2018-2019
Women of Colour Commission
Deadline: This commission is now closed to applications.

The BENCH and 2Faced Dance Company in partnership with Dance Hub Birmingham, Strike A Light, Pavilion Dance South West, Corn Exchange Newbury, Kala Sangam, One Dance UK and the Elmley Foundation are pleased to announce The BENCH Commission 2018-2019.

Women of Colour
The BENCH commission is open to self-identifying women of colour to create a new outdoor work in Spring 2019 on up to 3 dancers from 2Faced Dance Company; we recognise that there is a lack of opportunity and platforms for women of colour to make outdoor work and with this commission we (and our partners) wish to make a positive difference. With this commission we want to present a distinctive piece of work that will preview in 2019 and tour nationally and internationally in 2020 as part of 2Faced Dance Company’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

We are looking for women who are courageous in their physical language, can articulate their idea on paper/in the studio and understand the benefits/challenges of creating work outdoors. We believe that, as an internationally touring dance company, we are in the best position to know what is useful and needed for a commission; the selected artist will receive

·       Commission fee of £4500 (this covers your fee and for any collaborators you want to work with)

·       Access Budget of up to £2000 to ensure the work is accessible

·       Production Budget of up to £1000 to cover costume, props etc.

·       Fund of up to £1000 to be allocated for your travel and accommodation

·       Fund of £1000 to be allocated to an artist nominated mentor

·       Fund of up to £800 (£160 p/w x 5 weeks) to be allocated towards any child/dependent care you may need during the creation process

·       A fund of up to £500 to be allocated for the development of your knowledge around Outdoor Arts

 ·       A work-in-progress opportunity with Strike A Light Festival on 27th March to present the work and a preview performance (arranged by 2Faced Dance Company) in Summer 2019

·       8 days of dedicated fund raising / bid writing support for your next project from Kala Sangam

·       One-to-one sessions with Artistic Director Tamsin Fitzgerald.

·       1 day of Marketing & Communications support from PDSW

·       Production support and technical assistance from 2Faced Dance Company

  Requirements

·       A professional record in choreographing work on more than one person (this can be in indoor and/or outdoor)

·       A commitment to work with a mentor and further your professional development

·       An advocate for The BENCH Programme and women in dance

·       A well-researched choreographic idea and the ability to articulate it

·       The legal right to work in the UK

 The proposed work:

·       Be between 20 - 30 minutes.

·       Created & completed within 4 weeks in Hereford (w/b 25/2, 11/3, 18/3 & 25/3 2019), with an additional 5th week to revisit in early 2020.

·       Suitable for outdoor touring and include simple technical requirements

·       Demonstrates quality and has access embedded in it

·       Able to be performed a minimum of twice a day

The Process
Applications will be shortlisted and interviewed by a panel made up of Tamsin Fitzgerald and Ian Abbott from 2Faced Dance Company, Louise Katerega (Associate Artist, People Dancing) and Pawlet Brookes FRSA (CEO and Artistic Director, Serendipity). We will shortlist up to four candidates who will be asked to attend a one-day workshop in Hereford on either 27th or 28th November 2018. Here you will lead a half day workshop with the company as well as attend an interview where you will present your idea to the panel. All shortlisted artists will receive £150 to attend the day.

How to Apply 
The deadline to apply for this commission has now passed. Join our mailing list to stay up to date with future developments and opportunities from The BENCH.

TAMSIN FITZGERALD

Tamsin trained at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and founded 2Faced Dance Company in 1999. As Artistic Director of 2Faced Dance, Tamsin has been creating and touring works nationally and internationally to much critical acclaim, including State of Matter, Still Breathing, 7.0, In the Dust, Out of His Skin, Lucid Grounds, From Above, What The Moon Saw, Two Old Men, KAPOW and MOON.  Commissions for Tamsin include: Soap The Show (world tour) for Chameleon Berlin, MTV Awards, Watch This Space with Hofesch Scheter for IDFB, Wings of Desire with Circa for IDFB,  GLOW Festival, The Rock for MOKO Dance, CUBES for The Birmingham Weekender 2015, Evaporated People for EDGE 2018 and Everything We Left Unsaid for NSCD 2018.

