Clowndance for Clowns
Summer Intensive 2024
Summer Intensive 2024
In early 2024, I received an email from a clown. She said that she was looking to develop her dance practice and had come across my website, and she asked if I ran training sessions. I said that I didn’t have anything planned, but that I’d love to talk. Talk we did, and several months later, this short intensive course was the outcome. Hatty Ashton, this is all your fault- thank you.
This iteration of the Clowndance syllabus was pitched at clowns, actors and comedians with an interest in developing their dance and physical performance skills. Hatty and I joked about honking out of windows to alert the clowns, and that might have been what actually happened, because messages of interest soon came in from all over the country.
Our starting line-up was twelve humans (including me) with a variety of performance backgrounds, heritages, and gender expressions, and with ages ranging from twenties to fifties. We were also a neurodiverse group, perhaps unsurprisingly, given our vocations. One player was unfortunately only available for day one, but the others stuck it out till the end. As these are practicing artists, I have credited people’s contributions and performances wherever I know who did or said what. Where I don’t, I have used they/them pronouns and referred to everyone as ‘participants’.
Huge thanks go, in alphabetical order, to Hatty Ashton, Samantha Bosworth, Laura Edwards, Emma Fernell, Ishi Khan, Carla Keen, Shamim Miah, Carolyn Murray, Nuala Ryan, Scarlet Sumagr and Leysa Tyminska. It was an utter ridiculous joy to share the space with you all.
This iteration of the Clowndance syllabus was pitched at clowns, actors and comedians with an interest in developing their dance and physical performance skills. Hatty and I joked about honking out of windows to alert the clowns, and that might have been what actually happened, because messages of interest soon came in from all over the country.
Our starting line-up was twelve humans (including me) with a variety of performance backgrounds, heritages, and gender expressions, and with ages ranging from twenties to fifties. We were also a neurodiverse group, perhaps unsurprisingly, given our vocations. One player was unfortunately only available for day one, but the others stuck it out till the end. As these are practicing artists, I have credited people’s contributions and performances wherever I know who did or said what. Where I don’t, I have used they/them pronouns and referred to everyone as ‘participants’.
Huge thanks go, in alphabetical order, to Hatty Ashton, Samantha Bosworth, Laura Edwards, Emma Fernell, Ishi Khan, Carla Keen, Shamim Miah, Carolyn Murray, Nuala Ryan, Scarlet Sumagr and Leysa Tyminska. It was an utter ridiculous joy to share the space with you all.
Clowndance class photo, repurposing a dance studio mirror to get us all (but one) in.
The intensive ran for three, six-hour days, and was hosted in one of DMU’s beautiful professional standard dance studios in the PACE Building. I think the setting was important here; moving in a dedicated dance space with mirrors, barres and a sprung floor can either feel intimidating or validating. I hope very much that it was the latter in this case.
This was officially the final piece of studio research within the boundaries of my PhD, and we were joined by my two wise and supportive examiners, ‘Funmi Adewole and Jessica Hartley, who each observed a session. Huge thanks to both them for their time, questions and thoughts and their warm, encouraging presence in the room.
Click on a day to read...
This was officially the final piece of studio research within the boundaries of my PhD, and we were joined by my two wise and supportive examiners, ‘Funmi Adewole and Jessica Hartley, who each observed a session. Huge thanks to both them for their time, questions and thoughts and their warm, encouraging presence in the room.
Click on a day to read...
|
|
|
Ethical Research Statement
This practical research was carried out with ethical approval from the Doctoral College at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Participants have all given explicit consent for their identities, names, words, and images in the form of photography and video to be acknowledged in the research write-up and on this research website.
This practical research was carried out with ethical approval from the Doctoral College at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Participants have all given explicit consent for their identities, names, words, and images in the form of photography and video to be acknowledged in the research write-up and on this research website.