January 2016 Newsletter

Hello to all KND followers,

Happy New Year to you and I hope that you are looking ahead to 2016 with renewed spirit and motivation.

It was a circus of a 2015 in the KND world. We were amazed by the creativity and open heartedness unleashed in the studios that we shared.

 

What were KND up to in the latter part of 2015?

I adore creating and participating in teams and these next projects further cemented this. Building connections, purpose and a unified understanding have been special ingredients that have come together in these endeavours. 

• We launched and completed the full KND Performance Mentoring Programme 2015  which represented KND's response to the current UK Dance Training debate and pro-actively supports professional dancers. We selected sixteen keen artists who articulated a desire to interact with the totality of the programme and it began with a two-week studio intensive held at English National Ballet. Heartfelt gratitude goes to the high-calibre faculty who invested so much of their practice, insight and themselves. I was thrilled by how the artists embraced the challenging curriculum (with fantastic team spirit and generous support of each other) and grasped the accumulation of the whole programme, and grew as a result. I have now completed the three-month mentoring strand with these talented artists and I am proud of all of their achievements. I very much look forward to hearing more of their creative stories in 2016, albeit whilst cheering from the wings!
  Here is a film capturing the experience and journey of the PMP 2015, brilliantly directed by Caroline Bridges.
   
• ‘Told and Collapsed’ was born from a choreographic commission at 
  London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) which grew beyond my expectations due to the hard work invested by my group of exceptional third year dancers.



 
• I had the privilege of creating my first piece of work for National Youth Dance Wales where I continue to be resident Artistic Director for 2016 and 2017.  The fabulous and inspiring creative team, alongside exemplary welfare support, enabled me to concentrate on the job at hand and allowed these young dancers to fly artistically in this new commission. Together we created ‘aM’. Get a look behind the scenes.
  
  
  “It's a tense and urgent scene. The dancers are like the players in some experiment with space, sound, form and light and they take on sculptural dimensions as they perform tightly crafted duets.”  Josephine Leask, Londondance.com
  
  
  I am delighted by the achievements of this young company and can't wait to continue working with these talented individuals throughout 2016 and 2017.

Onwards to 2016!

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I am thrilled to have been accepted onto the Guildhall School of Music and Drama coaching programme. I am the first non-Guildhall practitioner to participate and hope to gain European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) accreditation for my research. I am lucky enough to be studying alongside a great group of artists and educators, with facilitator Jane Cook masterfully steering our thinking. I feel sure that this sustained analysis will continue to seep into much of my delivery throughout 2016 and beyond.

I am currently preparing for my imminent annual New York residency in my capacity as guest lecturer at The Juilliard School. On my return to the UK, I will be leading two separate educational and mentoring projects for the Scottish Ballet. The Anserinae Choreographic Scheme supports six Scottish-based choreographers, and their Youth Exchange Programme sees me create with both a selected Scottish cohort and a group from the School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA). 

After an inspirational week teaching in Marseille during 2015, I will be returning to Ballet National de Marseille for a longer residency during 2016. I will work directly with the company alongside leading educational workshops for local professionals. 

Closer to home, I will be embarking on a commission for the present third year students at the Rambert School to be performed later in the year. Watch this space! 

Our experiences collaborating and sharing with talented and inspiring people, continue to underpin KND today, and enables us to keep the company growing outside of our pre-known parameters. Thank you for your extended support during 2015 and for continuing to drive our creative thirst. The KND tale unfolds.

We leave you with a quote from Charles Bukowski to flavour the beginning of your creative year.
 
On behalf of all of us at KND, thank you for sharing this journey with us. We look forward to surprising and working with you more in 2016.

Warm regards,
Kerry