OUTREACH
engaging & elevating communities through dance
Jenni Lewin-Turner.
DEVELOPMENT
At Sussex Festival we passionately believe the arts are for everyone and we constantly strive to improve the opportunities and experiences that we can offer to young performers from all walks of life.
Our exciting new STEP:CHANGE initiative has been developed in collaboration with Urbanflo Creative to enable a wider range of people to take part in the Festival - especially communities who have limited access to the arts. By introducing a dynamic range of new features to the Festival we aim to facilitate high-quality artistic experiences and to establish unique pathways for local, regional, national and international aspiring artists to participate.
Our new activities include some non-competitive elements such as the amazing exhibition performances we saw last year when South East Dance presented a group of young dancers - some of whom were first time performers - and we also invited students from the University of West Indies in Barbados who wowed us with their dazzling contemporary pieces.
All of these young dancers took away with them wonderful, inspiring experiences that will stay with them for a lifetime and we are now developing other opportunities so watch this space…
For this year’s STEP:CHANGE programme we are very proud to once again welcome both local and international guest performers, with the spotlight this time on Brighton's Project Female and PowerHouse Studios from Barbados.
Project Female Dance Company was established by choreographer Ellie Bishop-Williams. The group specialises in the style of street and contemporary fusion; creating pieces that tackle themes which young females face in day to day life. Issues such as how social media effects their own perception of themselves and others. The overall ethos of the company focusses on the development of young female dancers, creating a space in which they feel safe and comfortable to explore different styles of dance. The Project Female company are aged from 12 - 21 years and performed an extract from their Brighton Fringe festival production, ‘What Doesn’t Make The Cut’. on 18th & 19th May 2019.
Ellie Bishop-Williams has extensive experience as a dance performer, choreographer, teacher & producer specialising in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Street & Freestyle. From 2013 - 2018 she taught at Open Space dance school with additional responsibilities including creative contributions to the annual showcases. In 2016 she joined dance group Visual Poets assuming multiple roles as Choreographer, Dancer & Costume Designer for their sell-out dance production ‘Stronghold’.
Ellie has since launched a solo career as a choreographer/dance instructor, teaching over 100 students and she also holds a weekly Commercial class at Bird Studios Brighton. Due to the popularity of Project Female she has also set up ‘Project Youth’ to give less practiced dancers of any gender the opportunity to become stronger technically and improve performance skills.
Project Female Performers
Bella Beecham, Delilah Banks, Elina Wates, Hannah Newman, Jasmine Belcher, Josie Sayers,
Lauren Sayers, Lily Hoggarth, Mackenzie Dickinson, Naima El Dali, Rhiannon Rolf & Ruby Hall
Dance Title: "What Doesn't Make the Cut" ~ Music: 'Way Down We Go' by Kaleo & 'Panic Room ' by Au/Ra
Choreography by Ellie Bishop-Williams
Click through for website.
PowerHouse Studios (PHS) is a new and exciting dance training centre on the beautiful island of Barbados with a mission to create powerful individuals with a well-rounded dance background. PHS enables children and adults to take part in a wide selection of movement classes open to all levels in a stress-free, fun environment.
The PHS delegation visiting Sussex Festival are aged 14 - 18 years old and the performers are;
Diandra Brice, Eryn Toppin, Kristina Parris-Drakes, Lyne Kazan, Maya Black, Megan Pinto, Shannon Bryan & Yana White
Their dance pieces are choreographed by the Founder/Director of PHS Megan Navarro and Tara-Jane Herbert who devised last year’s stunning performances and is truly honoured to have been invited back to Sussex Festival for a second year.
Megan Navarro ARAD, RAD, RTS, AISTD
Megan graduated from Canada’s National Ballet School’s ‘Teacher Training Program’ with Honours, becoming fully qualified to teach all forms of dance to all ages. She also completed a three-year Professional Training Program at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre again graduating with Honours. Megan returned home to Barbados and established PHS in 2017 offering uniquely diverse dance training. "Our performers for Sussex Festival come from a range of disciplines - Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Ariel, African, Jazz - and they have come together working organically and discovering new ways of working to their strengths while responding beautifully to the choreography and to each other. This is the epitome of my vision for PHS".
