Propeller have some amazing clients and we’re proud to support the work that they do. Here’s just one of them!

AJDance Company – Anna James

Creating, performing and sharing.

Background

Anna graduated from UCLan in 2018 with a first-class degree in Dance Performing and Teaching (BAHons) and didn’t miss a beat in setting up her own company AJDance Company. Building on freelance work that she had undertaken whilst studying, she has continued to pursue her interest in community arts after graduation. Empowering people through dance, AJDance Company delivers inclusive, encouraging and expressive dance workshops with local schools and communities.

Recent Projects

Noticing a lack of inclusive, expressive dance classes in the area, Anna aims to engage with differing experiences, practices and people. Anna’s recent project ‘Small is Beautiful’ does just that. The project experiments with the theme of expression and non-expression within music and dance.

Working in collaboration with Lead Musician Kristian Price, Anna is acting as Lead Choreographer, sourcing dancers with different levels of experience. Opening up the call to the public has allowed for people with no previous dance experience to engage with the subject and learn something new. Speaking of the benefits, Anna says:

“Community members taking part will gain a sense of belonging, new skills, developing skills, new links, a creative process, a chance to perform, and a healthy way of socialising among other things.”

How Propeller Helps

Craig has been mentoring Anna since March 2018, before she had graduated. Self-employment is on the mind for a lot of final year students, particularly within the creative disciplines, and having a dedicated space to develop their ideas and plan ahead is something UCLan prides itself on.

Recently, Anna received the Propeller Enterprise Award to assist with the cost involved in running the ‘Small is Beautiful’ project. This includes help towards marketing and promotion, room rental and equipment.

What’s Next?

The first session of the project took place in January, with a good turnout. In the one and a half hour classes hosted in the Media Factory, the group engages with creative tasks, enabling the development of a 15-minute piece which will be shared at various events in May, starting with a free sharing on the 15th of May in the downstairs studio of the Media Factory, 8-9pm. Following that, the piece may go further afield.

“One of my aims is for the piece to be transferrable into different environments such as theatre spaces, studios, museums etc.”

We look forward to seeing how big the ‘Small is Beautiful’ project can be!