As 2024 draws to a close, we’ve been reflecting on some of the highlights of our second year as an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
We started the year in the studios of our partner organisation DanceEast, bringing together our dancers, creative technologists and the other members of the artistic team to develop ideas for our Beyond The Darkness project.
Dance for Neurology
Our Dance for Neurology work in hospitals, led by Jodie Honeybourne who celebrates 10 years with us in 2024, has been going from strength to strength. We’ve continued our weekly sessions on the wards at London’s Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN) in Putney, which is now fundraising to extend our work there.
In January 2025, we’ll be taking Dance for Neurology sessions to a new hospital setting, leading weekend workshops for neuro-disabled patients at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton. Thanks to National Lottery Community Fund, City Bridge Trust and Partners for Health for their support in making this happen.
Training dance artists
With our Dance for Neurology work expanding, we’ve also been focusing on training new facilitators. In November, we spent a fantastic day with a group of dance artists teaching them the skills they need to lead specialist Dance for Neurology sessions in community and healthcare settings. One of our trainees said: “I’ve been unsure about going into dance for health but this has solidified that it’s what I want.”
New staff and trustees
This year we welcomed Katie Sheasby to the role of General Manager as well as five new Trustees: Liza Vallance, Emelyne Burkhard, Rufaro Maposa, Neil Martin and Carolyn Riozzie, our first Green Learner who will be helping us be more environmentally sustainable. We’re so grateful to everyone on our Board of Trustees for all their support and expertise.
Interactive dance sessions
We’ve been building new relationships with community groups in Thurrock to offer free interactive digital dance sessions to neuro-disabled people and their caregivers. We’ll be starting those sessions in January and interested groups can still sign up for the few remaining spaces by contacting Steph Townsend at admin@codadance.com.
International arts & health conference
In October, our Artistic Director Nikki Watson presented a talk about our Dance for Neurology work at the first International Meeting of Arts Prescribing in HealthCare conference in Greece. In prestigious company, Nikki joined arts & health specialists from around the world, including Dr Daisy Fancourt, Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre on Arts and Health.
Dreamy Place festival
In November, we were invited to take our interactive work Beyond the Darkness to Brighton & Hove’s home for dance, The Dance Space, as part of South East Dance’s programme for Dreamy Place – a festival celebrating the vibrant world of creative tech and arts. More than 200 people engaged with our interactive experience (The Moment) Everything Changed and our digital dance short film As the Floor Shifts.
New dance for health book
We are among leading organisations in the dance sector to have contributed a case study to a new book Dancing by Dr Kathryn Stamp, of the Centre for Dance Research at University of Coventry, and Noyale Colin from The Place, published in November. Dancing explores the ways dance is being used to tackle health challenges, including falls prevention, depression and Parkinson’s. Free to read online, friends of CoDa can receive a 30% discount on buying a copy of the book when using the code EME30.
Shortlisted for Unlimited award
And finally, we’re ending the year on a high because we have been shortlisted by disability arts commissioners Unlimited for an UK Partner Award for our new large-scale work Our Worlds Collide.
We look forward to sharing more about all of our upcoming work in the new year.
For now a huge thank you to everybody who has supported, taken part in and shaped our work in 2024, including Arts Council England, National Lottery Community Fund, City Bridge Trust, Postcode Community Fund, Thurrock CVS, Thurrock Borough Council, Essex Community Fund and Fowler Smith and Jones Trust. And a special thanks to our Lived Experience Consultants who are absolutely central to what we do. See you in 2025!
Recent Comments