Swan Lake Take Flight - for partners
Overview
In 2024-25 New Adventures is touring its pioneering production of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. To coincide with this 30th anniversary UK tour, we have an ambition to reach over 2,500 young people in local communities through Swan Lake Take Flight. The project will be delivered in partnership with 6 Placemaking venues, as we seek to support relationships between venues and local community groups and bring new audiences into theatres across the country. The activities that make up this project are inspired by Swan Lake and will engage young people in dance, focussing on how connecting, creating, and moving together can improve wellbeing.
Alongside our activities, we are engaging a Regional Dance Ambassador in 6 of the regions to deliver the Community Workshops, offering both training and employment for a local community dance practitioner. Furthermore, over 200 free tickets will be made available to participants of our Take Flight days.
The combination of activities offered as part of the project will be bespoke to each venue. To discuss the offer at your venue, please contact Leah Fox, Swan Lake Take Flight Project Producer (leah@new-adventures.net). Leah will be your main point of contact through this project. For marketing/press, contact Lucy Fox, Director of Audience Development (lucy@new-adventures.net). For legacy discussion, contact Kerry Biggin, Take Part Creative Director (kerry@new-adventures.net)
Project ambitions and aspirations:
- 2,500+ children and young people engaged across the expanded programme.
- Increased cultural engagement in all placemaking areas.
- Improved well-being stated by 75% of in-person participants.
Activities
Community Workshops
10 workshops of max 25 participants per workshop that occur over 4-5 weeks in the run up to Take Flight days. These will take place in local community centres, sports centres and other locations in the area identified by the partner venue and in liaison with the local group.
These workshops are created by New Adventures based on Swan Lake and delivered by a Regional Dance Ambassador. These can also take place in the theatre if suitable and the space is available.
Workshops will be approximately 1 hour long and for young people (10-18 years, up 24 years if disabled), who are part of a local community group. For example, Scouts, after school club, youth club, climate change group, volunteers, faith groups, sports team. We envisage that each group could do multiple workshops up to a maximum of 4 workshops per group, for example a Scouts group could do five workshops, the faith group could do three and the volunteer group could do two.
You should aim to work with at least 4 different local groups.
Take Flight Days
Following the Community Workshops and through advertisement in the local area, participants can sign up to take part in a Take Flight Day at their local venue. If at capacity, these young people will be selected at random and all applicants will be sent a link (potentially on the New Adventures website) to further opportunities to experience dance in the local area.
There will be 2 Take Flight Days in each venue. Managed and led by New Adventures Dance Artists and supported by the Regional Dance Ambassador, this is a longer session consisting of a 3-hour workshop for max 30 people across both days to engage in a deeper experience of dance, New Adventures, the placemaking venue and the Swan Lake choreography. Participants will play games, take part in group activities, learn choreography, and will receive a funded ticket to watch a performance of Swan Lake with a parent or carer on the same day.
Suggested Take Flight days would be:
- Thursday, 4pm-7pm and a ticket to the 7.30pm performance for 15-18yrs
- Saturday, 10.30am-1.30pm and a ticket to the 2.30pm performance for 10-14yrs
Their parents/carers will be invited in to watch a short sharing of what the participants have learnt half an hour before the end of the session, they will then be advised to wait outside while the participants finish up the session, before collecting them to chaperone them to the performance.
Response Piece
We are working with selected venues to create a response piece to Swan Lake that will be performed at the end of the project in a local performance space. The duration of the Response Piece programme and the groups engaged will vary by location.
Schools Workshop Tour and Theatre Days
We will continue to deliver our Schools Workshop Tour, which includes a week of workshops with primary and secondary schools whilst the show is resident in venue. We work with partner venues to identify schools. In some locations, this may include a careers presentation and Q+A with New Adventures artists, dancers and staff in venue pre-matinee. The contact for this will be Alex Towers alex@new-adventures.net.
Regional Dance Ambassador
We will support venues to recruit one dance ambassador in the local region to deliver the Community Workshops and will have the opportunity to support New Adventures Dance Artists with Take Flight days. Regional Dance Ambassadors will be selected through local networks and our Overture programme and will receive training from New Adventures to deliver this work. Criteria for this ambassador role is a passion for inspiring young people in their local region, narrative movement, and New Adventures work, as well as developing their dance facilitation practice.
The aim is to create a bespoke legacy with the dance ambassador and the venue to continue leading and promoting dance in the local area.
