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Summarise and analyse the work of your preferred three artists who gave you a taster workshop for Unit 6. Who does the artist work with and in what context? What are their goals in the work? What artistic processes do they use to reach those goals? What are the connections (similarities/differences) in these artists or communities? What potential impact will working with them have on you?

Luke and Molly are my top choice. Their aim is to provide a performance space for elders, and I believe that throughout the process, I can build great relationships with the people who participate in the community. Luke and Molly will also teach us how to organize a dance class and ways to teach older people. Classes will include lots of collaboration and communication, as they believe communication is the key to creating art and making it look good. I love how the class is introduced as a relaxing environment for people to be creative.

Lucinda is my second choice. It's inspiring to see a community focused on people with certain injuries, using dance as a way to contribute to society. Exercises in her class are planned as gentle and relaxing, mainly to activate the body and mind, and to rehabilitate until people with injuries can recover from them.

Laura is my third option. I like how she chooses the garden as the community space. As I enjoy culture, being in nature is something I can't experience at The Place. Since the participants are volunteers from the garden, it means dance isn't something they are used to doing. Observing the way Laura teaches could be helpful in learning how to teach a dance class for beginners

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What experiences have you had of community or participatory dance before coming to LCDS?

I did a project that was a collaboration with Borrowland Ballet, where I got to work and perform with elderly individuals on stage

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https://arestlessart.com/2017/03/09/co-creation/

Summarise this article by answering the following questions:

What does the author think the "self-interest" of cultural organisations is when they choose to engage in co-creation?

Phrased differently: Why might cultural organisations want to do this for their OWN interests?

The author believes cultural organizations engage in co-creation to deepen audience connections, enhance relevance, expand reach, foster innovation, and stay relevant, aligning with their strategic goals and missions.

Matarasso writes: ’One reason for making a distinction between participatory and community art is that they have different concepts of power-sharing.’  Summarise what these differences of power-sharing are.

In participatory art, both artists and participants share power equally, deciding together on creative choices. However, in community art, artists usually prioritize the wishes of the specific community they're working with, giving community members more say in how the art is made.

In the final paragraph, Matarasso argues that co-creation might, indeed should, lead to a degree of shared ownership over the artistic product that takes it in directions which the artist leading the project thinks weakens the art. Why might the artist think this is a desirable outcome? What other goals might the artist be considering? Who defines what is “quality” in an art work in a co-creative process?

1. The artist might think it's good for others to have a part in the artwork because it makes it more inclusive and engaging. Even if it changes the art in ways the artist didn't plan, it can make the artwork richer and more meaningful to different people.

2. They may want to incorporate different perspectives, voices, and experiences to create a more diverse and representative artwork.

3. In a co-creative process, quality in artwork is defined collectively by all participants, including artists, community members, and stakeholders.

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Take time after each taster session to write some initial reflections on the artists, their community groups and the aims of their project. What is interesting to you about the artist and their approach? Where on the co-creation scale do you think this project lies(answer when the project's done)

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Luca works with immigrant women with the aim of using dance to alleviate the stress of immigrating to a new country. We start with a group circle, introducing ourselves by performing a movement. Following Luca's warm-up exercises, I found that my body was more awake, especially since we had an early morning class. I believe Luca's class can help people make new friends, as we did partner work with two people in a group.

This is a quite specific group. It would be cool to see these immigrant women in person and hear their stories about the reasons for coming to the UK.

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Laura works with volunteers in a garden. I love her idea of working with nature. The garden becomes an experimental space for students and volunteers to explore. One exercise we did is closing our eyes and walking from Point A to Point B, thinking about our morning routine from waking up to arriving at school in as much detail as possible.

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Lucinda works with people who have brain injuries or strokes that affect their lives, using body contact and movement creation to aid in their gradual recovery. The class taught me that touch can be approached in different ways, and we were divided into groups to explore our own approach to touch."

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Lucinda's community is inspired by African dance. Her class begins with appreciating the floor by placing our hands from our head, chest, and all the way down to the floor. I've learned many African steps; it's kind of like body percussion, but instead of using hands, we use our feet to make sounds

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Slide is a company working with professional and non-professional dancers. I love the exploration part when we play with plastic bags in groups of two and get to see other groups sharing their creations at the end of class. Gemma gives me new ideas on how we can use everyday supplies to create a performance.

