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Since 2008, three coordinated projects have interlinked expertise and resources in Surrey's dance division (including Surrey's National Resource Centre for Dance, NRCD, est. 1982) with the institution's technological expertise.
The aim was to enhance access, visibility and experimentation with the dance heritage by digital means. The project has generated an online repository for dance resources, available for the education sector. It also led to economic benefit for the non-academic project partner, digital design company Bullet Creative, who were able to build both their technical skillset and their knowledge base, in order to then continue to expand their own dance-related business portfolio. The digital archiving expertise is also disseminated to future online archive projects.
Professor Christopher Bannerman conceived this large-scale project as an extension of the ResCen mission to connect academia more intimately with the arts profession. The project promotes international communication and understanding between the UK, China and Taiwan linking Middlesex University with the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA), China National Academy for Arts Research (CNAAR) and Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA), amongst others. Through collaborative dance-making between choreographers and dancers from these countries, artists exchange perspectives and artistic and cultural paradigms, and present work to international audiences. In China and Taiwan, this develops platforms for experimenting with European artistic methods, and in the UK, it raises the profile of East Asian dance, art and culture, where these endeavours have been under-represented. Through online forums, discussions, seminars and conferences, the project opens dialogue about encounters with, and understandings of, the other. The project achieves reach and significance in conversation with policy-makers and producers in three sectors beyond HE: arts professional practice, cultural policy, and civil society. At its first stage the project was named Danscross, evolving into Artscross as further partners were involved. The project has taken the form of a series of intensive workshop/performance periods including discussion groups, lectures and symposia, linked by ongoing communication and exchange. Danscross 2009 and ArtsCross 2012 took place in Beijing, and ArtsCross 2011 and 2013 in Taipei and London respectively. See an overview published in Arts Professional (Bannerman 2013): http://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/268/article/bringing-it-all-back-home.
Through community arts practice based on the principles of mindfulness, choreographer Rosemary Lee works with inclusive, therapeutic and inter-generational groups, as well as artists and dancers, using unique elements: close attention through touch and mindful listening. Her work has evolved over two decades of practice, research and collaborations, and shows impact and reach through bringing transformation to community participants, artists, health professionals and professional arts practice. She moves away from the role of choreographer as director with a set agenda, and empowers participants to embody issues that are important to them, setting a model for community life. The performance works Common Dance (2009) and Square Dances (2011) have led to a DVD and symposium that develop a practice-as-research methodology for dance practitioners and researchers, and to workshops for artists and practitioners around the world.
This case study details the impact of South Asian dance research on its practitioners and organisations. Immediate beneficiaries include artists engaging in, and organisations supporting, South Asian dance. Through them, we have given prominence to dance genres outside the established canon and fostered broader understanding of dance in a culturally diverse society. By articulating the relationship between artistic practice and the social, political, and financial mechanisms of late twentieth- and early twenty-first century Britain, our research has influenced creative practice, teaching and dance writing, as well as contributing to the practicalities of artists' business ventures and grant applications.
This case study addresses new methods for identifying talent in young musicians and dancers, and also concerns issues regarding their wellbeing during training, both inside and outside the academy. This research has achieved impact in two areas, firstly by raising awareness among training institutions and performance companies of the importance of scientific assessment and screening, and secondly through impacts on policy-making, educational and otherwise, beyond the submitting HEI. This impact has been achieved through research dissemination that includes, but goes beyond peer-reviewed journal articles. This has involved broadcast media, digital media, symposia, workshops and numerous conference presentations, the popular press and resource papers for teachers.
The impact is on dancers and audiences in North West England. Choreographic practice in live dance performance was found through a collaborative research programme to build particular relationships with audiences. Where audience feedback influences the choreographic process the subsequent effect on how audiences respond to performances is marked. Strong links between audiences and dancers can enhance creativity in performers, and enrich and expand the imaginations and sensibilities of audiences. On the basis of this kind of empathetic relationship, the Manchester Dance Consortium has worked to enhance locally the quality of dance as a cultural asset and to intensify the involvement and receptivity of dance audiences.
Dance research has frequently suffered from the divide between historical investigation and performance making. This case study focuses on an innovative approach to a practice-based process of making dance histories, or choreological historiography. This approach brings together the narratives that are central to research in Music, Dance, Drama and Performing Arts (MDDPA) at the University of Bedfordshire. Since 2010, this approach has informed choreographic work or performance-lectures across Europe. Events such as the Royal Ballet School's Focus on Style highlight the benefits a practice-based historical investigation in dance brings to both dance scholars and dance practitioners.
Although Adam Benjamin's research has greatly influenced contemporary dance in the UK and elsewhere through his development and advocacy of inclusive practice, this case study focuses on his impact on contemporary dance and disability culture in Ethiopia. By introducing integrated practice to Adugna Community Dance Company in Addis Ababa (in which able-bodied and disabled dancers perform together), and continuing to foster its development through his choreographic and mentoring work with its current Artistic Directors, he has helped to transform the lives of individual disabled performers as well as strongly contributing to the socially-driven nature, values and aesthetics of contemporary Ethiopian dance.
Professor Whatley, in close collaboration with leading British choreographer Siobhan Davies, has developed the world's first digital dance archive: Siobhan Davies RePlay. The archive was rated outstanding by the AHRC, which funded the initial research leading to its launch. Work on the archive continues, as does its economic, IPR practice and policy, cultural and educational impact, improving access to dance, cultural heritage, new technologies and business models within the digital economy, education and creative industries. The archive contains 5,000+ items relating to 40 choreographed works and eight projects, offering free access to a collection of previously unavailable material. Beneficiaries include those within the dance, performance and archiving communities such as students, researchers, artist practitioners, teachers and arts professionals. In addition, it has benefited commercial partners and developed legal and research policy worldwide.
Professor Joseph Hyde's research explores the role of music and sound in a broader performing/digital arts context, through installation and performance works using interactive technologies. Impact is generated through active participation by audience members as a way to embody the research. This work often engages a broader audience than purely music/sound work, reaching the wider arts, creative industries, education and science/engineering communities. Two recent projects illustrate this. me and my shadow was commissioned by MADE, a European Commission-funded initiative exploring mobility for digital arts. It ran simultaneously in London, Paris, Brussels and Istanbul, and formed the basis for a European Commission White Paper. danceroom Spectroscopy was a collaborative arts/science crossover project, which attracted attention in both arts and science communities. Both projects attracted substantial funding (c. €400,000 and £165,000 respectively), reached large audiences (5000 and 20,000 physical attendees) and had wide press coverage.