Dear KND Followers!

Happy New Year! Thank you for your support in 2013 during another great year at KND. The company has continued to go from strength to strength and we could not have achieved this without your support, enthusiasm and engagement.

At this time of year, I would like to share and celebrate with you some of the high points from our 2013 as well as outline some exciting plans for 2014. 

2013: KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• A proud moment when we launched our first Summer Professional Programme at the ENB company home in August. The fortnight incorporated a dynamic programme of activity with an impressively high standard of dancing. Heartfelt thanks for your participation and energy. The event proved to be so popular – with an overwhelmingly positive response – that we are discussing the idea of running it on an annual basis. Do look out for this year's booking information in the spring.

• The addition of a growing list of international partners through teaching, directing and choreographic commissions. We visited many European countries collecting inspiring experiences as we travelled, but one of the most stimulating phases of the year was when I spent a thought-provoking, professional development period shadowing Critical Response Feedback founder, Liz Lerman in Washington. Excitingly, this relationship will be furthered this coming year with another trip to work with Liz and an extended tour of the USA, working and researching at The Juilliard School and Harvard University.

• The continuation of Street Stories: Dance Collaborations – an artistic development initiative by East London Dance and the Royal Opera House. From the sixteen selected emerging artists, a small creative team has been awarded a major new commission for phase two of the project. I will continue to be the Artistic Director, supporting the team and young participants all the way to the main performances at Stratford Circus and the Royal Opera House in May.

• The introduction of our successful KND Choreographic Weekend in association with the Southbank Centre. We led an intensive two-day course within a site-specific project for emerging choreographers at the iconic Queen Elizabeth and Royal Festival Halls. In October, participants from varied vocational schools came together to explore choreographic tasks within specific spaces, in addition to receiving individual feedback on their current work. 
  “I really appreciated the intimacy and personal feel that Kerry gave to the weekend as it allowed me to be myself and take greater choreographic risks. I am now ready to grasp 'choreography' with two hands!”
  Choreographic Weekend Participant

• Cementing a strong 
relationship with English National Ballet , both with the company and their school. After mentoring the first Choreographic Initiative for ENB company dancers in 2013, I will also mentor 'Choreographics 2014' for their performances at the Barbican. I am also working as a consultant and lecturer at the English National Ballet School by devising and expanding their choreography curriculum.

• Being invited to be a WOW Woman Mentor at the Southbank Centre event - International Day of the Girl. Amazing women from across many different backgrounds and fields were chosen to mentor young girls and offer guidance as we rode around the London Eye together! It was a wonderful opportunity to use my experience in supporting girls to feel empowered in the challenges they face in their lives. I joined thousands of people around the world on that special day in celebrating the power and potential of women everywhere.

• David Walters and I, delivering our Redux: Teaching dance with live music workshops around the country. These will be continued and developed with a new series of music/dance collaboration projects planned for this year, cementing the company's growing credentials in re-designing the synergy between dance teacher and musician within the studio.

• Building a significant relationship with Rambert Dance Company and their choreographic department by mentoring company dancers Miguel Altunaga and Estela Merlos in their own choreographic works. I was invited to write an article on the importance of mentoring which featured on their website. 
  “It has been a real gift to be mentored by Kerry Nicholls on my first work for Rambert's Evening of New Choreography! She is vibrant, passionate and determined to share her expertise with those she works with.”
  Estela Merlos, Rambert Dance Company Dancer
   

2014: UPCOMING PROJECTS

2014 promises to be just as exciting with much of this work continuing and developing, in addition to other ventures. These include:

• Working on China's 65th birthday celebration. After choreographing 'Cleave' for the Danscross project in 2009 with amazing dancers from the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA), the work has been selected for a special season which celebrates the achievements of the BDA. It will be performed as part of Gala birthday performances and I am excited about my return trip to China, to reconstruct and rehearse the work on a new cast.

• Being offered varied and exciting choreographic commissions. nailed for MAP Dance Company (Chichester University's MA company) will tour throughout the year. We will create a new work for LCDS and their third years, which will be performed in the spring. ENBS's graduating cohort will perform an original creation for their summer tour. Next season '14-'15, sees us working on an intensive commission with VERVE - the postgraduate performance company of Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

• An invitation to work on the Scottish Ballet's Commonwealth Youth Exchange project. We will create a new piece for the Commonwealth Dance Festival in Glasgow in the summer. The cast will feature a mixed Singaporean and Scottish company with performers from the School Of The Arts and The Human Expression Second Company in Singapore, and the Scottish Ballet's own Glasgow based youth group.

• ReFresh 2014, which is already underway, with the companies selected and their music donated by renowned choreographers. I will be curating this night of youth dance premieres and mentoring the leaders and their youth groups throughout the creative process. Their creations will be performed at The Place in March.

• Incorporating the occasional pop-up masterclass on rare weekends, further to your feedback. Our schedule is busier than ever, but we are committed to 
expanding our open professional activity where possible, provided that the quality of experience can remain the same. Over the coming months we will be developing these plans and will update you further as things progress.

• Continuing to improve the standard of our participatory events and your overall experience with the company.

2013 has housed an amazing journey for KND and I am delighted that you have been on board to share it with us. Thank you once again for your belief in what we are doing and your ongoing support. In the meantime, we wish you all very best wishes for the new year ahead.

Warm regards,
 

Kerry Nicholls
Director – KND