Tamsin is a Clore Fellow, Rayne Choreographic Fellow and was awarded the Jerwood Choreographic Research Prize in 2013.  Tamsin has choreographed and taught at The Place, NSCD, The Centre for Advanced Training in Birmingham as well as leading on major educational initiatives internationally in Norway, Bulgaria, India and Brazil.

IAN ABBOTT

Alongside his role as Executive Director of 2Faced Dance, Ian works as a Producer with Sadhana Dance (currently touring their Bharata Natyam & Mental Health focused work Unkindest Cut to science festivals across the UK), as Talks Curator for Seeta Patel on her 18/19 tour of Not Today’s Yesterday and Executive Producer for Neon Dance (who have recently premiered their latest work at Echigo Tsumari Art Triennial Japan). Prior to this he has held senior leadership and consultancy roles for Scottish Dance Theatre, Citymoves Dance Agency, Dance Hub Birmingham and Pavilion Dance South West (PDSW).

As a trustee he has only served on the board of female lead organisations including Association of Dance for the African Diaspora (ADAD), The Artifact Dance Company and Creative Dundee. During his time at PDSW he was responsible for the conception and curation of three industry leading summits with a focus on South Asian, Integrated & Hip Hop dance in partnership with Asian Arts Agency, People Dancing and East London Dance. As a writer he has been invited to be writer in residence for a range of festivals/companies including Attakkalari India Biennial (India), Rise (Scotland), Mamoru Iriguchi, Marc Brew Company, Uchenna Dance, Casson & Friends and H2Dance.

LOUISE KATEREGA

Louise Katerega identifies as a woman of mixed Ugandan and English heritage and has been a versatile contributor to the UK dance scene for over two decades.

She is especially acknowledged for her national and international development work in dance by, for and with disabled people. Based in Leicester, she has enjoyed a broad portfolio career as a performer, teacher, choreographer and - now parenthood is in progress - increasingly, a consultant, strategic thinker, dramaturg and creative producer.

In 2006 her company of cross-generational, culturally diverse, disabled and non-disabled professional dancers, Foot In Hand, made history at The Place Prize semi-finals with one of the first works featuring dancers with impairments. In 2012, she co-choreographed the inclusive dance aspect of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Sailing Events in Weymouth and was commissioned to create new works for the Olympic and Paralympic torch celebrations in Leicester.

From 2018-22, she will be one of 6 Associate Artists of People Dancing, the foundation for community dance. This partnership has just concluded its first phase, ‘Voice & Presence’, activities designed to acknowledge amplify and celebrate the contribution of women of the African Diaspora to participatory dance.

Louise trained at London Contemporary Dance School, Coventry University (Performing Arts) holds a first-class degree in Film and Literature from the University of Warwick and trained as a life coach.  She is board adviser to Turned On Its Head Early Years Dance Theatre and a trustee of ASSITEJ UK, one branch of a larger international network around arts for young audiences.

PAWLET BROOKES, FRSA

Pawlet is an accomplished and experienced senior manager and producer who has been at the heart of the development of Black arts centres, from Marketing Manager at the Nia Centre (Manchester) in the 90s to the Artistic Director of Peepul Centre (Leicester) and Chief Executive of Rich Mix (London). She has been the Arts Council assessor for a number of Black arts capital projects, such as Bernie Grant Arts Centre (London) and National Centre for Carnival Arts (Luton). Pawlet is the Founder and Artistic Director of Serendipity, a diversity led organisation that initiated and produces LDIF (Let’s Dance International Frontiers), an annual festival in Leicester since 2011, and also delivers each year a Black History Month programme for Leicester, as well as a number of other projects.

She has edited and published “Serious About Dance – Let’s Talk” in 2005, “Hidden Movement: Contemporary Voices of Black British Dance” in 2013, “Creolizing Dance in a Global Age” in 2015, “Blurring Boundaries: Urban Street meets Contemporary Dance” in 2016, “Black Women in Dance: Stepping Out of the Barriers” and “Lost Legends – 30 Years, 30 Voices” in 2017 and “Identity and Choreographic Practice” in 2018.

Her consultancy work includes leadership training, partnership building, artistic assessment, business planning, fund-raising (private and public sectors and charitable trusts), marketing, audience development and cultural diversity, events management and international programming. She was a finalist for the 2009 National Regeneration and Renewals Award for Cultural Leadership and has been a speaker at a number of international conferences in Sweden, Surinam, USA and Spain.