Role of New Adventures
Roles and responsibilities of New Adventures
Community Workshops
- Supplying digital and print-ready leaflet promoting the activity that will be emailed or distributed to local groups. This will link to more information on our website for activities at each venue.
- Offering support where required to identify and engage 4+ local groups and facilitate organisation of the Community Workshops.
- Providing content and Regional Dance Ambassador training for the workshop delivery.
Take Flight Days
- Managing the bookings and sign ups into Take Flight Days from Community Workshops.
- Providing 2 New Adventures Dance Artists to deliver Take Flight days.
- Funding tickets for participants and parent/carer.
Response Piece
- Supporting the engagement of a local community group to perform in Response Piece.
- Providing 2 New Adventures Dance Artists to create and deliver Response Piece.
- Working with venue to develop a rehearsal and performance schedule.
- Providing copy and artwork to support promotion of a public performance.
- Providing tickets for all participants to see Swan Lake.
Schools Workshop Tour and Theatre Days
- Providing 2 New Adventures Dance Artists to deliver workshops at local schools.
- Coordinateing and present the Theatre Day in your venue (if applicable).
Regional Dance Ambassador
- Working with venue to select dance ambassador from either the New Adventures Overture programme or local dance networks.
- Supplying role specification to support recruitment.
- Training the Regional Dance Ambassador to deliver Community Workshops.
- Working with venue to create a bespoke legacy, which could include further training and opportunities in the local area.
Across all activities we will support the venue on the following:
- Parental/carer consent to take part (if required).
- Informing of any participant access requirements or allergies.
- Media consent for all participants (and provide clear guidance on who cannot be filmed / photographed).
- Supplying marketing assets to support community group engagement and find Regional Dance Ambassador.
- Liaising with venue press team for local press engagement.
- Ensuring access provision is offered when required.
- Creating an evaluation process that will culminate in findings that can be distributed and shared with the venue, funders and the wider industry at the end of the project.
- Providing either photography or film content to tell the story of the project (with at least one activity captured in your region).
- Printed certificates for all participants that will include a link/QR code to our website to find further dance engagement opportunities in the local area.
Role of Venues
Roles and responsibilities of the venue
As a placemaking venue, you will liaise with Leah to agree on a bespoke programme of activities for your region.
To deliver Swan Lake Take Flight at your venue, you will be responsible for the following:
Community Workshops
- Contacting and engaging 4+ local groups to take part in the 10 x Community Workshops and co-ordinating with the group and New Adventures on dates and locations.
- Ensuring group leaders are present at the workshops to support the group in a pastoral capacity.
Take Flight Days
- Hosting 2 x Take Flight Days during the week that Swan Lake is at your venue. This would require a large accessible studio space, a break-out/food area and a representative on site to oversee the day and introduce participants to the venue.
- Supporting on reservation and distribution of tickets to New Adventures for participants and parent/carer.
Response Piece
- For participating venues, contacting and engage a local group and work with Leah to develop an accessible rehearsal and performance schedule.
- Sourcing rehearsal and performance space.
Schools Workshop Tour
- Identifying and partner with local schools to schedule workshops.
- Providing suitable space and staff representatives at venue for careers presentation (if applicable).
- Communicating any group booking ticket deal to enable local schools to attend a performance.
Regional Dance Ambassadors
- Using local networks to recruit a suitable dance ambassador using the role specification provided (see Resources), except where the Regional Dance Ambassador is being engaged through the New Adventures Overture programme (Leah to advise).
- Working with New Adventures to create a bespoke legacy for the dance ambassador, which could include further training and opportunities in the local area.
Across all activities we ask that you support on the following:
- Signposting to Swan Lake Take Flight on the Swan Lake page of your website.
- Providing a contact at your venue for queries from groups that would like to take part (information about Swan Lake Take Flight and participating venues will be on our website).
- Press team to liaise with Lucy regarding opportunities for local coverage.
- Signposting information for participants and parents/carers to help them find further opportunities to engage in dance both at the venue and in the local area (to be available on the New Adventures website).
- Supporting evaluation of the project, for example distributing and completing surveys, engaging individuals for longer testimonials.
- Supporting participants and parents/carers to follow and maintain environmental best practices including using public transport and ensuring they have access to water fountains and recycle bins.
Resources
Regional Dance Ambassador job pack
Swan Lake Community Workshop information poster (A4) and leaflet (A5)
Swan Lake Take Flight Day information leaflet (A5)
Download Swan Lake Take Flight promotional images
To be shared with participants of the Swan Lake Take Flight Day:
Swan Lake Take Flight achievement certificate (with venue logo)