Gloucestershire
Dance and The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury have recently revealed
that they're to be part of the Associate Artists Scheme, which has
recently been devised and implemented by Dance South West. It's
an Arts Council funded consortium of dance agencies working together
to encourage more people to make, watch and take part in dance activities.
There
are currently five Associate Artists in the UK, based in Cornwall,
Devon, Somerset, Dorset and Gloucestershire.
Each
of the counties has their 'own' dancer, based at a local theatre
and all are acclaimed professional choreographers and dancers, many
leading their own companies.
The
scheme links an individual artist, a venue, a county dance agency
and a community, and will help the chosen artist in the development
of their career by offering support from all the organisations involved
and encouraging recognition both within the county and hopefully
at a national level.
Dipisha
Patel
The
artist selected by Dance South West to collaborate with the Roses
and Gloucestershire Dance is Cheltenham based Dipisha Patel.
Dipisha
specialises in the South Asian style of Bharatanatyam (Indian classical
dance), Indian Folk and Creative Dance and has performed and taught
in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Birmingham, Cirencester and London over
the last eighteen years. She'll be spending time working at the
Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury and hopes to get young people dancing
Asian-style.
Aims
The
main aims of the Associate Artists project are to raise the profile
of dance in the region, to work with the artist on developing their
creative skills and to increase dance related educational opportunities
within the county in the form of workshops and demonstrations.
In
this scheme the dancers have an opportunity to create and perform,
but also learn from the theatre management how to run a business
and market their work. Everyone else has the chance to learn about,
or simply enjoy, the magic, beauty and versatility of dance.

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