Today, Greenwich Dance announces that its Adult Performance Company will present a new creation, Dream Space, to local communities in warm banks at The Exchange, Erith on 23 March, Shrewsbury House, Shooters Hill on 28 March and Middle Park Community Centre on 29 March.
Greenwich Dance’s Adult Performance Company brings people from across South East London together to share creative ideas and movement material. Led by Artistic Director Maria da Luz Ghoumrassi, the Company meets weekly at Greenwich Dance’s new base at The Nest, Thamesmead, where they work collaboratively to co-create new work for performance opportunities across Greenwich and Bexley.
For its Spring term, participants chose to create a new work specifically designed to be performed at Warm Banks in the local area. It is estimated that some 13,000 warm banks have opened their doors across the UK as people continue to navigate soaring energy prices and unprecedented inflation.
These performances are the culmination of an eight-week creation and rehearsal period that sees members learn new dance techniques, improvise with movement ideas, and create and share ideas. Dream Space draws on the participants’ own experiences of the cost-of-living crisis and how they have been seeking stillness and calm in turbulent times. Audience members will be encouraged to take part in a warmup before the performance and will have the chance to ask the dancers questions after.
Of the performances in Warm Banks, Chief Executive Officer and Creative Director Melanie Precious said: “For 30 years Greenwich Dance has provided local people and artists the opportunity the unleash their creativity through dance activity. Warm banks are a vital resource for those most affected by the cost-of-living crisis and I am proud that through these performances we will be able to share our work and offer people the chance to enjoy and be inspired by dance.”
The group’s artistic director Maria de luz Ghoumrassi added: “I’m so amazed by how far the performance company has come. From forming just over a year ago to co-devising their own work for performing in warm banks, they have shown just how creative the people of Greenwich can be. It has been a collective decision to fill these vital spaces with performances and I hope they will bring joy to the people using them.”
Greenwich Dance exists to serve its community through a range of activity including a popular programme of dance classes, events and festival programmes, artist and sector support, a podcast called Talking Moves, and ArtsUnboxed – a ground-breaking approach to sharing works in an environmentally conscious and financially sustainable way.
Its move to The Nest in Thamesmead has seen Greenwich Dance become part of a vibrant creative community, cementing its commitment to delivering activity across all 23 wards that make up the Royal Borough of Greenwich and deepen engagement with the wider South East London region.
