#FriendsFriday 45 - Emma Bouch
Always a smile and ready to dance!
#TheSecretDoorstepFestival by Art Pop-up in Stamford
Emma working with Arts NK
How are you/have you been involved with Casson & Friends?
My first experience with Casson & Friends was watching one of their touring works 'Night at the Theatre' at the South Holland Centre in Spalding. I was smiling from ear to ear from the very beginning as were the young dancers I brought along with me to watch. The choreography and text were so incredibly witty and the performers were so talented where you were endlessly entertained. I already knew of Casson and Friends, but watching a performance live was a very fond memory of mine and I can't wait to watch another.
I have also been involved as a dancer in some of The Dance We Made performances over the past few years in areas such as Grantham and Bradford which I absolutely loved. You get the chance to not only work with the fantastic Casson and Friends team, but you get to work with members of the public to create your dance. The process of collecting moves from the public is so fun and is an integral part of the performance. The people you created your moves with got to see their movement performed live and had the chance to feel that they were the choreographers.
I particularly enjoyed this aspect as the project is so interactive where the audience is very much part of the performance and the people I worked with seemed so proud to have their moves in the final dance. Also, the fact that this project brings dance to people who wouldn't usually access it was extremely rewarding.
My most recent involvement with Casson and Friends was when I was part of the Secret Doorstep Festival by Art Pop-up in Stamford. Where we created a TINY Dance all about Stamford through a number of questions about why Stamford is so great. These questions were answered by the public and we interpreted them through dance. This was one of the Casson and Friends 'People Powered Performance' where we brought our dance to people doorsteps along with the other artists involved from Art Pop-Up. The Secret Doorstep Festival brought a mini performance to the doors of families or people who may shielding so the individual impact of the project was so important.
This project meant so much to me because it was so enjoyable and rewarding to bring dance and performance back into people’s life after the during these unprecedented times.
What do you love about dance?
There is so much I love about dance, but one of things I love the most is that dance has a way of transforming people's lives. Whether that may be from watching or participating in dance it has a way of awakening new perceptions, by helping people to learn and experience life in new ways. Also, I believe dance is for all and I love that dance can make people happy and that it gives people the opportunity to express themselves.
What song always makes you dance? (We have a Spotify playlist!)
This is a tough one, but one song I think get everyone dancing is 'Proud Mary by Tina Turner'.
Listen to the #FriendsFriday playlist on Spotify
What else are you working on at the moment? (Upcoming performances, exciting projects, holidays!)
I currently work as a dance development officer for artsNK Dance and NCCD in Lincolnshire, and we have many projects happening, but one I have enjoyed in particular recently is our Creative Video Programme for adults with disabilities. For this programme I created a series of video creative dance sessions focusing on building confidence in dance by experimenting with creating movement. This is a free programme funded by Sport England and Active Lincolnshire Tackling inequalities fund and is still available to access, so please email me if you would like to find out more. These sessions would work for individuals to do from home or those in a care setting.
As we are in such uncertain times, I have not been able to work with some of the more vulnerable people I teach, so being able to provide them with some kind of provision has been great to keep connected. Also, for the programme to reach even more people within the Lincolnshire and further afield has been fantastic.
Any links? (Links to your work, your company website, Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud etc?)
Here is our dance page on the NCCD website - https://nccd.org.uk/artsnk-dance
And here is our Instagram handle - @artsnkdance_
Facebook- @artsNK Dance Team
Here is my personal insta too - @emabouch
Meet more of the Casson & Friends team on Fridays with #FriendsFriday!