Promenade performance

Summary

This exemplar describes an 'in-house', self-funded, multimedia, promenade performance in which the audience walked between different sites within the school premises. It involved: dance, music, art and drama departments, and an artist in residence supported by the Creative Partnerships scheme. Student choreographers, mentored and facilitated by subject specialist teachers, each created their own dance. The project involved both A' Level and BTech pupils, and was conceived by our performing arts team.

Description

The project was a promenade performance using the physical constraints of the buildings in which teaching is usually located and where there is no single space large enough to put on a typical public performance. Two studio classrooms formed the basis, in which a drama group and a dance group performed separate, simultaneous 55 minute programmes. These were repeated after a short pause in which the audience walked from one room to another. We expected a high quality performance, with opportunity to display artistry, energy and a commitment, beyond the confines of the course. Costumes and lighting were involved. Skills acquired were the development of autonomous learning, and increased confidence in creating and performing. Creative Partnerships also funded a musician in residence at the school, who created some of the music, and a film-maker who taught editing techniques, allowing the making of films. The films produced were projected onto windows while the audience was moving between rooms.

Evaluation

This was a good example of an in-house project that built upon the enthusiasm of the student participants. It was assisted by our subject specialist teachers working together, and could be replicated by others, since the project was student-led in terms of the outcomes. Limitations, due to a lack of formal performance spaces, were turned to positive advantage. The idea is sustainable, and could support additional creative artistic activities, once experience in running an event of this type has been gained. A particular strength was that it supported curriculum-based learning, and provided challenging extension activities that were not expensive to fund, demonstrating how a variety of students could be brought together into one project.