Occupational Hazard
Please note that due to an error on our part we didn't include our collaborators in the Partners & Collaborators section of the application. We have included the 16 creatives, their roles and about them below.
About the project
ACCA Dance Theatre have previously received funding from Arts Council Project Grants in 2021 for Cautivas R&D (ACPG-00442896) and in 2022 for Occupational Hazard Development & Preview (NLPG-00559013) under ACCA’s co-director Charlotte Arnold’s individual applicant profile (50911950).
This project: Occupational Hazard Refinement & Pilot National Tour is the next step in the development of ACCA Dance Theatre’s first full length dance theatre show.
The project will allow us to:
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Re-rehearse the show we previewed in December 2022
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Rework sections as a result of participant & audience feedback from the evaluation period in NLPG-00559013
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Perform the show on a six date national pilot tour to new national partners growing ACCA Dance Theatre’s audience base and levelling up the quality and reach of the work we’re doing in a big step change for the company.
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Work collaboratively with a team of 16 professionals, including a script writer for the first time, a new lighting designer and composer to elevate the quality of the show drawing on their years of professional experience to support our vision.
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Work with Rachel Birch from Moving Arts Management for the first time - a female producer who straddles the North of England and Catalonia Spain, mirroring the dual nationality of ACCA Dance Theatre and our future aims to work internationally between the UK and Spain.
Who will the project engage and how?
This project will also see us refine the engagement work we do to target female identifying people and young people who we believe will benefit greatly from the project and align with Creative People investment principle. Some of these activities will happen with existing groups, and others will be open access and participants recruited through our partner’s audiences, ACCA’s existing reach and new marketing pushes.
These groups are:
1. Young People aged 14+ at partners City College Norwich, Stowmarket High School and Northern School of Contemporary Dance Centre of Advanced Training ( NSCD CAT) Scheme. This activity will include:
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1 day of workshops at both Stowmarket High School and NSCD CAT and free tickets to see the full show in Leeds/Norwich
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2 days of co creation workshops with City College Norwich with the young people opening our show in Norwich
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After the project: Signposting for training / professional opportunities, workshop pack/resources and continued dialogue to develop and understand future partnerships.
2. Female Identifying Focus Group supported by new partner Women Friendly Leeds and open to anyone in Leeds. This activity will involve:
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Focus Group consulting with ACCA throughout the project
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Invitation to open rehearsal to feedback directly into the refinement and rehearsal
3. Female Identifying Professionals supported by partner Pro Dance Leeds
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Morning Professional Class throughout the project
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Invitation to open rehearsal to feedback directly into the refinement and rehearsal of the show
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Bespoke online mentoring session with ACCA post project to develop their practice and support talent retention in Leeds.
4. Female Identifying Community Cast supported by partners Slung Low, The Dance Studio Leeds, Women Friendly Leeds and Yorkshire Dance
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Co creation workshops held at Slung Low, with the cast opening the show at Slung Low
5. Audiences supported by venue partners Seven Arts Leeds, Slung Low, Platform Theatre Norwich, Arts Centre Washington, Edge Theatre Manchester and Upstairs At The Gatehouse, London.
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6 performances of Occupational Hazard
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3 after-show Q&A’s
Why is important to support and fund this project now?
ACCA feels that this project and these groups will benefit greatly from being involved in the project as:
The theme of the show: casual sexism and sexual harassment, is a systemic social issue that almost everyone who is female identifying can associate with on some level. We recognise that it’s not a new issue, but if “6.5 million women in England and Wales have been raped or sexually assaulted since the age of 16” (1), More than 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult” (2) and “How many women are raped or sexually assaulted every year? 798,000. That’s 1 in 30 women” (3) it’s clear that it’s an issue that affects far too many female identifying people, and that is still a contemporary concern with huge social impact.
