Matthew Winston & Lucy Starkey in Rehearsals for PREPPERS
You might have noticed that it’s been a bit quiet at Casson & Friends - you might not have noticed - and that’s ok too. You certainly will have noticed online spaces have intensified with content and opportunities popping up during this period of unprecedented uncertainty, and it’s been particularly inspiring to see how the dance community has been coming together.
Artists offering loads of ways to keep audiences, communities and each other moving, fit, creative and entertained (by dressing up or making films). None of this generosity surprises me for a second, I love dance, I love our community, and I’m proud to be part of it. The conversations I’ve seen happening virtually between artists, directors, organisations and venues - with an attempt to dissolve the usual hierarchies - feel like a timely acknowledgement of the interconnectedness of our dance ecosystem, and the role we all play.
It’s wonderful, and sad, and full of potential, and difficult, and tiring, and hopeful - sometimes all at once - and that’s ok. Because nobody quite knows how this is going to play out. I’ve just spent the last year and a half researching emergency planning and preparedness in the UK for our new production PREPPERS - and even the experts I’ve been speaking to don’t know. But if I’ve learnt anything from those conversations, it’s that optimism and community are the largest contributing psychological factors to our survival (Thanks Sarita!).
Yeah, I’m still optimistic, but, for the last couple of months I’ve not been feeling massively creative (I applaud those of you who have - you’re amazing!). I’ve been on pause, coping, writing applications for projects and support to keep us afloat, because I have faith that what we at Casson & Friends create, how we make it, who we do it with - our People Powered Performance - makes us a bit different.
I believe in the power of dance - I’m *always* going on about it - but creatively, my response has been to be quiet for a bit. To sit back. To try to figure out what people want and need. I know there’s a place for what we do, but it feels best to take a moment to listen, to reflect, and to think. To identify the gaps: because I know that these gaps are the spaces that will provide us with the opportunity to be creative, to think differently, and to have the most impact.
I don’t have the answers and I’ve been talking with partners, trying to figure out how elements of what we planned might work in this new situation. There are also a few things that we’ve wanted to do for a while, that the current conditions will allow us to work on. But having had a bit of time to reflect on 8 years of making, I’ve realised that everything Casson & Friends does starts with a conversation of some kind: “What do you want to see?” with The Dance WE Made & Choreocracy, “What do you love about where you live?” with Carte Postale, “How prepared are we?” with PREPPERS.
So, after a few weeks of quiet - I’m ready to start the conversations again. To talk about our needs, about what we can do for each other (if anything) during this time of uncertainty, about what the future might look like. You might not know what you want, or need, or have ideas about the future, and that’s cool - there are so many variables right now; but I’d like to think about it - together - because that’s when Casson & Friends works best.
An invitation then, to join me for a chat on Tuesday 9th June at 16:30 BST on Zoom.
If we’re already friends, if we’ve ever worked together, or if we haven’t (particularly if you’re in Lincolnshire!) I want to hear from you :)
Send me a DM or a message to hello@cassonandfriends.com and I’ll send you a Zoom link.
(if that time doesn’t work send me a message anyway and we’ll figure something out.)
I hope to see you then!