The role and value of movement on the land

The Culture of the Countryside collaborated with DanceEast on a two day project focusing upon the role and value of movement on the land. The starting point of looking at Justin Partyka’s photographs, ‘The East Anglians’, was developed by Claire Findlay (Community Dancer) by introducing the history and skills involved in step dancing locally. Next, she introduced specially adapted elements of the ‘Soil Dances’ to ‘Inside out’ and we discussed how and why the group spend time in the countryside. Comments from Inside Out included questioning the use of brown field land, the personal affects of walking in the countryside and commonly held perceptions on the aesthetics of areas of natural beauty. On the second day, Claire led gentle dance and movements around the People’s Community Gardens for the group, which focused on relating to the immediate environment and feelings of contentment and confidence. Debbie Burgess, a samba musician played and shared her musical knowledge and small hand held percussion instruments with the group to enrich the experience. 

DanceEast’s vision is to create a national dance house in the East of England that is reflective of its surroundings. Whilst there are large conurbations in the region, it is predominantly a rural region. DanceEast’s work is particularly concentrated in East Anglia, with its seacoast and flat undulating farmlands, areas that are thinly populated and with challenges of transport and access.

www.danceeast.co.uk