Adrienne Hart on why dance is part of her DNA
News Story
Our latest Alumni Story is with Adrienne Hart, a London Contemporary School alum who graduated in 2002.
Adrienne is artistic director of Neon Dance, an internationally renowned company that embraces a diverse and digital population.
In our Q&A with Adrienne, we find out more about what's she's been up to since graduating and her hopes for the dance industry.
The Place: When did you study at LCDS and why did you decide to study here?
Adrienne: I trained on the BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance degree programme from 1999-2002. I won a scholarship to train at LCDS when I was 17. Looking back it seems really young to move to London and study full time but I had been dancing from a young age at Swindon Dance and felt ready to immerse myself in the degree programme as well as what London had to offer. I remember looking around The Place before auditioning and seeing professional dancers and choreographers as well as students all together in the buzzing cafe. It felt exciting and challenging and where I wanted to be.
The Place: Tell us a little bit about what happened since? What are the key moments in your career?
Adrienne: I developed a real interest in making my own work whilst studying at LCDS and whilst I initially started out performing for other choreographers, I formed my own company within 2 years of graduating in order to realise my ambition to create work in collaboration with others from outside my own discipline; to create work that collectively we could not create alone. Key moments in my career to date have to be the times when I've been invited to work abroad, from choreographing political theatre in Kosovo to presenting my work in stunning locations and theatres including the Radialsystem V in Berlin and as part of Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale in rural Japan.
The Place: What did you take away from your creative education? What lessons did you carry with you through your career?
Adrienne: I think my time at LCDS cultivated in me a curious nature and a rigour to my practice that means I'm constantly challenging myself, don't give up easily and also always learning!
The Place: How has dance shaped your life? What were the challenges you had to overcome to keep dancing or to remain in the dance industry?
Adrienne: Having trained in one form of dance or another since I can remember, it really feels like a part of my DNA. It's a challenging career path however I think one of the big shifts in how I run Neon Dance came when I recognised there are some things that I can do well but also certain aspects of running a company that I needed help with in order to develop and grow. We've recently become a charity and I have an amazing board of trustees supporting what I do however it took almost 16 years to get here!
The Place: What are your hopes for the dance community?
Adrienne: 2020 was a defining year for the arts and cultural sectors as well as the world at large, my hope now in 2022 is that we don't go back to business as usual, but learn from some of the amazing work created by artists when regular touring of theatres and mass indoor gatherings of people wasn't possible. I believe taking dance to different spaces and places, encouraging different voices to feed into the creation of new work, results in a richer experience for all. We can do this by building new partnerships outside of the arts and culture sectors and outside of the UK; articulate our value and what we do better and to different people.
