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Transition

Work Hard, Play Hard 

This project was a great opportunity for new students to meet each other before they began school in September 2007 and explore their feelings about transition from primary to secondary school. Swindon Dance organised the project for Flux, and appointed London based choreographer Michael Kitchen.

Meeting at the Isambard Dance studio during the summer holidays Michael chose as his starting point a collection of posters from Swindon’s railway museum, Steam.  The theme was ‘transition, movement into new places’. 

The 23 dancers worked for a whole week and performed their 15-minute piece to an audience of family and friends at the end of the week. They enjoyed making up new dance moves and making new friends!

Michael Kitchen said, "The students came up with a lot more work than I expected and as a result I had to make the music longer. They had loads of ideas and so it was a pleasure to work with them, they were really enthusiastic."

Steam performance

Having used Swindon’s steam heritage as its stimulus, the group was invited to perform the piece again at the Steam Museum open weekend on December 1. 

Helen Orford, Steam’s Education Manager, commented, “The performance moved me very much when I saw it performed at Isambard in September, but I have to say that I was moved to tears by the performance on Saturday and had to repair my mascara!! It was the most wonderful interpretation inspired by the history of the GWR that I have seen in the ten years I have worked with the material (with so many different client groups).

"I recognised within the dance endless images, objects, stories and posters with which I have become so familiar over the years.

"From my point of view, it was a pleasure to provide archive images from the Steam Picture Library, and objects from the Education Collection, to inspire the choreography and to engage a group of young people in the excitement of interpreting the history and heritage of their town. Most of all, it was a very emotional experience to bring the performance back to the heart of the place where GWR employees once worked and played hard!”

Inspiration

Michael added, "It was great to work with such an enthusiastic group of young dancers whose creative input helped make the piece the success it is. I think the posters, photographs, artefacts and stories from Steam proved to be an excellent inspiration for the dance, which really came alive in the evocative setting of the Museum, especially with the soundtrack!

"As my Great Grandfather worked in Swindon Works as a marker-outer, it meant a lot to me to bring a performance there."