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Kerry Nicholls Dance: January 2013 newsletter

A VERY HAPPY 2013 TO YOU ALL!

It’s been a few months since we launched KND back in September 2012 – and you’re probably wondering what we’ve been up to! Well, we certainly hit the ground running with a range of activities including:
  • leading regular classes at the Royal Ballet School, Michael Clark and Richard Alston Companies
  • delivering Mock Auditions for BRIT School and LCDS graduating students
  • support and mentoring for The Place’s 2013 ReFresh programme for young choreographers (why not check out their performance on 16 February? http://www.theplace.org.uk/16279/whats-on/refresh-2013.html)
  • creating The Falling Room for The Place’s own youth dance company SHIFT, which they performed in December.
But the biggest project was our Experience KND professional development initiative, a week-long programme of masterclasses, choreographic labs, music-dance workshops and personal mentoring held at Sadler’s Wells in December. It was a massive amount of work to organise – and I can honestly say that it turned out to be one of the best experiences of my professional life. Heartfelt thanks to all of you who supported or participated in the programme – that cold December week was certainly packed with talent, energy and attitude! The full classes of strong dancers and musicians meant we could work at top gear within a rigorous environment – a true professional standard – and all participants entered with a spirit of challenge, curiosity and generosity. We also had some fascinating cross-art artists come to observe the week, including programmers, composers, musicians, a photographer, a film-maker and even a storyboard artist who had worked on the Harry Potter and James Bond movies! It was a fertile creative space. At the end of the week, music collaborator David Walters and I were so exhausted we could barely speak! – but we were also fantastically inspired. A genuine thank you to all for being a part of it and for recharging my artistic heartbeat.
 
Your feedback was also really important. We had an overwhelmingly positive response, with only three negative comments about the cost and the lack of changing facilities. So just to address these: first, we would all like things to be cheaper, however the Ashton Studio is one of the best studios in the capital and we decided to run classes well under capacity for a qualitative experience which was reflected in the course fee – and do be aware that Experience KND activity is a rare special event rather than a regular course. Regarding the lack of changing facilities – that’s not what we wanted either, but Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures had taken over the building! We did apologise in advance, and will address the issue again in the future. But please be assured that your feedback matters, and we thank you for honesty as well as encouragement.
 
“It's just about the only training in the UK relevant to the job market out there that will help prepare you for working in the real world....and oh so joyful. You get us doing more than we thought we could.”
Course Participant

“Technically challenging, musically enhancing and artistically inspiring. KND offers a brilliant concept for professional training and development that is unique in London and urgently needed on a regular basis.”
Course Participant
 
“The energy in the class was fantastic and Kerry's positivity and passion for us to learn is invaluable.”
Course Participant
 
Images and filmic extracts from the week will shortly be available to view on the KND website. If you missed us this time round, be sure to check the Experience KND page on the website [www.kerrynicholls.com] for news on future open courses.


WHAT NEXT?

KND have numerous exciting and varied projects scheduled for this coming year: mentoring young choreographers in the Hothouse Project for Scottish Ballet and Project Y (Scottish Youth Dance), and also for Young Creatives, Youth Dance England's programme for aspiring choreographers. We’re also directing the first Choreographic Initiative for English National Ballet company dancers, and we’ll be travelling to the United States (several times), Italy and Brazil – with plenty of other international projects in the pipeline.
 
Kerry has also been invited to be the Artistic Director for the Street Stories: Dance Collaborations artistic development initiative by East London Dance and the Royal Opera House, for emerging artists of all disciplines who are interested in dance, and will explore different approaches to collaboration. At the end of the first phase of the programme, an artistic team will be selected for a major new commission to lead and create the next Street Stories project – a large youth project to be performed at the Linbury Theatre (Royal Opera House) and Stratford Circus.
So if you are interested in dance, aged 18-25, and want to expand your artistic collaborations take a look at the IdeasTap website [www.ideastap.com] or contact Emma Kerr at East London Dance for further information [emma.kerr@eastlondondance.org]
 
If you have any questions about past, current or future projects, please do contact us at info@kerrynicholls.com
 
And with that, we’ll sign off until the next update from KND. In the meantime, we wish you all an inspirational year! 

Copyright © 2013 Kerry Nicholls Dance, All rights reserved.
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