New Adventures presents Civil Blood, a new project for young people in partnership with Dance United Yorkshire (in Bradford) and Studio 3 Arts (in Barking and Dagenham) inspired by Matthew Bourne’s world premiere production of Romeo and Juliet, currently touring the UK.
Led by New Adventures Resident Artist, Paul Smethurst, and long-standing company member Sam Archer, two creative residencies will be delivered in partnership with both organisations that will each culminate in the performance of a new dance work. This is an opportunity for young people aged 12-21 and not in education, employment or training (NEET) to experience working with one of the UK’s most prolific dance-theatre companies.
New Adventures takes pride in providing opportunities for a wide range of people. Building on the success of Cinderella: A Museum Adventure which involved intergenerational performances and workshops at three Imperial War Museum sites, inspired by Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, we are thrilled to curate yet another unforgettable experience this time inspired by our brand-new production of Romeo and Juliet.
Civil Blood will be inspired by the main themes in Romeo and Juliet; that of highly emotional young people being made to suppress their emotions and conflict against authority and those in power. These themes resonate very strongly with the youth of today, particularly with young people who are marginalised, hard to reach or living in challenging life circumstances. In both settings, we will create a company of the least engaged and most vulnerable and together, create high quality artistic work in the unique New Adventures style.
Our first project takes place in Bradford with Dance United Yorkshire from 13 June - 10 July with the performance on 11 July at the Riley Theatre, Leeds, which is based at Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Dance United Yorkshire positively changes the lives of marginalised and hard to reach people through high quality dance training and performance. Their projects are delivered in a range of different settings, including working in prisons and young offender institutions.
The second project, supported by Archie Lloyd Charitable Foundation, commences on 30 July, running until 16 August with a performance at Sadler’s Wells, London on 19 August. Studio 3 Arts is a non-profit organisation based in Barking and Dagenham that puts local people at the centre of everything that they do. Their mission is to be ambitious and create brilliant, challenging, relevant work that acknowledges and responds to the barriers that prevent arts participation. Their vision is a world where everyone has access to outstanding art. New Adventures will be working with Studio 3 Arts award-winning flagship youth arts programme BIG DEAL on this project.
We believe that both projects will champion the power of dance to have a long-lasting impact on the lives of these young people; developing confidence, improving emotional resilience and contributing to social reintegration. All participants who complete the project will work towards a nationally accredited Arts Award during the process.
The work we do, including this project and Romeo and Juliet would not be possible without funding by Arts Council England.
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