Week 1 - A time not to dance...
So we are coming to the end of our first week as a "proper" dance company. And by proper I mean we are being paid to do our job which is just incredible after 3 years of hard graft balancing what we do as a un funded dance company, with the work we have to do to eat.
This has meant quite a few changes for us as a company. Mostly about our own perception of what we are doing and who we are. Over the past few years the company has been through lots of drastic changes going from 4 University friends who though it would be a fun to set us a dance company to a company making work to tour the UK funded by the Arts Council of England. For me the biggest change to come to terms with is being the Artistic Director. Its a term that I have felt quite uncomfortable with since adopting it. My original title of General Manager was a much more comfy fit, I was in charge of the office stuff and I knew how to do that. To call myself an Artistic Director means that I'm ultimately in charge of it all, which I am and have been for a while now so I don't really know why it makes me feel so uncomfortable calling myself it. Anyway the last few weeks I feel like I'm settling into my new title and understanding much more about what this responsibility means. Traveling to British Dance Addition with Plymouth Dance gave me a new and refreshed outlook on everything but mostly about finding a clarity in what we are doing, be that selling a tour or a primary school a workshop. So while the dancers have all been having a lovely time in the studio with Adam Benjamin I have been working hard in the office to strengthen our infrastructure, finish booking our tour and getting ready for the summer term. I am happy to announce that we have been accepted as a member of Sported and have been given a incredible mentor called Martin Briggs who will be helping us to develop a three year business plan and to work on ensuring the companies long term financial sustainability. So yes I am very sad that I'm not dancing but I also have to accept that to lead the company sometimes that means I am going to have to spend more time in the office and less time in the studio.
I am so excited about the next 12 months as the company is growing everyday employing more office based staff and artists and I am thrilled to be on this journey with some of the most wonderful, inspiring and generous artists that I know.