This is also relevant to young people as “9 in 10 girls and young women in schools say: Sexist name-calling and being sent unwanted 'dick pics' or other images of a sexual nature happens to them or other girls and young women their age.”(4) Additionally “1 in 6 children have been sexually abused” (5) proving that this is a widespread issue that doesn’t discriminate on age. Our plans to work with young people during this project are to educate on the topic as they move through to adulthood as well as offering high quality arts provision in their own spaces limiting the need for them to travel or battle access needs. Stowmarket and Norwich’s young people are rurally isolated in the East Region having a negative impact on the amount of nationally touring artists they engage with as identified by engagement partners, and young people at NSCD are geographically and ethnically diverse from across Yorkshire, many on the lowest bands of household income requiring support from Department of Education and pupil premium/free school lunches. The female identifying focus group, community cast and professionals will be largely reached through Leeds based partners and from discussions with partners their audiences are intergenerational, ethnically diverse and with varying relationships to creativity furthering the case for this project meeting the Creative People principle by uniting female identifying people in a socially motivated project within a creative and supported space.
Evidence of need from community & partner consultation
Occupational Hazard discusses, challenges and investigates how to navigate being a female in a world where sexual harassment and assault is allowed to affect so many female identifying people that it’s become almost normalised, which is not acceptable. When designing this project we spoke at length with partners to understand the need and the relevance to the groups we would like to work with. Feedback we received included:
Venues & Partners:
ACCA are presenting a type of work that we are not seeing other artists making or presenting at our venue. And it is work that our communities are keen to see. Dance theatre with a European outlook, by a company led by women. The quality of the work is always exceptional, the quality of the thinking always inspirational. Supporting this company is a priority for us here at Slung Low.
Alan Lane, Slung Low
The issues raised are not only topical but have a historical context which is a useful reminder that the themes are not all new but are very important to everyone. We thoroughly enjoyed the show. It was fun to watch, fast paced with fantastic dance, singing and musical theatre. The issues were presented in such a way that it was thought provoking and made me consider the wider issue.
Pat Hunter, Seven Arts
Arts Centre Washington has a small stage which sometimes limits it with regards to programming dance, so I am delighted to find a dance production that is a suitable fit. This is not just in terms of physical size but also in content. Audiences for dance in Washington and the wider city of Sunderland are small with very low engagement. It therefore helps to have dance whose subject matter is relatable to common experiences as well as being funny. Occupational Hazard fits the bill perfectly for our programme and our commitment to developing audiences for dance.
Helen Green, Arts Centre Washington
Young people:
Last December, Stowmarket High School was lucky enough to host ACCA for the day. ACCA ran both a practical and writing workshop for some of our Year 10 and Year 11 Drama students, hosted a 'advice and a slice' session for students of all years to promote careers in the performing arts and then gave 80 students the opportunity to experience immersive theatre on a challenging topic - that of female sexual exploitation in the workplace. Each of these opportunities were unique experiences for our students, many of whom have very little exposure to live performance. Stowmarket is a typical sleepy market town that is almost hiding from the world. It is a very insular community with many students feeling that a trip to Ipswich - let alone Norwich, which is in a different country - is a big adventure. This feeling of cultural isolation has only increased due to the impact of the pandemic - which has had a negative impact on teenage mental health - and now the cost of living crisis. Stowmarket students deserve to have the same opportunities that inner city school children have. ACCA's last visit had a lasting impact on so many of my students who still talk about it nearly 12 months on. I know these students would be absolutely delighted to spend some more time with ACCA. A return visit would also allow another group of students access to the world of dance and live performance both through the planned workshops but also through the ability of free tickets for the full show.
Jackie Arnold, Stowmarket High School
We would love for ACCA to work with our students again, they got so much from it and it was such an incredible opportunity for them, especially looking for them to open your show, what an experience this would be! We are definitely up for working with you again.
Our students are working on our full time performance program, this entails teaching the parameters and requirements of working within the Arts industry. Having the opportunity to work with external professionals, who can showcase and demonstrate all the aspects of creating, devising, producing and performing a piece of art will enable our students to gain invaluable experience. Due to the fast paced world of the arts it is very difficult to offer the students an experience that is current, active and promoted. Having your company collaborate with our students will benefit all our students who are looking to progress into the world of performance.
Unfortunately, the cost of living has had a massive detrimental impact on our students, both within their personal lives as well as gaining training to enter the professional world of performance. Giving the student the opportunity to work with yourselves as an external theatre company allows them to access an experience most would not be able to. The chance to discuss, create, work collaboratively, hear 1st hand experiences and ask questions enables our students educational and professional journeys to flourish. Many of our students are applying to university or drama schools, having your background and your journey for them to learn from is an opportunity for most that would not be possible.
