This time last year, Vicky and I were invited to attend a production of contemporary dance at the Theater Royal in Winchester. This invite came through our friend Barbara and the main reason for accepting was that one of the dance directors was Barbara's niece, Hannah De Cancho - a professional dancer and choreographer in her own right. Now, both Vicky and I enjoyed stage arts and live production and so this was never going to be a hardship...we thought. But, then we learned that the dance workshop - part of the Wessex Dance Academy - that Hannah had been working with, was made up of young men and women who were within the care of Hampshire County Council and the Wessex Youth Offending Team. These were vulnerable and disadvantaged kids that most people would write off at first glance. Kids that had found themselves on the wrong side of the law and societal expectation once (or more) too often.
If I am honest, my expectation from that point on was that this would be something akin to a 'High School' jaunt. A handful of enthusiastic amateurs hoofing across a stage. And we, as the patronising audience, would applaude and show our appreciation of their well intentioned, if painfully executed, attempts at 'art'! I should have known better - not just of Hannah and her colleagues, but of the resilience and resourcefulness of humanity.
The Theater Royal, on that night, was a full house. Rubbing shoulders were local dignitaries from Hampshire County and Winchester City Councils, families - there to support their errent offspring and siblings - and a smattering of people like Vicky and me - there either in second level support or out of voyeuristic interest.
The house went dark, the curtain rose and the evening began with a video of the performers in rehearsal. To the strains of Bruno Mars' 'The Lazy Song', we saw Hannah and the other dance directors, cajoling, negotiating and often dragging recalcitrant delinquents into the rehearsal room. Just about every teenager stereotype was portrayed by these kids. But, they had chosen to be there! Over the following 20 minutes, we were shown a montage of the progression from the apathetic to the engaged, interspersed with interviews with the dancers that gave a brief, but telling, insight into the world in which these young people lived.
One young woman stood out to me in particular. When she said 'The only time my parents have seen me in public has been in court!' I started to understand the poignance of what was unfolding. These were 'Juvenile delinquents', but they were also people! They had feelings, hopes and aspirations just like the rest of us. They simply had the misfortune to have not had the same advantages and privileges that many of us take for granted and to be young enough that they felt excluded from that privileged world and saw kicking against it as the only way through.
By the end of the film, I was already starting to think that something extraordinary was about to unfold. I remember noticing that Vicky and I were holding hands; not looking at each other for fear that we might not contain the rising emotion. We were sat in the front row with the expectation we were about to jump from a cliff!
After a brief pause, the real show began. What transpired was simply inspirational. In the space of three weeks, Hannah and her colleagues had taken this blank canvas and created a masterpiece of creative excellence. The performance was highly professional, artistically astute and polished. The stage was filled with an energy that spilled over into the audience. The knowledge gained from watching the video added to the awe. Now, I don't profess to be an art critic, but I found it next to impossible to equate, in my own head, the disparity between my expectation and my experience. Had I not known the beginning of this story, I would have been happy to believe that these were professional dancers.
When the piece ended, there was a deserved standing ovation. By this time, I had tears in my eyes! I looked at Vicky, so, too, did she. We looked around at the rest of the audience and saw that we were not remotely alone in showing our emotion. On the stage, the troupe formed a line to bow to the audience. Many of them were also crying, others were punching the air in triumph. The strength of emotion in the auditorium was palpable. Whatever plaudits may be given to the directors, these young people had just pulled off the coup of their lifetime.
Vicky was already aware that, with budgets being squeezed, future funding for this project was at risk. She also knew that, though she wasn't a decision maker, her positive comments in the right ears could only serve to support the future viability of the project and the academy. It would be disingenuous to suggest that Vicky's input was pivotal. Perhaps the project had dancing leg of its own all along. However, the project was granted further funding and, twelve months later, we are seeing the fourth cohort of dancers graduate from the academy. Some of the original dancers have continued to pursue successful artistic careers and should be watched with interest by anyone who follows contemporary dance.
In tribute to Vicky's support of the Wessex Dance Academy, the performance on the 29th May 2012 has been dedicated to her memory. Vicky's modesty would have made her shy away from this limelight. However, her unerring faith in the goodness of people and her belief in the responsibility of those 'with' to support those 'without' was something that undoubtably helped and influenced the right people to make the right decision at the right time.
For Vicky and myself, I would like to thank Wessex Dance Academy for remembering Vicky at this performance and I would like to wish all of the performers every success, what ever their future should bring. To everyone else I would like to say, never underestimate the positive power of the human condition. Everybody has a valid view of their world, embrace the differences that colour and flavour our lives.
http://www.dance-united.com/2012/05/wessex-dance-academy-present-momentum/
http://hannahdecancho.co.uk/HANNAH_DE_CANCHO/Home.html
Good story=)
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