People Dancing

Whether you are a parent, carer, just starting your career, living with a health condition/impairment or still exploring your optimal way of working with it, asking employers for what you need in terms of your practical needs, physical and mental health, can be a complex and anxiety provoking process – even in an arts industry striving for greater equity and inclusion.

 £95 Members/£145 Non-Members

Come take a day in a supportive, creative, safe space to discover, articulate and learn to self-advocate effectively around everything from fees to scheduling to any reasonable adjustments you might need to give of your best in your participatory dance work.

Aimed at disabled and non-disabled artists, freelancers and those who employ them, this course will be skilfully facilitated by a team with a range of relevant lived experiences and an active, contagious joy and pride in their identity at work. With straightforward tips and resources delivered through creative, discussion and reflective tasks, you will emerge inspired and more able to imagine career satisfaction, longevity – and/or to keep creating those things for others.

By taking this course you will:

• Understand and identify things you need to thrive in a work environment
• Organise your needs into a clear list for the different contexts in which you work
• Evaluate and understand why certain working environments prevent wellbeing, trust, and creativity
• Gain an understanding of which environments enable people to feel empowered and which don’t
• Feel empowered to advocate for yourselves and others.

About Krystal S. Lowe

Krystal is a Bermuda-born, Wales-based dancer, choreographer, writer, and director performing and creating dance theatre works for stage, public space, and film that explore themes of intersectional identity, mental health and wellbeing, and empowerment to challenge herself and audiences toward introspection and social change. Krystal is passionate about integrating access and exploring multilingual work with a specific focus on British Sign Language, Welsh, and English.

Throughout her career, Krystal has been supported, through funding and commissions, by Arts Council Wales, Bermuda Arts Council, Ballet Cymru, Theatr Iolo, Ffilm Cymru, Clwstwr, Music Theatre Wales, National Theatre Wales, National Dance Company Wales, National Dance Foundation of Bermuda, and Wales Arts International.

Image credits: Top: Krystal S Lowe - photo: Sleepy Robot Photography. Above: Krystal S Lowe - photo: Matthew Horwood, 2022.

About Louise Brown

Louise has worked as an artist, performer, facilitator, and producer across the UK, with organisations such as Ludus Dance, Dance South West (Now Pavilion Dance South West), Candoco and Diverse City. Louise has worked specifically in inclusive practice since 2005 and works with companies which embody her beliefs in equality and social justice.

Louise co-founded The Velcro Collective in 2018. It is a Community Interest Company focusing on outdoor performance, projects, and events for local people. The Velcro Collective aims to introduce unusual partnerships to outdoor spaces, creating new experiences for underrepresented artists and communities. The most recent work Crunch! was made in collaboration with local visually impaired children and their families.

Louise is a qualified teacher in the lifelong learning sector and a trainee Pilates instructor. She is also a single mum on a low income living in a rural part of the UK with her sausage dog.

Image credit: Louise Brown.