In 2019, I co-founded and led the creation of ReRooted Dance Collective, the first UK collective of classical Indian dance artists (kathak, bharatanatyam and odissi) who work collaboratively to develop individual choreographic voices. I recruited these artists and set up this initiative in challenge to the hierarchical ways of working incumbent in our culture, that prevent young people from taking confident steps to find their own artistic voices, and instead build a culture of peer-support and empowerment.
ReRooted Dance Collective has received 2 rounds of £15k funding from Arts Council of England, secured widespread support and venues (incl. The Bhavan, Siobhan Davies Dance, Bloomsbury Festival, Blue Elephant Theatre, Pagrav Dance Studios, Resolution Festival) to produce 5 sharings of new dance work and 3 open community workshops.
The methodology that grounds the work of the collective is creative movement workshops. In facilitating these workshops, I:
build an environment of trust between peers, whereby people are able to let themselves create new ideas while being watched by others
use movement tools to enable participants to explore ideas in a non-verbal and physical way
introduce new movement ideas gently, through thoughtful lesson plans that build up the workshop step-by-step
integrate a specific framework for feedback, where peers have the vocabulary to comment on what they see from each other in a respectful and supportive manner
encourage participants to be courageous in their movement explorations and not be afraid of ‘making mistakes’ or feeling silly
facilitate with the overriding aim to help participants reach a place of authenticity and curiosity