Grace Muter, City College Norwich
Working with ACCA is a very relevant opportunity for our students' to broaden their understanding and awareness of the subject matter and recognise that these issues can happen across any area of their lives. This will hopefully empower them to recognise they have a voice and to speak out if they themselves, or others around them, are affected by sexual harassment and casual sexism.
Their time with ACCA will also offer a space to discuss the topic with peers outside of an academic school setting and to understand their own tolerance levels.
Rose Chadwick, NSCD Centre for Advance Training Manager
Female Identifying Women:
The representation of female friendship is important for friend love to be more visible and more valued as a valid type of love, not just focusing on romantic love. We are still living in a misogynistic and patriarchal society, and shows like this bring these themes to the surface – helping to illuminate that which is often passed over as it’s so normalised and everyday, and this is a show helping to bring about more social justice and social change to a more fair world. I laughed a lot; the two are very funny to watch and their interactions and facial expressions, movements and interactions with the audience was all very entertaining. I also tried not to cry. I found it very affecting, and had to sit quietly at the end of the show for feelings to settle down. It reminded me at the surface level of how it can be living in a patriarchal world, and how horrible, violent and unjust this is. It’s upsetting me now as I think back to the show and how bad I felt for their experiences; it’s unfortunately very relatable.
Myra Rowland, Audience Member Preview December 2022
Female Identifying Professionals:
The show touches on important subjects such as consent and feminism in ways that are relatable and engaging. Dealing with these themes in ways that are approachable and sensitive, yet It is entertaining and doesn't take itself too seriously. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, humorous, heart-wrenching, and inspiring. Aside from being entertained, it reminded me of our empathetic nature as people.
Tammy Tsang, Professional Dance Artist
As a female artist who has also spent years working in the service industry, Occupational Hazard touched some nerves around issues that I believe are still relevant to all women today. I found the show very emotive, visually arresting, thought-provoking and dynamic. It balanced fun and entertainment with dealing with serious issues and I left feeling stimulated. I also really enjoyed the site-specific element that opened the show, and the appearance of the community cast. A must watch! I loved it. Educational too... take your partner, brother, father, all the men in your life! Thank you ACCA!
Izzy Brittain, Professional Dance Artist
Female Identifying Community Cast:
I think this show needs to be seen because of the rising case of sexual assault within workplaces. I think it cleverly adds comedy and beautiful movements to a strong storyline that made every single audience member engage. I think it was evident the amount of research that had gone into the show. I think everyone had been affected and that hopefully this will not only make those who have been through it feel less alone but also encourage male advocacy and encourage support in our communities to stop this from happening.
I loved being a part of the show, working with ACCA was a dream, I felt looked after and that I was in a safe space with opportunities to contribute and excel. It gave me the confidence to create my own show Whorephobia which I have now taken (in a scratch form) to a couple of venues but I now feel the strength to tell these stories. ACCA is truly a beautiful company and I want to see more from them, I think it was great to have that piece in Leeds. All I can say is: More where that came from, please!
Katie Carden, community cast member in 2022 Preview show
The show focuses on relevant topics such as sexism and sexualisation of females in certain female dominated occupations. The way ACCA present this is thought-provoking yet funny and would be something younger audiences could also enjoy and learn from. Being part of the community cast was such a unique experience! It brought my attention to topics that need to be discussed more. I also learned a lot about theatre and expressing myself non verbally. I would feel way more confident approaching similar projects in the future. Plus I got to meet people I’m friends with to this day!
