition and preparation for
a performance. It was just what the group needed at this stage of their
learning process.The tutors who worked with the group were excellent and
so it made the whole process a very fruitful one for me and the children.
4. How do you think
the final performance was received by the audience? Were the audience
aware of what the project was about and how it was brought together?
I think the audience enjoyed it very much. Even though it wasn't a professional
piece, the structure and presentation of it was professional and the children
rose to the occasion and put on a well rehearsed show with energy and
concentration. I think that was received well although the audience didn't
really get to know about the working process. It would ahve been even
better if at some point we had a chance to tell the children the context
in which they were working. Both about the choreographic angle as well
as the heritage angle. Bisakha did introduce the idea to them briefly
but maybe it should have been built in to the schdeule a bit more. However
I do know that time is always precious when a piece has to be created
for performance and I suppose I can always talk about these things with
the group as a follow up process.
5. After the project,
were the majority of opinions from the audience/participants/teachers/organisers
positive or negative? Positive overall. And very
very postive from the participants and their parents.
Many Thanks,
Hollie Bee
3rd Year Dance and Drama student at Liverpool Hope University
Hollie
Bee
Evaluation of the Gen(h)ome Dance Project
From observing the
Random Dance Project from the day it started to the performance, I watched
many children from various cultural backgrounds and from two very different
areas in Liverpool come together as one company and fuse their own dance
genres of Indian and Afro-Caribbean and their own personal heritage into
a unity of friendship and partnership. The children did Liverpool proud
that day by performing a dance piece at the World Museum, William Brown
Street in conjunction with the Heritage and Dance Conference ‘Transition.’
Jasmine and Kate from the Random Dance Company based in London took on
the challenge of delivering workshops to the children over the space of
two weekends, leading to a fantastic and moving performance open to the
public.
Three people, whom without, this project would not have been possible
were Bisakha Sarker, Susan Lancaster and Mira Gokul. Bisakha, an Indian
dance artist working in Liverpool organised the whole project from arranging
the workshops with Random Dance Company to the production of the performance
at the World Museum. Sue, the leader of the Greenhouse Project in Toxteth
and Mira, the leader of the Indian dance class in Southport brought their
groups together to take part in this remarkable event. Mira commented,
‘it has exposed my group to a whole new genre of dance i.e. Western
contemporary dance and was an eye opener for them and their parents.’
Sue commented, ‘the children benefitted from working in a professional
environment and both groups respected each other’s dance form.’
The children not only developed their movement skills and qualities, but
also their social skills and interaction with one another. It was lovely
to see the children make new friends and be part of team and most of all
enjoy the time that they spent together on the project. I only hope that
more projects such as this one are available to children in other parts
of the country, as an experience like this can stay with you forever.
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