International PhD student re-energised on visit to the UK Centre for Events Management

During my visit to Leeds Beckett, I met other PhD students, interacting with them in a stimulating and fruitful exchange of ideas. I also had the opportunity to meet with professors and academics in the department and we compared their research approach and methods with ours in Italy. Throughout my visit I found the environment to be very dynamic and stimulating, with an emphasis on research that makes a difference to both industry and society.

During my stay I met with Professor Emma Wood on their beautiful Headingley Campus. She gave me valuable advice on how to structure my PhD project and how to make sure my work remains focused on the overall aim … ‘understanding the role of arts festivals in civic engagement’.

One of my goals in visiting Leeds Beckett University was to immerse myself in events literature. Professor Wood quickly put me in contact with her colleagues, helping me to create a varied network of contacts and start to build ongoing relationships. This will be incredibly helpful, not only for the success of my doctorate, but also for my future academic career.

One thing Professor Wood suggested I do was take part in extracurricular activities to get a better idea of the context in which Leeds Beckett University operates. I took the opportunity to participate in the Ageless Festival promoted and organised by Yorkshire Dance, the historic dance centre in Leeds which turns 40 this year.

The festival has returned this year to animate the city with two days of workshops, classes and performances open to all communities in an intergenerational exchange. Guest of honour at this year’s festival was Germaine Acogny, the Senegalese dancer known as the "mother of contemporary African dance". The first evening of the festival was dedicated to her, with the screening of a documentary and an insightful interview about her career.

The festival was an opportunity to reflect on the importance of the exchange of artistic practices at an intergenerational level. Among the many events, the works Improplay and In Your Shoes were particularly moving. The former is "a celebration of care" in which grandparents dance with their grandchildren in an improvised dance reminiscent of a childhood game. The latter is the result of a work with the community based on the principle of respect, tolerance and listening, assuming that "You can't put the same shoe on every foot but you can put yourself in someone else's". 

After two years of closure and isolation due to covid restrictions, the festival provided a much needed opportunity to once again feel part of a society made up of bodies and emotions. Dance becomes a tool to break down social barriers and to feel free to express our feelings again, no longer mediated by a screen. With the certainty that “Every Body Dances”, in their own way.

This experience re energised my PhD work, reminding me of the vital role that live events, and in particular participatory arts festivals, can play in society.

To find out more about research opportunities at the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management visit our website.