Diana Krumova community cast member in 2022 Preview show
Long term activity for participants & audiences post project
As a result of our research, we will be partnering with a Women’s Support Charity in each pilot tour location to ensure that audience members are supported before, during and after the shows. This means that there will be a safe space during the show if they need to step out, a ‘decompression session’ after the show for anyone who needs time to digest and signposting for further support. These charities are:
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Sue Lambert Trust in Norwich
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Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland in Washington
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WWin in Washington
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Together Women
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Well Women Centre
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Great Manchester Rape Crisis
In order to continue developing these audiences reached during the project, after the end the project and aiming to continue indefinitely, ACCA will be creating an online support group which all participants and audiences will be able to access. This will take the format of:
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A landing page hosted on our website www.accadancetheatre.com with blog posts, signposting and support links, sign up to mailing list and upcoming events
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a monthly newsletter sharing things we're connecting with relevant to the project, and behind the scenes of the rehearsal/performance process and what ACCA is currently up to, details of upcoming events
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bimonthly online women's sessions: where we check in, have a chat and also engage with some gentle movement whether this is through pilates, restorative/yin yoga, yoga nidra/breath/meditation or feel good movement & dance
Ultimately, projects like this don’t happen enough where participants have the opportunity to work collaboratively with artists in supported environments where they can take risks, be vulnerable and perform. Community consultation has proved that the demand is there from participants and audiences and further to this venues are programming the show because they want to showcase more dance and our show brings value and variety to their audiences. For ACCA Dance Theatre, this project continues the momentum built from two successful project bids over the past two years and the opportunity to continue raising the quality and reach of our work - it’s clear that the project needs to happen now to continue the work we started last year and can’t wait for the future.
Sources:
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Source: Office for National Statistics (2023) Publication: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffencesprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales
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Source: Office for National Statistics (2023) Publication: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffencesprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales
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Source: Office for National Statistics (2023) Publication: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/sexualoffencesprevalenceandvictimcharacteristicsenglandandwales
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Source: Ofsted (2021) Publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges
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Source: NSPCC (2011) Publication: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1710/statistics-briefing-child-sexual-abuse.pdf
Our partners & collaborators
Rachel Fullegar / External Eye
Rachel is going to fulfil the role of assistant director to strengthen the relationship between movement and dramaturgy throughout OH.
Rachel graduated from NSCD in 2013 with a 1st class BPA(Hons), the Undergraduate Achievement Award and Kathleen Tattersall Leadership Award. Her love for making immersive, interactive, interdisciplinary work for intergenerational audiences has led to long-term collaborations as a performer/deviser with companies such as Same Difference, Yorkshire Life Aquatic, Qdos Creates and Rusticus Arts. Rachel also works as a Movement Director, most recently on Theatre State’s new musical Say Yes To Tess at Leeds Playhouse and, for both Blackout and Black Roses with Bunbury Banter Theatre Company, Scotland, where she is Associate Artist and a mentor for their youth theatre programmes.
William Hearne / Composer
Will will help us tighten and elevate the soundscape of OH by refining the sound arrangements and creating bits of composition.
'William is a composer/producer/performer with a Bmus in composition from RNCM. He writes and produces work across many genres of music, theater, dance, and film with commissions from The British Library, CoMA, VideoJam, Psappha Ensemble, and Tête à Tête Opera. He is proud of his ability to work in a variety of genres; as solo artists William K.z. creating lofi psych-pop, with Bethlehem Casuals exploring experimental festival rock, and as a composer writing and producing stage shows, such as the opera Growth of the Silk, which had a 2021 tour funded by the Arts Council, with my electro-punk band ELECTRIC DEATH KZMISSION and as WIlliam K.z. the prolific collaborator. William has also worked on award-winning scores with Woolgather Films and together have created 10 professional music videos for his projects.
Julie Burrow / Script Writer
Julie will develop and refine the current script to help develop and enrich the characters, and their individual and shared narrative arcs.
Julie is a writer-performer and dramaturg. She creates idiosyncratic, comic, absurd work. After receiving an ACE DYCP grant to develop her artist practice, she has been gigging new work.
Dramaturg – When the Music Stops, Untitled Residency at the Lowry
Dramaturg/writer – Memory Collectors, Same Difference Arts
Commissioned writer-performer, various performances of FLIM NITE
Writer-performer – Words to Our Daughters R+D (ACE funded), The Wednesday Collective
Commissioned writer-performer – Shoots, The Lowry
Commissioned writer – Listen Up!, Alphabetti Theatre
Commissioned writer-performer – The Prism, Les Enfants Terribles
Ed Elford / Lighting Designer & Tech
Ed will devise the lighting design for OH which will elevate the quality of the work very significantly and will add depth and sophistication to the audience’s experience of the piece.
Edward Elford is a lighting designer specialising in the creation of designs for dance works. He has a Bachelor in Performing Arts from The Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds.
