15 Oct Guest Blog | Southpaw Dance Dance Company
KSF Artists of Choice, is open to artists across the disciplines of dance, theatre, musical theatre, music and film. Over the next few weeks, we will post guest blogs from some of our 2015 grant winners about how the grant has impacted their work. Applications will be open in early 2016.
Name | Robby Graham
Project | Speakeasy, Southpaw Dance Company
Year Awarded KSF Grant | 2015
We were funded the award to produce Speakeasy, a new indoor touring production for 2016 that combines high impact dance performances with the narrative of Faust. In the piece we see Faust enter a Speakeasy, unaware that the establishment is owned by the devil and populated by his demons who seek to corrupt Faust with drinking, gambling, and general debauchery, and manipulate him into a deal with the devil where his very soul is at stake.
Since receiving the award there has been a sensational amount of interest in the company generated by the association with the Kevin Spacey Foundation. We hope this profile will translate to an increased awareness of the Southpaw’s current repertory of work and, of course, for Speakeasy.
The award will allow us to stagger the creative process, giving us the time and space to develop the work over an extended period. After developing and trialling ideas we will take Speakeasy to a small number of venues to gain audience and programmer feedback. We are keen to develop our relationships with theatres across the UK and feel Speakeasy will have great appeal across existing dance audiences and people who wouldn’t normally engage with dance in a theatre context.
The award isn’t just a pot of money, it is more importantly a package of support tailored by people who are passionate about artistic development and believe in the work. I’m looking forward to benefitting from the expertise of leading industry professionals and implementing that advice in creating Speakeasy.
My advice to other artists would be, don’t preclude yourself from anything, be ambitious, and ask the ridiculous questions. Try to keep the work at the centre of your priorities and commit fully. It is our responsibility as artists to push the boundaries of any project we initiate.
Speakeasy will be available for touring in 2016 and beyond. For more details or to support the creation of the work go to www.southpawdancecompany.co.uk or email [email protected]
You can read more about Speakeasy here.