Inspire Programme

Bollywood to Bradford

Bollywood to Bradford got people on their feet and moving to the beat of Bollywood at this year’s Bradford Mela.  Taking place on the 12th and 13th of June, this exciting event saw a flashmob-style performance of a specially commissioned dance piece led by Zoobin Surty, an acclaimed Mumbai choreographer.  The dance was taught to members of the public at Dance for Life classes, in schools and through the Bradford Dance Network and was then performed in a seemingly spontaneous explosion of colour and movement. The project brought together members of different communities in a fun and inspiring event that encouraged its participants to be more active and to enjoy their moving bodies.

The project was documented by the Leeds-based production company Sound Alibi and the resulting film will be shown on the Bradford Big Screen in Centenary Square during Step Up Bradford on 23rd-25th July 2010, when the dance will be repeated.

Bollywood to Bradford is part of the imove programme, which is at the heart of Yorkshire’s cultural ambitions leading to 2012.

imove celebrates and challenges the relationship between people and their moving bodies through a series of exciting and innovative arts projects across Yorkshire.  Inspired by London 2012, imove is funded by Legacy Trust UK, Yorkshire Forward and Arts Council England.  Find us at www.imoveand.com.

Extraordinary Moves

Extraordinary Moves will take as a stimulus the emerging technologies that can be used to enhance human abilities.  Led by Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, in partnership with Huddersfield-based Chol Theatre and independent artists, the project will consist of six interrelated elements utilising dance, theatre, photography, visual art and media.  The six elements are:

• Movement: Capture: A major participatory dance programme that will encompass research, training and performance with disabled and non-disabled artists, scientists and sportspeople, using Sheffield Hallam University’s motion capture lab.

• Leaner, Stronger: A darkly humorous touring theatre production that will explore the ethics and implications of human enhancement technologies for disabled and non-disabled persons alike.

• Philosophies in Public:  A series of public dialogue events to discuss the contentious areas of disability sport, classification, the role of technology and the future of the Paralympic movement.

• The Pod Experience: A touring stage, workshop and gallery running a diverse programme of sporting and artistic activities in public places and displaying artworks created by communities and commissioned artists.

• Jason Minsky – artist in residence: Jason will undertake a residency at the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science to explore the issues surrounding the use of human enhancement technologies in disability sport.

• Paul Floyd Blake: Paul recently won the Taylor Wessing Award at the National Portrait Gallery for his portrait of paralympian swimmer Rosie Bancroft, and will be commissioned to document all facets of the project.

In an innovatory programme of cutting-edge collaborations, Extraordinary Moves will work with young people, communities and artists to provide different ways to think about, experience and interpret the concept of disability in relation to competitive and expressive movement.

Extraordinary Moves is part of the imove programme, which is at the heart of Yorkshire’s cultural ambitions leading to 2012.

imove celebrates and challenges the relationship between people and their moving bodies through a series of exciting and innovative arts projects across Yorkshire.  Inspired by London 2012, imove is funded by Legacy Trust UK, Yorkshire Forward and Arts Council England.  Find us at www.imoveand.com.