He has worked with multiple companies, including: Rachel Clarke Dance Company, Daniel Lukehurst’s Various Creations, Quarantine and Company K. He finds that having trained as a dancer gives him a unique insight and enables him to work closely with dance creators.
Rachel Birch - Movement Art Management / Producer
Rachel will manage budget, spending and cash flow, issue contracts and collect evaluation date to ensure the smooth running of the project.
Rachel Birch is co-director and founder of Moving Art Management (MAM), and is a freelance producer, teacher, dancer and creative entrepreneur, specialising in dance.MAM produce excellent art work and champion talented creatives through consultation and creation of dance and cultural activities, both in the UK and internationally. We support our collaborators ambitions to create, realise and thrive. Based between Newcastle in the North of England and Barcelona in Catalonia/Spain we specialise in bespoke producing support for artists and companies, as well as delivering a programme of scratch platforms. We provide professional development opportunities, financial bursaries, resources, mentoring and educational packages.
Elly Welford / Photographer
Elly will photograph ‘behind the scenes’ and Premiere to document ACCA’s process and help promote and sell ACCA’s work.
Elly Welford is a freelance photographer based in Leeds. She graduated from Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2019 and was an apprentice of Motionhouse Dance company until 2020. Since then, she has worked on a variety of projects and campaigns for dance companies, choreographers and higher educational institutions. A selection of projects she has had the honour of photographing are: Germain Acogny, Motionhouse Dance, VERVE 19/20/21/22/23, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Yorkshire Dance, Dance United Yorkshire, Acension Dance Company, Exsessive Human Collective, Impro Play, Mass Hysteria Collective, YTD Studios, Northern Rascals, TRIBE//, Company, Union of Dance Leeds, Sababa Company, Matthew Rawcliffe, MADDOGS Dance Theatre, Coalesce Dance, Meta4Dance, KOR'SIA, Earthbound, Ceyda Tanc Dance.
Josh Scott / Videographer
Josh will film Premiere to create a full length video of the show and help promote the work. Joshua Scott trained at Trinity Laban, and VERVE15, before working and touring internationally as a performer for companies such as Black Box Dance Company (Denmark), Agitart (Spain), Jose Agudo Company (UK), Roisin Wheelan (IRL) amongst others. During the pandemic, he received an ACE DYCP grant to retrain as a videographer and has since worked all over the world capturing movement and people.
Rosie Whiting / Set and props Designer/Maker
Rosie will create and/or fetch props that will help reinforce the setting and the world of OH, and elevate the quality of the work.
Rosie is a Costume Designer working primarily in Contemporary Dance and Ballet. She has worked with numerous choreographers including recent collaborations with Boy Blue, Eleesha Drennan, Mathieu Geffré, Tamar and Jo, Feet Off The Ground, Roisin O’Brien Dance, Didy Veldman, Gary Clarke and Russell Maliphant
Mason Jubb / Guest Teacher
Mason will deliver company class to ACCA and the Leeds Dance Community, getting the company’s dancers ready for rehearsal and strengthening ACCA’s outreach and connection to the dance community in the city.
Mason is a multi-faceted dance artist based in Leeds. Working as a performer with Rees Dance Company ACE funded work "Living Shadows" for both of the development phases. Mason often collaborates with Wayne Sables Project, as an independent artist on the digital work "Alone", as well as several ACE funded projects as part of his role as the Dance Development Officer at Dance Action Zone Leeds. Mason creates work surrounding social policy as the choreographer for both the DAZL Youth company and the Kick Off Boys Youth Dance Project. Mason was the Rehearsal Director for NSCD Centre for Advanced Training Scheme in 2018 and 2019.
Iolanda Portogallo / Guest Teacher
Iolanda will deliver company class to ACCA and the Leeds Dance Community, getting the company’s dancers ready for rehearsal and strengthening ACCA’s outreach and connection to the dance community in the city.
Born in Italy, Iolanda undertook pre-professional training at the Accademia Internazionale Coreutica in Florence, studying ballet and contemporary technique. Graduating from Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2019, she had the opportunity of performing works by Vinicius Salles, Sharon Watson, Jake McKernan, Extended Play, Wilhelmina Ojanen or Douglas Thorpe amongst others.