Tara-Jane Herbert
Tara’s original training was in London with the great William Louther from the Martha Graham Co. followed by 3 years at the prestigious Ballet Rambert School. Having enjoyed a career as a dancer and actor/performer, Tara found that she also possessed both teaching and choreographic skills. She has been fortunate enough to have taught at The Place (LCDS), The Circus Space and Millennium Dance schools in London as well as leading dance programmes in UK FE colleges. Tara’s choreographic process is continually evolving encompassing her dancer’s individuality and her own history as a professional dancer who also worked in the community dance sector. It is within this latter sector that Tara’s work led her to Europe, Brazil, Ethiopia and Indonesia.
The PowerHouse Studios Dance Company will be performing
"Re-Write" ~ Music: Bach 'G Minor' (arranged by Luo Ni, Piano Tiles 2) & "Remember Me" ~ Music: 'Cold' by Jorge Méndez
International Exchange: Barbados
As a dynamic new extension to our international exchange programme, Sussex Festival warmly welcomes dancer and academic Neri Torres from the University of West Indies (UWI - Cave Hill Campus), Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination in Barbados who is travelling over with students Christian-Paul, Courtney, and Saleem who will be showcasing their dance skills in a non-competitive performance.
Christian-Paul "GiiibbZ Of Fizix" Gibson is currently pursuing a BA in Fine Arts at UWI where he is exploring different mediums including modern dance, breakdance and film. He competed in the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) in 2014, winning a clutch of awards including most promising newcomer in Dance and bronze award in the film category.
Saleem Small is currently a 1st year dance student. He completed associate degrees at Barbados Community College in Economics & Information Technology as well in Dance. He dances with Livy & Betty Alleyne Ballroom Dance Centre and the Barbados Dance Project, and in 2017 he reached the semi-finals at NIFCA. Saleem aspires to build and shape his choreographic craft to create his own personal unique style by utilising different genres and blending them to create one.
Courtney Walker’s dance career started aged nine and she has trained extensively in ballet, modern, and jazz. As a Dance major student UWI she was introduced to Afro- Cuban modern technique by her tutor Neri Torres. Although she was technically trained in European-based techniques, this was a great opportunity for her to explore genres out of her comfort zone. Courtney has also taught dance classes on the University’s Summer Arts Programme and she continues to grow as a dancer and a choreographer.
Tara-Jane Herbert (Choreographer)
Tara trained at both Ballet Rambert (alumni) and with the great William Louther (Martha Graham Company). She has performed extensively in the UK and has taught and choreographed nationally and internationally. Tara has headed dance departments within colleges and taught or lectured at Universities. Choreographic work includes The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (a cast of 250 young people) and The Unicorn Children’s Theatre. Tara is the former Artistic Director for Dance United, working with street children in Ethiopia, female prisoners and young people at risk. Most recently in Barbados, through her own company, ‘Ascending Stars’, Tara runs performing arts classes and camps, and works with a variety of organisations including; Barbados Community College, University of the West Indies, Barbados Dance Project, Operation Triple Threat and National Cultural Foundation Dance Ensemble/Performing Arts Ensemble. Tara successfully completed a Masters in Professional Practice In Dance Technique Pedagogy, and her final research artefact has just been presented as part of the Middlesex University Dance Symposium.
Neri Torres (Chaperone)
Choreographer, Performer, Lecturer, Researcher
Born in Havana, Cuba, Neri is a choreographer, researcher, performer and lecturer. She holds an MFA in dance with a minor in film from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also studied at Instituto Superior de Artes and Escuela Nacional de Instructores de Artes in, Havana, Cuba. Her training has been equally devoted to modern dance, ballet and Afro-Cuban dance. Neri is the founder and artistic director of IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company, based in Miami and recognized as the foremost company in its genre, which repertoire combines traditional and contemporary fusions dance works. The company founded in 1996 has performed worldwide in tours, commercials and films. Torres has toured extensively. Her choreographic work includes musicals movies and commercials. She choreographed and was a principal dancer for two world tours for singer Gloria Estefan. Neri also choreographed Estefan’s Grammy awarded video No me Dejes de Querer. Other works included coaching for singer/actor Carlos Ponce; choreography for singer/actress Joselyn Sanchez and for Hollywood actor Andy Garcia’s produced movies For Love or Country (HBO) and The Lost City.