Blog
Pathways to the Profession
29/01/2012
I was lucky enough to speak at a panel last week at the amazing Pathways to the Profession conference last week, organised by Scottish Dance Theatre. And also got to write a review of the whole event...
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Creative Case
27/01/2012
What is the creative case? Its Arts Council's new position on diversity. They advocate there is "a clearer, simpler and more potent position to articulate for greater diversity and equality in the...
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Use your ImagineNation
27/01/2012
I was delighted to be contacted by the creators of ImagineNation: The Case for Cultural Learning for a quote to include in this amazing publication. Here's more about the publication - do get a copy,...
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Sync is going InSync
16/01/2012
One of the main programmes I work on has just taken a massive step forwards in diversifying its membership - read more here and do get involved! Press release: InSync 16th January 2012 Diversity...
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Mulled wine with the C-Pal-ers
09/12/2011
This week was the last session for the current C-PAL project management training course - the students have just finished 9 full days with me looking at all parts of the project management role and...
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The pathway to Dundee
02/12/2011
Just been asked to speak on a panel in Dundee in January for the amazing Caroline Bowditch, Dance Agent for Change for Scottish Dance Theatre's Pathways to the Profession 2 day event. I'm on the...
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Sync Intensives having influence...
02/12/2011
How do we exert influence on the world around us? How do we seek to make the changes we wish to see manifest? How do we maintain our integrity through this - using tactics we feel are positive rather...
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A New Direction
21/11/2011
Another great training day - everytime I get to deliver training I remember how much I love watching people really give themselves time to think things through. I've been on lots of courses where you...
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Remembering with Mind the Gap
21/11/2011
I popped in to Mind the Gap last week to run a quick session on the marvelous Mabel Cooper. Mabel entered St Lawrences, a huge hospital-style institution for the 'mentally deficient' in 1952 when she...
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Having lunch with the 99%
21/11/2011
I'm not able to go and camp out at St Paul's but I can still go and have my lunch there (and make a donation so others can have lunch too). Brilliant to see such a wide range of people talking to...
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Project managing project managers
28/10/2011
I'm half way through the project manager training course that I am currently delivering fro CPAL - a collection of community and participatory arts organisations in the north west. We've a great...
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Access to folk
28/10/2011
Can disabled people get involved with dancing, singing, storytelling and all things folk? Of course, and having spent a day with the lovely people at EFDSS - the English Folk Dance and Song Society -...
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Sync Intensives kick off
28/10/2011
We had the first of our Sync Intensives sessions last week - a fantastic group made up of Bobby Baker, Liz Carr, Alison Short from Mind the Gap, Lynn Weddle, Dolly Sen, Anna Wallbank from Zinc Arts,...
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Box of Frogs
18/10/2011
Free on the 28th October? Get yourself down to Bradford's Alhambra studio to catch the preview of Box of Frogs, the latest offering by the mad-cap Stumble Circus. And I do mean mad-cap, as the piece...
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Creative Case
18/10/2011
Just a quick heads up on some articles I have written for Arts Council England recently to support the development of their Creative Case site. What's the creative case, I hear you ask? I'll let them...
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Perspectives at the Art House
18/10/2011
Had a great day this week looking at different perspectives on disability with The Art House in Wakefield. We looked at the usual statistical ways of viewing disability, took in the social model...
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Clore Fellow
18/10/2011
Just found out I've been accepted on the amazing Clore Fellowship programme. What's that then? This is what it says on their site: The Fellowship Programme aims to shape emerging creative leaders...
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All Pitched out!
21/06/2011
Last week, ADA inc (as part of Sync South East) delivered Pitch! at the Stables in Milton Keynes - an amazing smorgasbord of talent and activity - with over 100 people watching, showing, sharing and...
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Pitch Up!
10/05/2011
Its like buses - nothing for ages and then a host of great opportunities all at once! This time I'm pushing Pitch! Pitch! It’s a one-day event focusing on inclusion, diversity, creativity and...
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Up-Stream
05/05/2011
Not often I post just to push other people's projects, but this is a corker and loads of people I know are involved... do go if you can make it. A large number of disabled and Deaf artists have been...
