Natasha Gilmore

EDUCATION: COMMUNITY: PARTICIPATION

Gilmore Productions provide exciting and creative dance workshops, specifcally designed so that they are inclusive and all participants are able to work from their own level. The participants learn about the process of creating a dance theatre piece by experiencing first hand the tasks that lead to devising movement.

The company have experience of teaching and creating dances with children and young people within mainstream education; youth groups; professional dancers; disabled dancers and their carers; asylum seekers and refugees; and older people.

Gilmore Productions are able to design a workshop, or a series of workshops, leading to a performance, specifically for your needs. It offers one-off workshops linked with a touring work or longer residencies that can culminate in the creation of a piece that can be performed either alongside the professional company in a 'Curtain Raiser' or as part of an event.

The company also undertakes commissions in a variety of settings such as working on Inter-generational projects, Integration groups, Schools, Colleges or Youth Centres. These projects lead to performances in theatres, community centres, schools, site-specific works within arts festivals and education events. The company was especially delighted to have two of their works performed at Theatre Royal Glasgow within Go Dance 08 – a dance programme that reflected the diverse mix of dance styles happening within Glasgow’s communities including contemporary, street, ballet, jazz, hip hop and much more performed by dancers of all ages.

Natasha Gilmore teaches extensively at higher education level to both dance and drama students within colleges and universities and dance agencies. As well as teaching dance to BA Drama Students at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, she has taught professional classes for dance agencies across the UK and Scottish Ballet.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

The company's education work also encompasses professional training for dancers and actors, delivering choreographic workshops, technique classes and ‘mock’ auditions. Natasha Gilmore teaches at a number of respected institutions including: Scottish Ballet; Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama; Dance House (Glasgow); Dancexchange (Birmingham) and Dance 4 (Nottingham).

The company also mentors young dance artists and choreographers, giving advice on professional development and feedback on their work. Recently, Natasha coached Sam Angell to prepare him to play the lead role in Billy Elliot in London's West End.


READY MADE WORKSHOPS

The Blank Album

To accompany its touring work on its latest performance piece, The Blank Album, Gilmore Productions are offering workshops in which participants can learn about the process of choreographing The Blank Album by experiencing the creative tasks used to make the piece and learning some of the movement from the show. This is a unique opportunity that combines music, dance and theatre. 'Curtain Raisers' can be created with dancers and musicians together – while two members of the company work with dancers it can simultaneously work with musicians (string, guitar) and then bring the two groups together for the performance. All workshops are delivered by Natasha Gilmore and members of the cast. (See Promoter Information).

We're Going On A Bear Hunt – Nursery, Primary 1 + 2

“The project helpedto develop the children's co-ordination and co-operation with each other and they gained confidence.”
HAPPY DAYS COMMUNITY NURSERY, GLASGOW

A workshop based on the popular book.
This creative dance workshop uses the popular children’s story We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, as a source of movement inspiration for a dance.

Children will:

  • learn movement qualities guided by the words in the book such as ‘swishy swashy’ through long grass or splashing through a river
  • learn basic movement skills such a balance on one leg, turns, travelling steps
  • use the body in an imaginative way to become structures such as a cave for fellow dancers to pass through
  • learn to move through a range of dynamics such as tip-toeing quietly or stamping loudly.

Commonwealth Games

"The XVII Commonwealth Games provides a wonderful opportunity to embrace and celebrate the diversity of our arts and to open our doors to the traditions and cultures of other Commonwealth nations." Gerry Robinson - Chairman, The Arts Council of England

A dance residency, leading to performance that is inspired by Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games in 2014. The topic has a broad appeal to both girls and boys. The contact time needed is eight choreographic two-hour sessions or four full days leading to a performance inspired by:
• The physical athleticism of various sports. This is a rich source of movement ideas for dance, providing a physical activity for children that is inclusive and non-competitive;
• The drama of winning and losing. With themes of team spirit and cultural identities this provides a great inspiration for dance theatre;
• The aim of the Games is to promote understanding between Commonwealth countries. This can be addressed in the residency by researching the dance and musical heritage of different Commonwealth countries.

Fostering International Links

A Commonwealth-themed dance residency could be used to encourage schools to foster international links by assigning different countries to research.

  • A portfolio could be created about the link country;
  • The dance residency could use music, dance and other cultural customs of the ‘link’ country as part of the residency. Pupils could research the culture and language and communicate with a school in that country;

Case Studies:

"A very successful and inspiring dance project which held the children totally engaged and loving every minute of the exciting dance experience" BALORNOCK PRIMARY

On your Marks - A commission for Glasgow City Council’s Inspiration Festival.

In October 2007 Gilmore Productions worked with P6/7 Pupils from Balornock Primary and Notre Dame Primary to create a site-specific Commonwealth themed dance that was performed in Kelvin Hall Sports Centre, Glasgow – one of the venues for the Games.

The pupils were then invited to perform at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow as part of the Go Dance Festival 08. The dance featured an opening ceremony in which the pupils performed dances from various countries of the Commmonwealth - Scotland, Kenya, India and Jamaica. They then went on to perform a dance inspired by the actions of the sports that will feature in the 2014 Glasgow Games. Some of the pupils took on acting roles as television journalists and comperes for the dance.

Olympic Themed Residencies in East London

In the past, Natasha has been involved in leading and choreographing various Olympic themed projects for children in East London. In 2006 she worked on two site-specific youth projects inspired by the Olympics. The first was performed by thirty children in Stratford tube station, and the second, by one hundred and fifty children from five different schools performed in Canary Wharf. In a joint project with East London Dance, she was involved in making a dance film with five schools, which was shown to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) as a part of London's 2012 bid.