Phoenix Dance was formed in 1981, making this November their 30th Birthday. For Daniel Corfield – BBC Performing Arts Fund Producer Fellow at the Phoenix – this was a great opportunity to kick start his placement. With a moment to reflect, Daniel tells us how he got involved with the celebrations.



“If there's one thing I've learnt while working at Phoenix Dance Theatre thus far it's that they love a good reason to celebrate, and what better reason than the company turning 30!



My role in the celebration was to arrange the parts of the event that accompanied the performance; basically making sure that everyone had a drink, a nice meal and some music to dance to! I also managed the invitation list, helped track down some old friends of the company, and liaised with the building staff to make sure everything ran smoothly on the night.

The most challenging task I was involved in was arranging the music for the performance. Many pieces that were performed hadn't been worked on in quite some time so most of the music was only available on cassette tape, not the easiest format to work with in this digital age! With some help from the performers and a lot of time with some editing software, the music was soon ready to go and in a slightly more convenient format.



Seeing some of the former members of the company was a great experience – a rare insight into what makes a company like Phoenix special. The whispers outside the studio of "is so-and-so here? I haven't seen him in 20 years!" and the excitement of reuniting with old friends showed a passion for the company that never leaves you. I also got the chance to sneak in and watch some of the founder members teach a class with the current company and other past members, something I never thought I'd get the chance to see. It was an opportunity for the former members to show that they definitely haven't lost it!



After the preparations were almost over it was time for the party to begin. The staff looked great dressed up in our finest (if I do say so myself) and I felt incredibly lucky to be working with such a hard working bunch. Everyone played their part and made sure the event went well and without any last-minute hiccups.



The performance was a brilliant selection of some of the key pieces from Phoenix's 30-year history performed by past dancers, the current company, and Phoenix's youth academy. Opening the night was a performance by the founding members of the company, a piece that proved that 30 years on they can still have an audience both entranced and in fits of laughter, eventually bringing the entire audience to a standing ovation. The performance featured extracts from some of the earliest pieces of Phoenix's repertoire including – a personal favourite of mine – The Forming Of The Phoenix, which gave a light-hearted look at how the company came together. Phoenix's Artistic Director Sharon Watson took to the stage during the evening to perform a rendition of Covering Ground, a performance that featured captivatingly intricate movements and a charming back and forth dialogue with current company member Genevieve Watson. Closing the night was Melt, a piece from the current Phoenix repertoire, choreographed by Sharon. With a soundtrack by local favourites Wild Beasts, Melt shows the current company at their best, featuring spectacular aerial work that perfectly enhances the performance of the dancers.



After the performance came the party! Music, food and a chance to catch up with some old friends… oh, and a brief rendition of Happy Birthday while Sharon and David Hamilton (Phoenix's original Artistic Director and founder member) cut the cake! For me it was time to breathe a sigh a relief, have a glass of champagne and enjoy the evening.



This was easily one of the most rewarding projects I have worked on and having the opportunity to work on an event like this after such a short period of time with the company was a great way to start my Fellowship with Phoenix.”

To mark the 75th anniversary of the BBC's first regular broadcast from Alexandra Palace, we at the BBC Performing Arts Fund joined BBC History on a trip to the National Media Museum in Bradford to take part in their celebrations as part of the October half-term. We couldn’t think of a better opportunity to run our TV Comedy Flash Choir again and 25 members of the public who came along to sing seemed to agree!

Photographer: Simon Dewhurst

BBC Radio Leeds, who were broadcasting from the National Media Museum that morning, followed the sound of familiar TV theme tunes to see what we were up to. We warmed up our vocal chords by testing the presenter via a Guess the Intro game where we hummed the opening bars to some of the tunes featured in our choral medley. It seems that the opening bars to One Foot in the Grave are tricky to identify when hummed!



Back in the hands of the professionals (Musical Director Mark Warman and accompanist Mark Aspinall), we were once again very impressed by how quickly the choral arrangement was picked up by the group. A short hour and a half later after seeing the music for the first time, the group were ready to perform to the unsuspecting public in the Museum foyer.



We would be hard pushed to sum up the day in a way that gave justice to the fun that was had by all. Luckily the whole process was filmed by Rachel Sawyer and Alex Ruddis from the Bradford Media School, University of Bradford so you can see for yourselves.

