How does dance have a positive impact on the community?

Maria Ryan, Creative Learning Producer at The Place tells us about a recent project with Clean Break which got a group of women dancing and creating together...

This summer I decided to get back in the studio, after 15 years of being sat behind a desk planning and managing activities and projects. Covid had halted plans to work with an artist on this project with women at Clean Break, therefore I was determined to make it happen.

The artist we planned to work with was no longer available to work with us so I decide to deliver the project myself. Bearing in mind the last time I had practically taken part in a project I was using CDs in a CD player!

Clean Break is a brilliant organisation that does impactful work with women, mainly through theatre, who are in the criminal justice system, or are at risk of becoming involved in it.

I know the organisation well and wanted to create a safe, creative environment for the women taking part. The Place had provided artists to teach dance classes at Clean Break over many years. It seemed to make sense that I was involved in a practical sense because I had a very clear idea about how the project would run and what the outcome could be. I knew I wanted to see large images of the women displayed as part of an exhibition, alongside a QR code that linked to the films we created.

We started with 11 women on our register and had 5 that came to almost all the sessions on a regular basis. Each session felt complete in terms of achievement. We did the same short warm up exercises and explored movement through several different creative tasks. The aim was that the women that dropped in to sessions, felt equally included and that they had gained something positive from their time with us.

It was very special to see the women’s confidence building week on week. Their openness to the process was particularly heart-warming and I could sense the excitement growing each week, when we talked about what their films might look like. We used journals to reflect on each session and we also created our own poetry based on the poem Phenomenal Woman by Dr Maya Angelou, which were incredibly moving words. These would later be used in their films and displayed as part of the exhibition.

We worked for 8 weeks, for 2 hours on a Wednesday afternoon and it was the most rewarding and enriching time I’ve spent in a very LONG time!

This group of women were fierce, vulnerable, funny, honest, humble, knowledgeable and courageous and they reminded me of why this work is so important and necessary for me, and The Place to be part of. We supported each other in that space, and we created a warm, celebratory and open environment in which we made work that we were all extremely proud of.

I also had excellent support from a volunteer at Clean Break, Sewit Tekle-Polson, and a colleague at The Place, Brittany Farrell. We just all got stuck in; joining in with the moving and making. One of the sessions was facilitated by Temitope Ajose-Cutting. I think this was a pivotal moment when I really saw the women very much as artists and makers. It was in at this time that I saw a transition from women who seemed less comfortable about how to move their bodies in space, to really embracing their physicality, taking the space confidently and enjoying the experience.

Our filmmaker, Roswitha Chesher, knew exactly the tone and feeling of the work we wanted to create. Her visits to the space helped us to understand how she would create our films and realise our vision. She reassured us all about the process we’d go through to make the films.

As a facilitator, it was amazing to feel such support around me. We also felt ‘held’ by the Clean Break support staff and reception team. Always friendly and ready to help if we needed it. That support is really key, as you’re then able to focus on making the work.

My main takeaways from the project was how proud I became of the women; the rate of growth, the confidence built and the beautiful movement the women created. Their humility in working as a ‘company’ and to give and take constructive feedback. The investment they made to continually improve and develop their ideas. The professionalism with which they held themselves, particularly during the filming process.

Moments like this are hard to put into words, but it was like watching a garden blossom. The grace, the colours, the textures, the delicacy and the strength…. I felt like we tried to lay the best foundations we could for them to grow… and they did just that!

My favourite moment was watching the women, watching their own films, which they didn’t see until the Private Viewing we had to launch the exhibition at The Place. A very special moment that I will not forget. There were tears and there were smiles… and pride… lots of it.

We plan to run this project again next year, and with all that I have learnt this time, I am so excited to work with more women at Clean Break and see what phenomena they create next time.