Maya Carroll / Guest Teacher
Maya will deliver company class to ACCA and the Leeds Dance Community, getting the company’s dancers ready for rehearsal and strengthening ACCA’s outreach and connection to the dance community in the city.
Maya is a Freelance Dance Artist based in Leeds and a graduate of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, completing the BPA(Hons) degree and Verve, the Postgraduate Performance Company. In her professional career, Maya has had the pleasure of working and collaborating with artists such as Emma Critchley, Liam Francis, Bridie Gane, Extended Play, Petri Delights, Mad Dogs Dance and Red Ladder Theatre Company, Matthew Robinson, Night People Events, Ruby Portus and Henry Ward as well as Wilhelmina Ojanen and Amy Voris as a part of Mobius Dance. Recently, Maya was also a cast member in Ben Duke's ‘Ruination’ at The Royal Opera House Linbury Theatre.
Sophie Thomas / Guest Teacher
Sophie will deliver company class to ACCA and the Leeds Dance Community, getting the company’s dancers ready for rehearsal and strengthening ACCA’s outreach and connection to the dance community in the city.
Born and raised in England’s Lake District, Sophie’s love for dance, art and nature started from an early age. Sophie graduated from Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2021 with first class honours, and worked with choreographers Anna Williams, Barnaby Booth and Jose Agudo during her time there. Now freelancing out of Leeds, her professional credits include working with Southpaw Company, Riptide, Night People and Northern Rascals, performing at a variety of theatre venues, galleries and festivals. After being a Guest Writer for Dance Art Journal 2023, she is continuing to explore where her interest in movement and words intersect. In her personal practice, Sophie is investigating musicality, intricacy and what it means to be human whilst performing.
2 voice artists (tbc)
Partners:
About Us
ACCA are Leeds based dance theatre duo Anna Cabré-Verdiell Bosch and Charlotte Arnold. ACCA first met during their studies at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and as they both shared backgrounds in acting and voice training from an early age, moved towards a multi-disciplinary, physical theatre practice. After some time investing in exploring and playing, ACCA was born and they began formally collaborating together at the start of 2020.
Led by two female-identifying creative leaders, ACCA makes work that reflects and comments on the contemporary society via funny, thought-provoking dance theatre performances and participation activities. Their style has a physical backbone, drawing on character and conceptuality to investigate the topics which inspire each project. As a trilingual company, ACCA weaves both Spanish and English culture and narratives into the work, as well as championing and celebrating femininity. In addition, the collective has an existing practice working with different community groups that will ensure the facilitation of a safer, intentional space for co-creation, both Anna and Charlotte delivering across Leeds to a variety of ages and abilities.
ACCA is resident company at Slung Low, and partnered with Yorkshire Dance, The Dance Studio Leeds, ProDanceLeeds and Rural Arts. Previously commissioned by Ilkley Literature Festival to make the short dance film EVEolution, they also won the Leeds Summer Group Show in 2020 with their dance film ACCA Danst, and received ACE funding for a R&D of Cautivas, a new project for 2021. They are currently collaborating with the German company Vier-D for a cross borders collaboration between Leeds and Dortmund for Leeds 2023 and exploring a new relationship with award winning theatre company Barrel Organ.
About the show
The fifteen minute version of Occupational Hazard, ACCA's first sketch has been programmed across Yorkshire at Ripon Theatre Festival, Yorkshire Dance, Slung Low and Grassington International Festival amongst others. After receiving funding from ACE, ACCA developed Occupational Hazard into a full length show which previewed in December 2022 opened by a community curtain raiser at Slung Low.
Occupational Hazard follows the day of two air hostesses Becky and Linda, ACCAirways’ creme de la creme on a low budget airline where casual sexism and prescriptive codes of conducts are routine. Fusing choreography, comedy and clowning, Occupational Hazard, though at times tongue in cheek to entertain a plane full of passengers, is inspired by the #metoo effervescence of recent years. The show delves deeper than the interplay between Linda and Becky, as they navigate consent and unsolicited touch as a female in the service industry, asking audience members to ride the waves of their individual emotional journeys. The underlining message of the show being that female allyship, having a voice and using it are essential to calling out the systemic. Becky and Linda, initially not friends, but bolstered by their shared experience declare a feminist emergency by the end of the show, and although the flight is scheduled to travel nowhere, perhaps lands somewhere in the land of empowerment and action.
