Lewys introduced himself and his ideas to local professional dancers and some students from Hull College via a workshop in October. He gathered movement and written material which are now in the creative melting pot as he begins  developing a performance which attempts to track the entire history of the planet! To find out more about his plans read his blog here.

The Transgressions Performance Award is an opportunity for a dancer based in the north of England to create a short performance to be part of Transgressions2023 – a weekend of contemporary dance performances in unconventional spaces supported by workshops and discussion.

Each Transgressions event has a different focus and in 2023 we will consider the impact ageing has on how artists make and perform dance, exploring whether a greater diversity in the age of artists making and performing work gives audiences a richer experience.

We were excited when hull-based dancer Holly Gibbs applied for and received this new award. Holly was in the Hull Dance studio space last week doing some initial research and development for the piece which is based on the question ‘Does age affect how artists make and perform dance and does it matter to audiences?’

She explained the following to me

“I had a great time working alongside Elise Johnson, another Hull-based dancer who I work with frequently, workshopping concepts and choreographic ideas for the new dance-piece. We have already generated a lot of material for the piece which will consider the control that arts establishments can have over audiences when it comes to the bodies they choose to project onto the industry.”

She continued,

“It is a site-specific trio and I envisage it happening on Murdoch’s Connection. Community dancers and participants will also perform alongside the professional dancers. The plan is to let people know how they can get involved with the performance quite soon with casting and rehearsals taking place in April and May next year.”

It is great to be working with Holly on this piece and supporting her to bring her ideas to fruition. The piece will kick off Transgressions2023 on Friday 12 May so put the date in your diaries and look out for more details about how Holly’s piece develops and the event as a whole. In the meantime here is a snippet of what Holly and Elise did last week.