Talking Moves Series 1 Episode 5: Running a Youth Company in Lockdown

Talking Moves | 04 December 2020

In this episode we talk to Ingrid Molinos and Tory East about Running a Youth Company in Lockdown. They tell us about the work their companies, Young Amici and Hampshire Youth Dance respectively, would ordinarily do and how this has changed over the course of 2020. We discuss how young people reacted to their cancelled performances and auditions and the ways in which they have adapted, successfully or unsuccessfully, to online dancing….and we delve into the ways they have been able not just to train, but to live up to their intention of being ‘performance companies’ whilst being restricted to a digital output.

Ingrid talks about the ways in which she has tried to rebuild an inclusive environment for her young people and their families online and her summer school which had sold out. Tory reflects on the barrier Zoom put between them. They both reflect upon the race to upskill digitally in order to support their young dancers, the opportunity presented by One Dance UK through their U.Dance digital festival and the ways in which both they and their young people have come to appreciate just how much they can all achieve.

Together they discuss mental health, the vocational journey, leadership and whether these young people will ever want to make another film again!

Who's Who

Black and white photo of Tory East's head

Tory East

Tory trained at London Contemporary Dance School, graduating with a 1st Class BA Honours degree. During her training Tory performed in works by Kerry Nicholls, Henri Oguiku, Richard Alston, Jiri Kylian and a reworking of Jeremy James ‘My Big Pants’. In 2006 she toured nationally and internationally with the Postgraduate Company EDge performing in work by Trisha Brown, Siobhan Davies and Sue MacLennan. Tory was a dancer with Retina Dance Company from 2006 -2009, under the artistic direction of Filip Van Huffel. She has also worked with Victoria Fox, Zoielogic Dance Theatre and Jam Jar Dance Theatre. Tory has previously worked for Greenwich Dance delivering many outreach projects and classes. Currently, she is the Rehearsal Director for ‘Scatter’ the Adult performance company of The Place, as well as a regular guest teacher for numerous institutions including, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Rambert School Summer Intensives as well as Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, London Studio Centre, The University of Winchester and is an Associate Lecturer at the University of Chichester.

Tory specialises in working with aspiring young dancers. She has taught on the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) at DanceEast, She is the Artistic Director of Hampshire Youth Dance Company, which is part of The Point, Eastleigh. Her work with HYDC has been selected on numerous occasions to represent the South West Region at U.Dance hosted by One Dance Uk. Holding a PGCE, she also works as a Dance Specialist working with several schools and colleges across Hampshire. Tory is also an approved GCSE set phrase trainer. In 2015 Tory became an Animateur for Rambert Dance Company. Most recently she became a fully qualified Yoga Instructor and is interested in using this to support dancers training.

instagram.com/hydc.thepoint
facebook.com/HampshireYouthDanceCompany
facebook.com/thepointeastleigh
Black and white photo of Ingrid Molinos' head and shoulders

Ingrid Molinos

Ingrid is a disabled dance artist, choreographer and educator based in London. A graduate in Dance Studies from Middlesex University, she joined Amici in 2009 and is also Young Amici’s artistic director. She has appeared in numerous company productions both in and outside the UK and has led Young Amici to various performances and commissions.

Ingrid is a dance lecturer at Morley College and a practitioner of the Feldenkrais method of somatic education. She also acts as a mentor to university students and researchers, helping their practice become more inclusive.

Young Amici was founded in 2016 from the need to provide Amici’s inclusive methods to the younger community. Led by Amici members, Young Amici shares the same ethos as its parent company, providing a safe space where individual creativity can develop.

Young Amici runs a weekly class for dancers 11-25 years old of all abilities, bringing them an opportunity to learn contemporary dance technique and improvisation and meet other young dancers to create new work. It also provides personal mentorship for university students and those conducting research.

Since its start, under its artistic director Ingrid Molinos, Young Amici has grown from strength to strength, performing at various venues in London and regularly being commissioned to create new choreographic work. In December 2019 the company was invited to Lithuania to devise and deliver their first international artist lab with sponsorship from Kaunas 2022.

instagram.com/amici_dtc
facebook.com/amicidancetheatre

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