Buildings That Breathe

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a project by the

DerbyDanceCentre

Interim Report 2006

Simon Redgrave

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What is “Buildings That Breathe”?

Buildings That Breathe

is a celebration of the intriguing, private, public, forgotten and celebrated spaces and places to be found inNormanton, one of Derby's most inspiring and misrepresented communities. For over one year, homegrown talent came together withtransantional expertise to explore local cultures and environments, creating events, music, dance, spoken word and multi-media.Part oftheir “Urban Myths” programme - launched in April 2004 and embracing urban sports and arts – the Derby Dance Centre built on thelegacy of

The Hip Hop Happening

, which gave young people participatory and volunteering opportunities during June and July 2004,culminating in a one day festival at Normanton Park on 31 July.

Buildings That Breathe

is an ambitous eighteen month programme spanning commissioning, performance and production, exhibitions,education and professional development with strong emphasis on capacity building for artists and collectives.Sustaining a year roundoutreach and "cultural community development" in Normanton would stretch the skills of the Derby Dance Centre team. A key factorwhich influenced the planning, development, potential partnerships and funding base for the lead-up programme and final event, was thedeparture of the Centre’s director and the subsequent vacant post untilSeptember 2006. Whilst they endeavoured to retain the key elements of theoriginal proposal, practical issues inevitably had to tailor the degree ofattention some areas would be afforded.All of the key outputs - dance, music, spoken word and written word, visualand graffiti art - all required either successful community developmentthrough outreach or the commissioning and performances of complex work.The first ten 10 month of

Buildings That Breathe

focused on communitydevelopment culminating in the “

a park less ordinary

”

performance and isthe focus of this evaluation. The program of work then continues in late 2006with the development of a Normanton based Dance Film which will be thesubject of a separate evaluation.This evaluation attempts to answer eight key questions put forward fordiscussion, and acts as an aid for further planning. The project is also moregenerally known as the

Normanton Transnational Project.

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Elements of the Buildings That Breathe programme

BTB: Where you Live

One focus of the project has been the 8 months of community development work based in Normanton’scommunity centres. Existing groups and their leaders have further developed their skills, and newgroups have been formed giving young people in the area additional opportunities. These regularactivities, along side one-off taster workshops have encourage people in the area to recognise theircreative potential. Many of these young people were performing as part of “

a park less ordinary

”.

BTB: Building Blocks

In November 2005, a small group of session leaders visited Rotterdam to attend Culp Act UrbanTheatre Festival and performed in the finale of Black Soil Urban Film Festival, expanding their horizons,skills and confidence. Rotterdam’s Hip Hop Huis - one of the Netherlands top break dance crews -returned in April to work with young people in the area to create performance work which they shared atthe end of the week’s residency.

BTB: Your Normanton

This programme has sought to explore people’s thoughts and responses to the Normanton area. Theoutcome of this research has led to the creation of a unique pack of cards. Each card shows a space ora place that has a special meaning or a memory. They help people find a sense of the city when theirhome may be far away and have been used by dancers, artists and musicians as a starting point increative planning.

BTB: a park less ordinary

The culmination of this programme of activity was a performance in Normanton’s Arboretum Park onSunday 4 June. Community based musicians and dancers worked with Filip Van Huffel of Retina Danceand composer Jules Maxwell to create a unique event to compliment the surroundings of this recentlyrestored park.