Growing Wings
How on the bumpy road of post-graduation, an early career encounter with dance for people living with Parkinson’s led to discovery of people and places, values and commitment
This article was first published by People Dancing in Animated magazine in June 2024.
In 2020, my close friend Ellie and I finished our MA degrees in Advanced Dance Performance - from the compact comfort of our living room. With seemingly no opportunities, no auditions, no theatres open, we felt a kind of dizzy terror at the prospect of finding dance work. What would we do with all those years of intense physical and artistic training? Would our careers be over before they even began?
We refused to let that happen. Spurred on by wild optimism, and our favourite motto “Don’t ask, don’t get”, we set up our own dance company called Pelican Theatre (a whimsical combination of our names), and simply started making things.
We filmed a dance meditation in a freezing cold stream, created solos inspired by David Attenborough documentaries, and an interactive zoom performance exploring our own manic loneliness. We applied to everything we could. We came up with way more ideas than we had time to follow through with. We kept ourselves busy.
Gradually, as the world peeked out from behind the closed door of Lockdown, we started getting opportunities in the real world (as in, outside of our living room). Shadowing outdoor dance classes, assisting with kids’ summer activities, family workshops at a wedding, and even the glamourous role of ‘Zoom Technician’, all helped us build our experience of facilitating dance, and brought us the pleasant realisation that we were actually quite good at it. Working together, we combined our balance of skills, personality, and creative energy that seemed to bring out the best in people.
When we saw an opportunity to choreograph for the newly formed ‘Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s Performance Collective’, naturally, we went for it. This turned out to be the opportunity of a lifetime, and has shaped the direction of our work ever since.
“People need to have access to activity, they need access to creativity. And it’s only when you start to establish something does it grow.” – Rick Telford, member of the Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s NE Performance Collective.
We were lucky enough to be commissioned by People Dancing, as part of the Hadrian’s Wall Festival 1900, to create a piece which would be performed on the incredible landscaped roof of The Sill National Landscape Discover Centre. Having proposed a theme of ‘Strength and Fragility’, inspired by the idea of the wall’s strength at having survived so long, and fragility within the landscape, we anticipated that this would resonate with the dancers who were all living with or affected by Parkinson’s or MS. We could not have anticipated though, the impact that this project had on the group and on us.
I’ve already reflected on the Hadrian’s Wall project in a blog post which you can read here: People Dancing :: Strength <i>and</i> fragility :: Foundation for Community Dance
Alice Elizabeth Photography
Looking back now, 18 months further down the line, I can really see how much this project shifted our approach as dance makers. Until that point, we truly had been taking whatever was given and saying ‘Yes!’ to everything, regardless of whether it was something we valued or not. At the start of a creative career, that is essential, but by working on the Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s programme I think we both realized how important it is to hold yourself to your values, and to take work which really feeds your ambition, whatever that may be. For us, that ambition had become clear: we wanted to create meaningful opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to engage with dance.
Following the immense high of this performance, the culmination of 3 months of gorgeous creativity and building relationships, we began planning for how the sessions could continue. We secured further performance opportunities in the Autumn at Dance City’s INSPIRE platform for Over 55s, and for World Parkinson’s Day in April 2023. We introduced new artists to the group and developed a whole new work, ‘Synergy’. The dancers seemed to be flourishing, coming to sessions brimming with ideas, diving confidently into improvisations and tasks without hesitation or questions, and expressing themselves more freely than ever. Each performance brought more confidence and more joy, for performers, choreographers, and audiences alike.
However, as is often the case with community projects, funding was slowly running out, and we reached a natural pause following the World Parkinson’s Day performance. A hurdle that we have often faced as freelance, community-focussed artists, is finding sustainability and security in our projects. The nature of funding applications often means that money comes in fits and starts, and as a small team it is incredibly difficult to continue writing applications and fundraising whilst simultaneously delivering a project, alongside all the other work we do – choreographic projects, other facilitation work, individual performing contracts.
We were determined not to let it end there. With all we had learned from facilitating these sessions and the impact they had on participants’ physical and mental wellbeing, we knew it needed to become a reliable and consistent offering, so we set about getting everything in place to take over running the programme ourselves. People Dancing, and particularly our local area coordinator Lissie Connor, were incredibly helpful, supporting our applications and making introductions. We were also able to reflect on what else we wanted to offer, what other communities we felt we could support. We outlined a Community Programme which includes not only the Parkinson’s work but also Movement Meditation for adults’ mental health, and inclusive Creative Movement sessions to encourage intergenerational, playful exploration. Everything is driven by the learning from Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s, and that first dive into accessible co-creation.
“Freedom. Harmony. Expression.” - Words chosen by a participant to describe the Live Well and Dance sessions.
Finally, by January 2024 we had secured funds to get the sessions up and running again, kicking off with a return to Dance City’s INSPIRE platform. This time an interactive, open ‘warm-up’ session welcomed a variety of audience members and dancers aged 55+ from across the region, to join in with the Live Well and Dance with Parkinson’s joy. Facilitated by the wonderful Lynn Campbell, who had the whole room swaying, shaking, and stamping with smiles all around, the session was a much-needed reminder of why we do what we do – and made the endless hours of admin all worth it.
We are now in the fantastic position of being funded long-term by The National Lottery’s Awards for All grant scheme, to run the class consistently for 2 years. The sense of relief and absolute joy at knowing that we can continue this work, with security, for longer than a few weeks is immeasurable. Each week we meet new dancers; some seeking something new, some wanting to reignite a childhood love of dance, others brought along by friends or family. The sessions continue to hold that special spark of creativity and openness that we felt right from the start, but now that spark is feeding into a warming, steady fire, which will keep burning over the coming months.
Alice Elizabeth Photography
The group are currently working with artist Olivia Paddison, exploring the River Tyne; its industries, architecture, and ecology. I visited a session recently and saw shoals of fishes, rippling waves, bubbling currents. Hands connect to form struts and arches, arms reaching to span vast distances. In every face I see absolute conviction, focus, belief – and that indescribable glow that comes from being a part of something bigger than yourself.
The biggest learning we have taken from this work, beyond the practical facilitation skills, the project management, and creative development, is the importance of sustainability in community dance practice. It’s not enough to have pop-up projects, short term stints at involving people in the arts. Artists need to be supported to continue their work, to let it grow, to engage communities meaningfully and take ownership of projects that make real change in peoples’ lives.
A dance film will be made in July 2024 and shared via Pelican Theatre’s platforms, you can keep up to date via Instagram (@pelicantheatre)
Pelican Theatre is an inspiration! Many congratulations on the longer term funding, Pagan and Ellie. The work you do is so important and I’m glad it’s been recognised as such.
I very much enjoyed the writing on "Growing Wings" and "People Dancing." Pagan gives a vivid description of both her and Ellie's creative journey and the creative journey of the participants of their projects. I think the work that Pagan and Ellie are doing is truly brilliant and inspirational and I hope their company continues to grow and develop their ideas, as the results will be spectacular. Dave S.