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Looking at the gaps, with StopGAP
05/05/2011
You know those days when everything just comes together and magic happens? Had one of those the other week. The delightful StopGAP dance company had asked me to come and spend a couple of days with...
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Is this really what businesses think?
14/03/2011
Bit shocked to pick up the Daily Mail (can I say here I was in a hotel and it was lying around, I didn't buy it!) and read that their number one 'tip' to help revive the flagging business economy was...
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Sync Thinking...
14/03/2011
Sync, the leadership development programme examining the interface between disability and leadership, had an impact day last week - looking at the impact of the programme so far. With a packed...
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Articulate Wansworth and Tower Hamlets
14/03/2011
Some fab days last week with Shape and Mind the Gap, hosting two Articulate days - looking at the transition for learning disabled people from school to the world of work. The highlights for me were...
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Feedback on How accessible are you?
14/02/2011
Just got some great feedback from this event - showing that its true - even in these current tight times, you can find ways to make a difference to what you do to make it more inclusive to all....
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How accessible are you?
01/02/2011
Now this could be seen as quite a pointed question but over 30 people in Leeds took it all in good heart yesterday on a day organised by Jenny Harris as part of the push to develop more arts...
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Bipolar Ringmaster gets a circus...
25/01/2011
Congratulations to Mish Weaver for gaining additional funds from Unlimited, the Cultural Olympiad commissioning fund from London 2012. Last year, Mish and I collaborated on Bipolar Ringmaster, and...
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Welcome 2011
20/01/2011
For the first month or so in 2011 I'l be working mainly from home - not because there is less work to do but because we have a new puppy in the household (called Random) so I have planned to be home...
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Winter Wonderland
20/01/2011
One of the pieces of work I get most enjoyment from is assessing arts projects - be they theatre shows, carnivals, radio shows or full day events in the middle of a forest... This last one was Winter...
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Do you value the arts?
20/09/2010
There are a number of campaigns circulating at the moment which are fighting the threat of cuts to public funding for the arts in different ways. This complementary NCA-led initiative aims to engage...
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Candoco Open Space
19/09/2010
Great honour last week to work on the Candoco Open Space event at Laban Studios - a really deep day with loads of people and loads of really interesting things coming up: how can we ensure learning...
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Shut up and listen!
12/08/2010
Have you shut up and listened yet? Its a radio show and download produced by a steering group of learning disabled musicians aimed to promotes music made by learning disabled musicians from around...
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Liverpool Carnival
27/07/2010
Great weekend at Liverpool Carnival watching eye popping, ear busting performance after performance - with four stages to keep your eyes and ears on at any one time there was certainly plenty to...
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Unpacking inclusion with Candoco
20/07/2010
When we say ‘inclusive’ – what do we really mean? Who’s version of ‘inclusive’ are we working towards? How can inclusion be manifest throughout all levels of...
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Maybe .... Jon Spooner
12/07/2010
Great photo of Jon Spooner here who was the 'maybe' speaker at an event last week called 'Yes, No, Maybe' where trainers, coaches, facilitators and those who support the professional development of...
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Sync Intensives
12/07/2010
Great day last thursday looking at leadership, flexibilty, courage and fear with the members of Sync Intensives in the rather posh environment of the Wellcome Collection at Euston. We were running...
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Yes, No, Maybe
10/06/2010
Just a quick reminder that Yes, No, Maybe now open for bookings – great speakers and workshops are lined up for this one day event on 9th July at the Wellcome Collection in London as part of...
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Placement programme
10/06/2010
The Arts Management Placement Programme has now officially started – and we had our first breakfast meeting yesterday looking at what diversity means – to us when recruiting for the...
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Gaia Tribe
10/06/2010
New skill to add to the cv – coil fabric pots. That’s what you get if you go to Gaia Tribe community camp for half term – new skills, new friends and 5 days without computers and...
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Running away to the circus
10/06/2010
Lots of my time at the moment is spent thinking about circus, especially ringmasters at the moment. I am working with Mish Weaver on her Unlimited Commission from London 2010, Bipolar Ringmaster...
