Are you a dancer/choreographer or a contemporary circus performer/deviser looking for a new challenge?
Are you interested in creating small scale work for outdoor touring or have a great idea for a show but need some help to make it happen?
If the answer is yes to any of these, then this opportunity could be for you.
As part of our ongoing commitment to support global majority led performance and broaden the range of work currently on offer for small-scale touring environments we are pleased to launch this free, two-day residential training and development Lab.
Applause is an ACE funded National Portfolio Organisation based in Kent that has developed a highly successful outdoor touring scheme for rural locations and semi-urban communities. Each year they support artists to create and tour small scale shows across their network of volunteer hosts and festival promoters in Kent, East and West Sussex, Essex and the wider region.
Boost! is an Applause and Creative Estuary Co-commission in collaboration with 101 Creation Space and Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch. We will deliver this Lab to upskill and prepare artists working in contemporary dance or circus, who are interested in extending their work to outdoors or developing their understanding of the outdoor touring sector.
Details of Lab: Mon 12 September (registration 4.30pm) – Wed 14 September (finishes 4.30pm).
The Lab will be fully catered with two nights’ accommodation at a local hotel in Hornchurch. We have ten places available in single occupancy rooms.
We would also welcome applications from local artists who are able to attend without an accommodation requirement.
The two and a half day Lab will include a varied programme of workshops, seminars and creative tasks in order to expand participants’ development and thinking in different contexts. It will feature contributions from sector organisations as well as practical performance workshops from theatre, dance and circus companies successfully making work for these contexts.
Who we are looking for
This opportunity is targeted at underrepresented artists/practitioners working in contemporary dance or circus interested in extending their work to outdoors or developing their understanding of the sector.
Priority will be given to artists from minority ethnic and migrant backgrounds who are working in the Creative Estuary region of North Kent and South Essex. However, we would also like to hear from underrepresented artists who may be working outside the CE region but are based in the Southeast.
How to apply
Please fill in this online application form by end of day 7 AUGUST 2022
We will also be announcing a seed funding and new commission opportunity in September to support the research, development or the creation of new outdoor performance works. Sign up to the Applause mailing list to receive details here – Seed Funding/Commissions sign up
CREATIVE ESTUARY has a vision to forge a new future founded on creative energy and innovation, along the length of the Thames Estuary. The project is supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and led by the University of Kent on behalf of a consortium of public sector and cultural organisations. They include the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), Kent and Essex County Councils, the Greater London Authority, 11 local authority areas represented by Greater North Kent and Opportunity South Essex, South East Creative Economy Network (SECEN), University of Essex, Locate in Kent and cultural organisations Metal and Cement Fields. In early 2019 the University of Kent was awarded £4.3m from the DCMS Cultural Development Fund on behalf of the partners. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport funds the Cultural Development Fund which is administered by Arts Council England.
Photo Credit: Pic 1 – Handsdown Circus – Neil Hainsworth, Pic 2 – MCDC – Randolph Julias & Hansdown Circus – Neil Hainsworth