Using the lens of comedy and dance theatre in Occupational Hazard, ACCA aims to educate all that it's a fundamental human right that women should be respected, and that everyone (yes everyone) should be a feminist.
Audience Feedback - Slung Low preview 2022
"I love how interactive it was and managing to
touch on a serious topic in such a fun way"
"In a nutshell,
a homage to the #metoo movement"
"Describing classic sexism and misogyny via superb dance. The vehicle of air hostesses in a constant extreme made me question whether much has changed in 40 years..."
"Hilarious, moving,
thought provoking"
"Thoroughly enjoyed the comical elements. Very well executions of the characters"
"I appreciated greatly the depth of the process and the powerfulness of the comment about misogyny"
"Electric,
bold, emotional"
“Absolutely loved the pace, change of dynamics and characterisation.
Very entertaining, I would love to see more of this piece!”
"I thought it
was absolutely amazing!"
Letters of Support
Other Work
Cautivas R&D 2021 - supported by Arts Council England Project Grants and partnerships with Slung Low, Yorkshire Dance, Pro Dance Leeds and The Dance Studio Leeds.
The piece imagines a world where all arts and culture have been outlawed and interacting with art in any form is now illegal. In this world a desperate artist abducts a high ranking politician and attempts to rehabilitate them back to the cause of the arts.
Themes explored include: power dynamics, resistance & authoritarianism, isolation within isolation, conflict & reconciliation. We will also be playing with bending gender roles and clowning. Audience engagement will be centred around people who live in South Leeds - a demographic who don’t regularly engage with the arts, or if they do it’s never in a theatre, gallery or established arts venue. A key theme we’re trying to communicate is that the arts are for everyone, used by everyone and should be accessible to everyone.
Click to watch Cautivas' SHARING
ACCA Danst
ACCA’s second piece, ACCA Danst, created during lockdown, is a pastiche of Rosas Danst Rosas, which sees two dancers, in two different houses moving through the same choreography to a repeating Bulerias beat. ACCA Danst started as a simple tribute to the iconic piece of choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, but quickly became a social commentary of lockdown blues and the film format reinforced this notion. The film was one of 38 works selected to take part in the Leeds Summer Group Show exhibition 2020, and was chosen as one of six show winners, receiving a cash prize and an interview with The State of the Arts magazine. The exhibition also reached over 3000 views during the course of the month.
Click to watch ACCA DANST
EVEolution is a short film by ACCA commissioned by Ilkley Literature Festival 2021. Playing with the iconography of fashion shows and drag queen aesthetics, the piece explores the natural evolutionary series from a comedic, dance-theatre approach. First we meet Amoeba, a single cell organism not quite sure what’s going on, then the slinky, fin flapping Fish and the ever spiky Reptile as she prowls across the stage. Jumping next to Primate, who swings through the final stages of human development, we settle last with Eve in her recognisable human form as she contemplates the dilemma of eating the forbidden fruit. Blending fashion, theatre and dance with a sprinkle of evolutionary biology, life and the journey to EVEolution, is a catwalk.
Click to watch EVEolution
ACCA Co-Creation / Audience Outreach Work
- Winter 2021 & 2022 - Holy Trinity Primary School
ACCA facilitated a six weeks co-creative project with 60 Year 5 students at Holy Trinity Primary School in Leeds. The groups were mixed gender, and ethnicity and due to the effects of the pandemic had had minimal exposure to dance, and even less exposure to contemporary dance.
These sessions fed into the curriculum focus of Space for the half term, using movement, voice work and creativity to enhance their learning. Over the project ACCA worked collaboratively with the students to develop narrative, characters and movement material. Due to covid restrictions this culminated in 2 x 5 minutes films which were shared with the rest of the pupils, teachers and parents as well as feeding into their overall studies for the half term.
Click to watch Space Project
- Winter 2022 - Occupational Hazard's Educational Engagement Workshops
ACCA lead two days of outreach with young people surrounding the themes of Occupational Hazard at Stowmarket High School and Norwich City College through dance theatre workshops, creative writing workshops, sharings and Q&A.
