Leeds School of Arts

Dancing Windows

On the evening of the 4th November, in the windows above the Leeds School of Arts main entrance, BA (Hons) Dance students from Leeds Beckett University performed a dance called Dancing Windows.

Students dancing in the window above Leeds School of Arts entrance

The audience watched the dance from outside the building with silent disco headphones on so they could engage with the performance. In total, the performance was 15 minutes long and repeated four times throughout the night. The work explored the spectacle of movement, which is a movement that is only visible through a fleeting glance before disappearing into the unknown, in this case being behind the window.

The BA (Hons) Dance Course Director, Lisa Osborne Kendall invited Eva Lourie-Russell, a Leeds Beckett graduate and freelance dance artist, to work on the project with the students. Eva also studied the BA (Hons) Dance course and the MA Choreography course at Leeds Beckett.

The performance involved a talented team of eight student dancers, two technicians, several usher volunteers and a Leeds Beckett film student.

Megan Hanson, one of the student performers said, “This was a super fun project to work on. Creating a performance for the windows was such a different experience, especially having the audience watch from outside. Seeing the choreography with costumes and lighting for the event itself really made ours and Eva's vision come to life.”

The idea stemmed from Lisa wanting to create an opportunity for students to develop their practice outside of assessment and adapt pre-existing choreography. The window space was an ideal place for the piece as it was a great opportunity for catching the attention from people walking by. The team worked tirelessly with the movement, lights, costume and music to make the work as eye catching as possible. 

The project provided the students the chance to get a taste of what it’s like to work outside assessment within a professional environment and build external connections with people.

Eva said, “We couldn’t have had a better team that helped to make it such a professional and exciting performance! Hopefully, we will get to make more work, but for now keep your eyes and ears peeled as there will be a video coming out soon documenting some of the hard work that it took to pull it off behind the scenes.”

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