TYPE OF WORK
Dance workshops and performance

TARGET GROUPS

• Integrating visually impaired and sighted people of all ages in culturally inclusive activities in various settings.
• The company carries out professional training for artists and non-arts professionals, including public and private care settings, schools, arts project workers, professional dancers

GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
UK, North America, Australia/New Zealand, Central and Eastern Europe, Western and Southern Europe

COMPANY POLICY
The Company offers visually impaired people the opportunity to participate in dance. People with other disabilities are also welcome. Work spans education, health and the performing arts and develops the perception each person has of their movement potential and self-esteem and to validate the presence of visually impaired people in dance and culture. The dancers use touch to explore non-verbal communication methods and to create a need for sensitivity and clarity. Work in education combines mainstream and special education students to break down boundaries and prejudice. Film and new media work is undertaken both as documentation of and integration into performance projects.

SCALE OF PROJECTS
Number of practitioners: 7
Number of participants: 12-30
Preparation time: Varies
Contact time: 1 day - 1 week +

PERMANENT STAFF: 18
Katy Dymoke, Executive and Artistic Director
David Payge, Administrator

High Beam Festival (Australia, 2002)
Touchdown's director visited, was a speaker on various panels and delivered workshops to professionals and other sessions to the community. The High Beam Festival had various stakeholders including very Special Arts and national disability arts organisations in Australia.

Partners: Arts Council England North West and the festival.

Feedback was very positive: the workshop group decided to ask for the opportunity to continue and to find a facilitator who had experience in contact improvisation. The company has been invited back s a whole in 2004.

The German Centre for the Blind, Frankfurt (Germany, 2002)
A festival of dance and theatre for the blind. The company delivered a workshop and performance to over 150 people, most visually impaired students from Germany, Croatia and Spain. Touchdown Dance has been asked to return in the future and to sustain a dialogue with the organisers for future events and potential exchange.

Joint Forces USA and 25th Anniversary of Contact Improvisation (USA, 1997)
The director curated a mixed ability dance weekend involving workshops and performances.

A long-term collaboration has followed with Steve Paxton (founder of Touchdown Dance and director until 1994) and the new director (Katy Dymoke) with their e-mails being published by Nouvelles de Danse in Belgium. They explore issues around the use of the senses in dance, the relevance for visually impaired people etc. A subsequent visit in March 2003 has led to planned collaborators in 2004 on the next production project in Alitto Alessi, director of Joint Forces and mixed ability training for professionals.

Film project, to follow up SENSE-8, involving visually impaired dancers.

Collaboration with New Breed (disabled) Theatre Company, (summer 2003)

Collaborative integrated training provision in the UK with Joint Forces from USA, (spring/summer 2004)

Visit to High Beam in Australia (spring 2004)

Two-year touring production with guest choreographer, musician and film

Projects with mental health settings, partnership with LIME

After school club provision for pupils with severe disabilities.