Thanks again to everyone that came along on the day and of course to Mark and Mark. And if you have watched the video above then we apologise as you may have these tunes stuck in your head for the rest of the day!

The Byre Theatre in St Andrews, Fife is one of the recently announced winners of our Community Dance scheme. Their grant will allow them to offer a series of creative residencies led by professional choreographers to transform the group into a performance ensemble and to create three new pieces of work.



Lauren Bianchi – Education Officer at the Byre Theatre – tells us how the first week-long residency went.



“The aim of this first residency was to develop and raise the profile of dance throughout the region at youth dance level. Providing young dancers with the opportunity to work within a professional environment with a team of experienced artists proved to be a progressive and challenging creative experience.



We worked in partnership with Errol White Company during the week, a company that seeks to employ practitioners who are skilled in dance and performance, encouraging each of the performers to explore their own creative voices within the confines of the work whilst also providing opportunities for them to challenge their own artistic and creative practice.

My approach to working with young dancers is much the same as working with professional artists. Working in this way creates an opportunity for young emerging dancers to experience how physically engaging and exciting dance is to do and ultimately perform to an audience.



Throughout the residency week Davina Givan (Creative Director at Errol White Company), myself and interns Rebecca Cameron and Joanne Pirrie set out to give these young dancers a real taste of what it's like to be professional dancers. We presented them with the reality of what it takes physically and emotionally to achieve the level needed for a career in dance so that they are more able to make informed choices regarding their future. Having two interns who are at the beginning of their dance careers working with us also gave an extra dimension to this experience. Having finished their training, this internship is the next step for them to achieving a position within a professional company.



Dance is a tough profession and you need to be dedicated, hard working and focused to succeed, talent is just a small part of this equation. The group during the week proved to have all these attributes. They were responsible for their own bodies whilst taking care of each other.



With this dedication in mind we were inspired to create a piece of work during the week that was very demanding. The piece was created as a collaboration with the young dancers – they were asked to learn material, remember it and create their own material. The piece was performed on the last day showing the result of all the hard work.



The feedback from the audience was very supportive with most commenting on how the young dancers looked and presented the work like a company, and how much was achieved in just one week.



“My girls went to the dance workshop because they have studied dance for many years… They have been keen to further develop their contemporary dance skills and this intensive workshop seemed to provide an excellent opportunity to work with a well-known dancer and his team, and have a chance to perform at the end of the week. It was really enjoyable for both of them.”

Parent of two of the participants.



I’m confident that the young dancers who have taken part in this residency will be proud of themselves and the work we created.”

Haringey Shed - one of the winners of our Young People’s Musical Theatre scheme - worked with Red Octopus on their project to help unlock the creative process of making a show, particularly for members with learning and/or physical disabilities.

Stephanie Tyrrell, Company Director at Red Octopus, tells us how incorporating Sensory Theatre in the project had a positive impact.

“Red Octopus works with children and young people – particularly those with additional needs, such as behavioural, physical or emotional – to help them engage in performance projects. Through the nature of this work, Red Octopus became interested in Sensory Theatre as a means to unlock the creative process and to lead to greater engagement from such groups.

Sensory Theatre is not a new concept – other groups such as Oily Cart and Bamboozle Theatre continue to do fantastic sensory projects – but its facilitation is still being defined.



This style of theatre is a way of capturing imaginations and focusing more on the atmosphere of a group and expressing emotions through lights, sound, textures, vibrations and smells. Imagine a storytelling workshop on a hot air balloon ride and suddenly it begins to rain, you feel it; the grass begins to glisten in the dew, you smell it. This form of storytelling allows children and young people of all abilities to belong to a creative process, to respond to it, to feel it and to be allowed a medium of responding with a deeper understanding.

Of course this type of work can only happen with great collaboration between groups. That's why Red Octopus was invited to work alongside Haringey Shed in their creative summer project where they worked towards the performance of Macbeth. This was a brilliant project, which combined their Youth and Children's Theatre in 3 weeks of devising, rehearsing and then performing at The Bernie Grants Arts Centre in Tottenham, London. The project continued throughout the riots of 2011, providing an excellent creative outlet and safe space for the children and young people of Tottenham.

