UKCITE 2019
REPORT FROM UKCITE 2019
UKCITE (United Kingdom Contact Improvisation Teachers Exchange) this year took place at the University of Chester from 27-29 September. It was organised by Malaika & Richard Sarco-Thomas, and about 25 teachers from different regions participated. The exchange was supported by the University of Chester's Department of Performing Arts at Creative Campus Kingsway, where the group had access to three beautiful dance studios surrounded by green trees, and a gorgeous oak floor.
Friday afternoon began with a "Dance Your Questions," session led by Malaika and by evening more people arrived for the opening circle and jam. Mary Prestidge and Richard collected all the interests and prospective proposals and grouped them by category so it was all visible when everyone arrived.
Alistair Edmunds announced that the next European Contact Improvisation Teachers Exchange (ECITE) will take place in the UK in summer 2020, with an organising team including Caroline Waters, Tamara Ashley, Ben Julian, Moya, and Anne-Gaëlle Thiriot. This choice is in part a political statement about the Brexit situation. Dates, details and venue will be announced once they are finalized. Alistair said the team may reach out for more help closer to the date.
Labs were led by Rachel Dean (paradoxes in teaching forms or open forms: patterns/pathways vs. improvisational discovery), Richard Sarco-Thomas and Robert Anderson (CI fundamentals: tone), Niel Ryan and Melanie Neale (teaching CI with diverse groups), and Ben Julian and Zoe Solomons (CI and scores for ecological action / activism / extinction rebellion).
There were many discussions about new teachers, professional standards and safety, as well as practice sessions and lots of time for open jamming and learning by doing in the dance. Colleen Bartley shared about the new CI UK website and Monthly Newsletter and continuing to improve communication between practitioners.
Mentoring was set up to support people's practice and there was more work on developing a comprehensive listing of teachers and provision of CI in each region. Each representative (Laura Doehler, Andrew Solway, Tamara Ashley, Lucy May Constantini, Anne-Gaëlle Thiriot, Agnieszka Grenckowska, Mary Prestidge, Paula Hampson, Bryn Webb, and Kayla Dougan Bowtell ) will contact people in that region to ask about their current practice and to help create a resource for us to learn and exchange with each other.
It was decided that it would be useful to have a UK teachers' meeting separate to ECITE and details of this will also be announced once dates are confirmed.
Thanks to the organisers and to all those who attended, and stay tuned for news about the next gathering.
Email. ukcite@gmail.com Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/UKCITE/
UKCITE (United Kingdom Contact Improvisation Teachers Exchange) this year took place at the University of Chester from 27-29 September. It was organised by Malaika & Richard Sarco-Thomas, and about 25 teachers from different regions participated. The exchange was supported by the University of Chester's Department of Performing Arts at Creative Campus Kingsway, where the group had access to three beautiful dance studios surrounded by green trees, and a gorgeous oak floor.
Friday afternoon began with a "Dance Your Questions," session led by Malaika and by evening more people arrived for the opening circle and jam. Mary Prestidge and Richard collected all the interests and prospective proposals and grouped them by category so it was all visible when everyone arrived.
Alistair Edmunds announced that the next European Contact Improvisation Teachers Exchange (ECITE) will take place in the UK in summer 2020, with an organising team including Caroline Waters, Tamara Ashley, Ben Julian, Moya, and Anne-Gaëlle Thiriot. This choice is in part a political statement about the Brexit situation. Dates, details and venue will be announced once they are finalized. Alistair said the team may reach out for more help closer to the date.
Labs were led by Rachel Dean (paradoxes in teaching forms or open forms: patterns/pathways vs. improvisational discovery), Richard Sarco-Thomas and Robert Anderson (CI fundamentals: tone), Niel Ryan and Melanie Neale (teaching CI with diverse groups), and Ben Julian and Zoe Solomons (CI and scores for ecological action / activism / extinction rebellion).
There were many discussions about new teachers, professional standards and safety, as well as practice sessions and lots of time for open jamming and learning by doing in the dance. Colleen Bartley shared about the new CI UK website and Monthly Newsletter and continuing to improve communication between practitioners.
Mentoring was set up to support people's practice and there was more work on developing a comprehensive listing of teachers and provision of CI in each region. Each representative (Laura Doehler, Andrew Solway, Tamara Ashley, Lucy May Constantini, Anne-Gaëlle Thiriot, Agnieszka Grenckowska, Mary Prestidge, Paula Hampson, Bryn Webb, and Kayla Dougan Bowtell ) will contact people in that region to ask about their current practice and to help create a resource for us to learn and exchange with each other.
It was decided that it would be useful to have a UK teachers' meeting separate to ECITE and details of this will also be announced once dates are confirmed.
Thanks to the organisers and to all those who attended, and stay tuned for news about the next gathering.
Email. ukcite@gmail.com Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/UKCITE/