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Sophie focuses on working with over 60s in the community group. She provides a very active workshop, in which half of her class is dedicated to body percussion. It makes me realize that even people over 60 are not as vulnerable as we thought; in fact, they're as energetic as young people, which surprised me.

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Molly Wright & Luke Birch/ Damn Fine Dance

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Molly Wright & Luke Birch/ Damn Fine Dance

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Lucinda and Luke's group works with people aged between 60 to 80. Their exercises are simple, yet I find a lot of joy in them. Especially in the last section, when I was collaborating with an old man, I discovered that elderly people are not as vulnerable as I thought. They are actually open-minded and willing to collaborate with young people.

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ummarise and reflect on the content of the below reading:

It basically says that having a community is not only about focusing on the project but also about the process of creating the project. As artists, we should aim to improve the community continually. Understanding the demands of the community is essential, and it may take a long time to integrate into the group because your goals might differ from theirs.

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Please complete the two Diane Aman's Readings. Make notes and critically reflect on how these two sections will help you in planning and preparing for your community commissions.

Project Co-ordination

Risk Assessment

As a project coordinator, it's important to have a project checklist. Valuing our participants is a top priority, which includes providing equal opportunities and ensuring their health and safety. In the case study, the lead artist provided a proposal to the organization. The paragraph clearly outlines the aims, duration of the project, number of participants, and other essential details. These elements are key questions from the project checklist. Reading the proposal written by Amanda gives me a clear idea of how to organize my proposals in the future. In addition, conducting a risk assessment will help ensure that all participants can participate in the session safely and comfortably

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What approaches to co-creating dance with communities have have you experienced in your preparatory workshop?  How do the approaches introduced by your lead artist invite others to co-create with you?

What has helped you to feel prepared for starting work on your commission? Do you enter the commission with any questions or concerns?

In the preparatory workshop, I would say the whole session was conducted in a co-creative way. From the warm-up led by participants one by one to planning a workshop with two other people at the end of the class, the session was highly interactive. The class started with everyone forming a circle, sharing our opinions about what excited us in the upcoming community sessions. We also discussed any worries we had and the outcomes we wanted to achieve. My worry was that I might not be good at socializing, and my desired outcome was to look forward to talking with the older age group in the community. It was enlightening to hear how my classmates and I answered these questions differently. By answering these questions and receiving feedback from the lead artist, I gained confidence that I'll enjoy collaborating with the group.

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What discourses (texts, ideas, theories, words, concepts) did your lead artist introduce this week? Summarise the discourse(s) surrounding the practice which your lead artist brought in.

Both of my lead artists had a great understanding of co-creating with the group. Their concepts about communication with people are important to me because creating artwork is based on communication

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The spectrum from affirmative to tranformative work

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The spectrum from affirmative to tranformative work

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Summarise each of these discourses briefly.

Four categories of discourses:
Affirmative 肯定: Affirmative discourse in gallery education focuses on effectively communicating the museum's. The target group is people who are expert in this area.

Reproductive 繁殖: Reproductive discourse aims to bring gallery education to the public, reaching both those who are interested in art and those who are not.

Deconstructive 結構分解: Deconstructive discourse in gallery education aims to critically examine the museum, art, and the educational and canonizing processes with the

public.

Transformative 變革性的: Gallery education transforms museums into agents of societal change, connecting institutions with their local milieu and fostering collaborative improvement.

No project sits any one of the discourses,  indeed elements of all four approaches can be found in some projects. What elements can you identify in your project which sit in one or more of these discourses?

The project I was involved in was innovative in a way that is creative and accessible to everyone. The story was simple but interesting, so the audience doesn't need to have a deep knowledge of dance to enjoy the performance.

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How did your lead artist end the encounter相遇?

What rituals儀式 did they use?

Did you feel the project "ended well" for both you and the other dancers?

Was there anything missing from this ending?

How is the ending planned?

The last day with the community members was the day we showcased at The Place. We didn't end well as the showcase timing went by really fast. We needed to leave the space once we finished the performance. However, I know the lead artist and the community members went to a bar together after the performance. For them, it was a nice ending. For the LCDS students, most of us stayed at the school to help the showcase run smoothly. To be honest, there was no time to create a nice moment to end well with the community groups."

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We had tea time before class and during break time. I think it makes everyone more relaxed and talkative. Luke and Molly brought some snacks to enjoy with the tea, which was lovely and thoughtful.

In the last two sessions, we mainly focused on refining our piece. Watching our dance video feels fulfilling, as we were able to create a 17-minute piece in only a short amount of time.