As well as having a fantastic pool of creative volunteers and practitioners, the project also had its own sensory room run by the Red Octopus team. The Sensory Room was a space for the participants to come to when needed and be allowed time to refocus in ways that suited them. For some members of the project it allowed an area where, in their own time, they could rehearse what was happening in the main theatre, go over any lines, movements or practice their songs. Also, as much as we could, we would input sensory elements into the main production so those who didn't feel comfortable delivering lines could be involved in other ways. These elements were also included to ensure a wider audience demographic and make the process and product more accessible.



I feel it is key that this type of work can continue and levels of engagement can be defined through Sensory Theatre. Too often productions created for children and young people with additional needs are 'dumbed down' to what is thought to be pitched at their level. The aim of Sensory Theatre is to provide high quality arts projects that are fully accessible, inclusive and engaging, whatever the participant’s ability or experience.



Sensory Theatre still needs to be defined into a well nurtured arts practice but in doing so, so many young people can engage in a creative development that is suited to them.”

We are ecstatic to announce that 13 dance organisations across the UK have been awarded a grant as part of our Dance Fellowships scheme!

These grants will allow them to host a bespoke placement opportunity for a Fellow who is either an emerging dancer, choreographer or producer. Each Fellow will work under the guidance of experienced mentors to develop their skills, showcase their work and experience the reality of working in the professional dance environment.

Photograph: Jeremy Freedman

The response from the Fellows themselves has been amazing, and we’re all really looking forward to seeing what they create over the next year. So without further ado, here are our 13 BBC Performing Arts Fund Dance Fellows 2011:





African Cultural Exchange Ltd (ACE Dance and Music) – Midlands

Fellow: Iona Waite [Dancer]

Iona will work with ACE dance and music during their latest production ICE.



Assault Events – Northern Ireland

Fellow: Claire Mullan [Dancer]

Assault Events will offer an opportunity for Claire to be involved in a series of projects, gaining experience in the areas a freelance dance artist may work and the skills required to do so.



Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD) – London

Fellow: Yassmin Foster [Producer]

Yassmin will be involved with the Re:Generations 2012 project; a major international gathering of artists, academics and students focused on shaping the future of dance of the African Diaspora.



Ballet Cymru– Wales

Fellow: Aimee Williamson [Dancer]

Aimee will be participating in all the daily activities that a full Ballet Cymru Company member is involved in.



balletLORENT – North East

Fellow: John Kendall [Dancer]

John will take on roles in three distinct works, developing his skills with guidance from mentor Caroline Reece, BalletLORENT's longest serving dancer.



The Bernie Grant Centre – London

Fellow: Mimmo Miccolis [Choreographer]

Bernie Grant will host Mimmo with Tavaziva Dance, the Centre's resident dance Company.



Independent Dance – London

Fellow: Janine Harrington [Choreographer]

Janine will receive individual mentorship and one-to-one advice from Gill Clarke MBE (dance artist, co-director Independent Dance) and choreographic mentorship from experienced professional choreographer Henrietta Hale.



Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (LPAC) – East

Fellow: Phelix Cullen [Producer]

Under the guidance and mentorship of Artistic Director Craig Morrow and alongside support from senior dance lecturer Dr Jane Carr of LSPA, Phelix will develop his skills as an entrepreneur, programmer and a creative producer.



Phoenix Dance Theatre – North East

Fellow: Daniel Corfield [Producer]

Over the course of this ten month placement Phoenix Dance Theatre aims to inspire and train Daniel through practical, on the job experience.



Plymouth Dance CIC – South West

Fellow: Chloe Hughes [Producer]

Chloe will assist on a Citywide dance project, be the Project Coordinator for a professional development project, and devise, plan and fundraise for a 2nd new project with a view to being the Project Manager.



Swindon Dance – South West

Fellow: James Wilton [Choreographer]

James will curate and co-programme performances such as Cross Currents, create a new work for the Youth Dance Academy or Swindon Youth dance Company, mentor a youth dancer, teach classes to local/regional dance professionals, and work with resident filmmaker Pete Anderson.



Upswing – London

Fellow: Vanessa Abreu [Choreographer]

Vanessa will shadow Upswing’s Artistic Director, working with her to understand the process of creating work that incorporates aerial dance, acrobatics and dance.



Warwick Arts Centre – Midlands

Fellow: Luke Sheppard [Choreographer]

Luke will become part of Warwick Arts Centre’s Boys Dancing project which enables boys and young men to collaborate with artists to create new dance works in eight local authorities across the West Midlands.





To see the full press release please visit the BBC Media Centre website and download a comprehensive list of the winning organisations and Fellows here.