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Articulate
10/06/2010
Had a great day with Shape delivering the first of the Articulate events. Articulate UK was a national event supported by the British Council and is followed by events in 10 London boroughs from now...
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Now unleashed…
10/06/2010
For the last 8 months I’ve been on a leadership programme called Leadership Unleashed and have attended development days focusing on four key words for leaders in the modern world –...
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What do quantum physics, hip hop and a 'sit down' comedian have in common?
21/05/2010
Have a look at yes, no, maybe in the list to the left - its an event ADA inc are runnning for CreativePeop!e and the Cultural Leadership Programme. It features, and I quote: Provocative takes on yes,...
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Dancing in Yorkshire
05/05/2010
More training today with a short session at Yorkshire Dance looking at difference and diversity - and how we create an environment that gets us the info we need. It made me think about the huge range...
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The Big Dance
22/04/2010
Off to do some training today for the Big Dance on behalf of Shape. The Big Dance is the ultimate dance experience, says its website, and will take place in 2010 and 2012. So what is it? Its 9 days...
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Who is on Sync Intensives?
15/03/2010
I've just put the names of the lucky 15 people who have gained a place on Sync Intensives up on the Sync website (www.syncleadership.co.uk) and its such a fantastic group that I wanted to share it...
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An Unlimited week...
08/03/2010
Last week I was involved twice with Unlimited - the strand of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad that will enable the UK to celebrate disability, arts, culture and sport on an unprecedented scale. The...
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Aimee Mullins
20/02/2010
Great new TED video... The thesaurus might equate "disabled" with synonyms like "useless" and "mutilated," but ground-breaking runner Aimee Mullins is out to redefine the word. Defying these...
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After the Expo
18/02/2010
On 9th Feb, we ran an event for Sync South East in Farnham, called Expo. We're just putting together a series of sheets now - not so much notes from some of the sessions as prompts and suggestions -...
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Rita Marcalo video up at Sync
18/02/2010
Remember 'Involuntary Dances'? The dance piece by performance artist Rita Marcalo testing the boundaries between dance, epilepsy and audience? We've just uploaded an interview with Rita herself at...
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Arts Management Placement Programme
16/02/2010
Its well recognised that disabled people and those from BME backgrounds find it harder to get paid work in the arts sector, and recent research in Yorkshire, conducted by Arts Council England,...
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Three words...
22/01/2010
What three words are going to underpin your actions this year? Having read a great article by Chris Brogan, ( http://www.chrisbrogan.com/my-3-words-for-2010/), I decided to find three words that...
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Leading with passion
20/01/2010
I attended the second of four leadership days linked together under the programme 'Leadership Unleashed' (http://leadershipunleashed.co.uk/). Before Christmas I took part in the Insight day, and...
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Animated is 'Not Quite Right'
20/01/2010
Just wanted to let you know I have an article in the latest version of Animated looking at the work of Janet Smith, Caroline Bowditch and Marc Brew with Scottish Dance Theatre. They are working on a...
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Involuntary Dances
14/12/2009
Rita Marcalo is a dancer and I recently went to see her latest 24 hour piece. My review, for Disability Arts Online, starts: I’m at Bradford Playhouse waiting for Rita Marcalo to have an...
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Disabled Artists' Residency
14/12/2009
I was up at Dundee last week observing the disabled artists residency organised by Caroline Bowditch as part of her role as Scottish Dance Theatre's Dance Agent for Change. It was a chance for me to...
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Christmas Soup?
14/12/2009
Up at Dundee Rep.. more about why on another blog entry... and saw this soup. Thought it so funny I had to share! Enjoy the festive season!
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Best training comment ever!
07/12/2009
I often run training sessions for a range of clients - and I usually get good feedback, partly because I'm so passionate about looking at new ways of moving towards equality. I've not quite had a...
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Vote Audibility
25/11/2009
In case anyone is reading this on Wednesday 25th Nov and happens to be near a phone, can I just ask a small favour? If you have 10p to spare, please do Audibility a favour and phone this number to...
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Lunch with the ladies
25/11/2009
Back to Graeae again for a ladies lunch. Jen Sealey had drawn together disabled and non disabled women leaders for a lunch full of discussion, debate, thought and food. We had to work hard for our...