"The workshops that ACCA led throughout the day provided students with a variety of knowledge, practical activity and joy! The workshops were fun, bringing students together from different year groups and different subjects to work together in a creative environment. Each student was able to engage in some way throughout the day because you offered a vast range of information and experiences. The day was very educational, providing students with information about the industry, creating work, marketing, creating a business but also about the important topics that you are aiming to educate your audience on, through your performance. This was particularly useful for my BTEC Performing Arts students who have to understand the 'artistic intention and purpose' of a performance and you provided them with an excellent opportunity to see a snippet of live theatre."-
- Natasha Rea, Drama Teacher, Stowmarket High School
- Autumn 2022 - Occupational Hazard's Community Curtain Raiser
ACCA lead a four week co-creation process to devise the performance of a fifteen minute curtain raiser that preluded the preview of Occupational Hazard. The curtain raiser was created in collaboration with a cast of fifteen members of the community and successfully opened the preview of Occupational Hazard in December 2023. Through the process, ACCA had the opportunity to further develop audiences in SL & Leeds collaborating w/ local communities to make & perform their own dance-theatre piece - allowing diverse intergenerational participants to build social ties through artistic collaboration in their local community.
- Spring 2022 - Slung Low Community College
ACCA led a three week physical-theatre co-creative workshop through Slung Low's Community College. The 12 participants were ethnically diverse, inter-generational and with varying exposure to contemporary dance. These workshops fed directly into ACCA's established work with south Leeds audiences, and strengthened their connection with Slung Low's existing participants.
Participants worked collaboratively to develop movement scores, characters and choreography with props. Facilitated by ACCA, the participants had an autonomy over their roles, building experience in making creative choices that they could realise through movement and voice. The three weeks of workshops testbedded how ACCA could develop a curtain raiser for Occupational Hazard and culminated in a five minute section that would prelude the main duet.
Both experiences have been extremely useful and informative for ACCA, in order to develop our co-creation skills and sharpen the specific approaches when working with different demographics and abilities. Furthermore, these sessions have allowed us to explore how to co-create and a curtain raiser for our piece 'Occupational Hazard' in collaboration with different community casts.
ACCA Facilitates
Both Anna and Charlotte are highly passionate movement facilitators. With the lockdown easing over summer 2020, ACCA opened up weekly company classes in partnership with The Dance Studio Leeds. The aim of the sessions was to offer a space for professionals in and around Leeds to come together to connect and practice. Over the course of September and October2020 the classes gathered a total of sixty-five professional who joined in.
As independent practitioners, Anna and Charlotte deliver sessions for NSCD, The Dance Studio Leeds, Dark Horse Theatre, Leeds Beckett University, Northern Ballet, Kala Sangam or DanceEast amongst others.
Furthermore, in November 2020 both Anna and Charlotte were asked to take over on the running of ProDance Leeds - Leeds professional dance classes programme - as part of a trio with dance artist and producer João Maio.
Writing Work
Another strand of ACCA’s work is their writing practice. On one side, ACCA’s blog is a space for Anna and Charlotte to comment on daily life through creative, critical and thoughtful pieces of writing.
On another note, as writing is an aspect of their collaboration that they were looking to further develop, in autumn 2020 ACCA launched an online magazine under the title Artychoke Zine. The purpose behind this seasonal publication is to emphasise and showcase arts and culture as extraordinary tools of and for resistance. Over the course of two years and ten issues, Artychoke has brought together over sixty artists and art collectives from a multiplicity of disciplines such as illustration, poetry, photography, tattoo art, motion design, dance, music, embroidered art, creative writing, textile art or graphic design to mention some. With resistance as the core subject of the zine, each edition has been dedicated to the exploration of a specific theme; the politics of the pandemic, the climate crisis, female energy, displacement or migration to name a few. Artychoke's Winter Issue 2022 was part of The Institute of Everything project by Fevered Sleep in collaboration with Clifton Green Primary School in York; the school's Year 3 students explored creativity by the hand of professional artists from a variety of disciplines over a period of three months, and the results of their explorations were collected under Artychoke's winter issue 2022, with its content being entirely created by the children.
Since its launch Artychoke Zine has had a digital reach of over 18, 000 people.