Find Your Flock - Announcing the second year of our LGBTQ+ community performance project
26 November 2024
'We came together, a group of queer people, to do a thing, and the thing was to tell a story, and that story was a story of rejection, of being othered, of queer monsters, coming out of the closet, and ultimately how empathy is the antidote to shame. But mostly, the thing we did was laugh. And love. And be. Unapologetically be. What a spectacularly groundbreakingly simple thing'
-Paul Smethurst, Dance Artist
As part of our Swan Lake tour, we are working with Farnham Maltings and Surrey Libraries to create an original movement performance with LGBTQ+ adults (18+) based on the themes explored in the show. A background in dance is not necessary to take part, you just need to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community living in Surrey, Berkshire or Hampshire, and interested in creating and performing a movement piece.
This will be the second LGBTQ+ community response piece. As part of our 2023/2024 Edward Scissorhands tour, we worked with nine LGBTQ+ people in Surrey and dance artist Paul Smethurst to create a community response piece inspired by Edward Scissorhands called 'The Othered'. The movement piece was based on the themes of inclusion, exclusion, community and difference that are explored in the show. During the course of the project, participants worked with New Adventures dance artists to create a safe space in which they could connect in a meaningful way through sessions that included poetry, costume making, and movement.
Any exclusive gathering of queer people is powerful but adding dance to that makes it an unstoppable force.
Bryony Pennington, Dance Artist
The project will live in my heart as one of the best experiences of my life. The whole process was so powerful yet joyful. It’s a treasure I will cherish forever.
Participant, 2024
Swan Lake famously shattered conventions and turned tradition on its head. The community response piece gives participants the opportunity to create a unique and ground-breaking performance piece based on the themes of the show, and find their flock! Find out more and apply here.