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Graeae opening
16/11/2009
Last week I went to the opening of Graeae's new offices and rehearsal spaces in London - beautiful, light, flexible, funky and accessible. It was great to be in such a fantastic location full of a...
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Meeting my hero...
10/11/2009
Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall was part of Ikley Literature Theatre this year, so I couldn't miss out on my chance to meet my hero (again! - I have driven him to Leeds once when he gave a reading here...
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The Shape of accessible events
26/10/2009
Last week I led another group of individuals through the Shape 'organising accessible events' course. I do enjoy delivering this training as every time its is so different due to the make up of the...
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What's your lovemark?
26/10/2009
At a recent day for Sync South East, I delivered an element based on two leadership concepts: lovemarks and Johari's window. I love lovemarks - those brands or organisations that go beyond the...
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Lighting up the skyline
12/10/2009
Motion Disabled truly lit up the Leeds skyline last Friday - awesome is the only word to describe it. Thanks to Simon, Paul, James and Phil for making it all happen. AWESOME!
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Sync Tanking with Sync South East
30/09/2009
Spent monday working with members of Sync South East, a leadership development programme for disabled artists and artworkers in the south of England. One of the tasks we worked through was accessing...
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Plan Ahead
23/09/2009
Last week it was Glasgow, this week it was Dundee (and in the summer it was Aberdeen and Edinburgh)... places I've been meeting with theatre venues and organisations as part of a development...
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Leadership Unleashed
23/09/2009
I heard a few days back that I was lucky enough to have been selected to take part in 'Leadership Unleashed' a programme being run by the Cultural Leadership Programme. Its described as a challenging...
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Richard's lit up in lights
02/09/2009
Spent the day yesterday at a Motion Capture lab in Teeside University with artist Simon McKeown and disabled athlete Richard Brook capturing Richard's motion as he played boccia, basketball and...
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Motion Disabled at Light Night Leeds
23/08/2009
This is an artists impression of what's going to be happening on the 9th October this year when Simon McKeown's Motion Disabled exhibition comes to Leeds as part of Light Night - and I can't wait!...
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Up at the Fringe
18/08/2009
Had a great trip to the Edinburgh Fringe this year - disability viewing included Claire Cunningham in Mobile/Evolution (and congrats Claire on your Fringe Angel award!), Julie Cleves in Ups, Downs...
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Big Green Gathering cancelled
27/07/2009
Ok, this isn't about work but it is about the wider context in which work happens. And it is about difference and diversity and respecting the views of people who don't happen to think the same as...
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4th Plinth part two
16/07/2009
I did get to pop down to Trafalgar Square and it was great to see the 4th Plinth in action. I had a quick chat to the team about the access requirements they had met so far, and it was interesting to...
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Access to the 4th Plinth
08/07/2009
Been to Trafalgar Square yet? Seen the plinth with its assortment of human exhibits? I've not been down to see it yet, but I did have the pleasure of working with the team of people responsible for...
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Lots of Creative People with Creative Ambition
24/06/2009
My feet are aching after a hectic day of networking at Creative Ambition 3, the cdp event for cpd providers in the cultural sector. It was great to catch up with old friends and make new ones - and...
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United Colours of Ballet
17/06/2009
Yesterday I went to see some dance classes run by Company Fierce and Northern Ballet School as part of a programme of work designed to widen the range of young people signing up for dance training...
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Lumps and bumps
04/06/2009
Earlier this year my youngest daughter had a lump removed from her head. A 'pyogenic granuloma' to give it its full name. Over the course of a few months it had grown into a popcorn sized thing in...
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Dance in Dundee
26/05/2009
I'm supporting Caroline Bowditch - the Dance Agent for Change based at Scottish Dance Theatre - to look at the impact of her post and so this week was up in Dundee, talking to some of the people she...
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What's Yorkshire like for disabled visual artists?
22/05/2009
Three Arts Council regions (Yorkshire, North East and North West) are looking into the opportunities and investment in disabled visual artists across the three regions. I went to a meeting today...
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Stop Gap hit Barnsley
13/05/2009
I went to see Stop Gap's latest show at the weekend at the newly opened Civic Theatre in Barnsley (lovedly new building). As usual, Stop Gap excelled - producing exceptional dance where inclusion is...
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Mind the Gap in Hong Kong
10/05/2009
On Saturday I took Tim Wheeler, the artistic director of Mind the Gap and Jez Colborne, a musician and actor who regularly works with them off to the station to begin their two week trip to Hong...
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Access to the flicks
10/05/2009
Interesting day on Thursday working for Shape and the Independent Cinema Office. We ran a day on making screenings more accessible for disabled people and had guest speakers too: Oska Bright talking...
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Look who is in the team...
30/04/2009
Just one more thing about my holiday and then I promise I will shut up about it (honest). Sometimes I wonder if I've become a ''disability magnet'. When I go out on family holidays or days out, I...
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Sync-ing up the South East
27/04/2009
Better get applying if you want to get in on Sync South East - there are two programmes on offer, one for deaf and disabled artist, artsworkers and other arts professionals, and one for disability...
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Take a break
22/04/2009
Been off for a couple of weeks - just in case you wondered why things haven't been updated for a while!
I'm back now so normal service will be resumed soon!
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Moving On
30/03/2009
This one day event in Glasgow promised exploration, inspiration, and celebration - and it delivered all that plus provocation too. It was very refreshing to be in a room of people who didn't all...
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Planning for the south east...
29/03/2009
Want to know why Sarah Pickthall and myself were holed up in a London apartment last week typing, planning, talking and plotting? This week sees the launch of Sync's new project in the south east -...
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Arts Vs Sports II
18/03/2009
It was the launch today for Arts Versus Sports - with great contributions of poetry, visual arts, performance and design work from all our artists. Look on the Arts Versus Sports web page on this...
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Our View
13/03/2009
Its an exciting time for disabled people interested in arts and sports in the south east. A large multi agency programme called Accentuate is being developed, and at its heart is a project called Our...
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DDang!
11/03/2009
The Urdang Academy is one of the schools in the Dance and Drama Award (DADA) Scheme that is having great success reaching out to under represented groups - disabled students, those on low incomes and...
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That's my boy!
02/03/2009
If you happen to be near a TV this afternoon, and happen to get the CBBC channel (the children's own BBC channel) - do switch on to see my son, Jack Wheeler, make a solar powered Jacket with help...
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The evidence is in the files...
02/03/2009
Bird College is one of the few drama and dance colleges offering Dance and Drama Awards (DADAs). These bursaries are offered to talented dancers, performers and stage managers to support their...
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Syncopation
26/02/2009
The name for Sync came from syncopation - putting an emphasis on a usually unemphasised beat. Yesterday, in Brighton and London, I had the chance to hear first hand about what this change in emphasis...
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Half term in Scotland
18/02/2009
Is it a holiday? Is it work? Hard to say really. I've been in Edinburgh since Monday mixing business with pleasure. I've managed to fit in a meeting with Scotland's Dance Agent for Change, Caroline...
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Happy Hearts
16/02/2009
Kids made us dinner - including soup and heart shaped bread! Hope everyone had a good day - either celebrating each other or celebrating singleness!
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Art versus sport
09/02/2009
My head is full of the cross overs between art and sport today, especially for disabled people - not a usual combination for me (I'm more usually into shopping than sport, truth be told). Recently...
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Gathering of the great and the good
31/01/2009
I popped into Mind the Gap's fantastic new space yesterday, as I heard that one of my favourite people, Jenny Sealey from Graeae was in town (shortly to be Jenny Sealey MBE, that is - congrats,...
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Interesting reading
27/01/2009
I was in London yesterday at a meeting of trainers who work for Shape - interesting session looking at boundaries, 'voices' and impact - and the train I was travelling back on broke down so my 2 1/2...
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Back to work with a bang
17/01/2009
After a long break for Christmas, and a week working from home setting up projects and slowly settling back into the season, this week just gone was back to work with a bang. So three days in London...
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Scratch Nativity
18/12/2008
I was invited to Mind the Gap's Xmas party last night - but didn't expect to have to perform! Staff, acting company members and any other attendees were divided into three teams and each group had 10...
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