Sam Kelland’s Final Apprenticeship Report

Please find below extracts from Sam Kelland’s final report on her apprenticeship  – an initiative co-ordinated by The Wales Wide Training Programme, Rubicon Dance and Artis Community, and funded by Arts Council Wales.

My journey with Artis Community began in July 2015 when I was given volunteering opportunities as well as chances to train with members of the dance team. This was an excellent opportunity for me to meet the organisation and to see the types of people I may be working with in my post.

This eleven-month apprenticeship came with different responsibilities each term and was tailor made to my individual interests and needs. This timescale was beneficial for me as my role increased in responsibility as the apprenticeship developed which meant I was able to progress steadily throughout each term.

My apprenticeship has given me the opportunity to work with a diversity of different people with vast range in movement ability. I have worked with children, youth and adults with physical and mental disabilities, elderly people with dementia, participants in the pathway dance provision ages 4-21, students in a dance in educational setting, hard to reach groups and people in deprived areas. 

Working with such a diversity of different groups and highly skilled dance leader has given me a range of different tools that I can reflect upon. These tools have given me the opportunity to choose how I want to deliver and develop warm ups, dance phrases, creative tasks, structure session and choreograph dance pieces.

I’ve faced many different challenges during my time as a dance apprentice with Artis Community which has allowed me to develop and progress in my career path. One of the biggest challenges during my time as a dance apprentice was being open to improvised thinking and allowing myself to stray from plans. I have learnt how to deal with unpredictability in context to each group and not to panic if things begin to sway away from what I had planned for the session.

At no time in my apprenticeship did I feel unable to manage the amounts of responsibility I was given each term. This was down to the tailor made programme I had discussed and developed with the dance team and the strategic stages of the apprenticeship programme.

My time with Artis Community has resulted in me being offered further work on completion of my apprenticeship with established groups that I have been working with as well as the opportunity to develop potential sessions in my interest areas as mentioned previously.

Well done on the completion of your apprenticeship.  Many thanks to all involved in the co-ordination and running of this programme.  Sam, we look forward to working with you in the future.

 

Louise Lloyd Apprenticeship Report

 

Jobs Growth Wales Funded Rubicon Dance Apprenticeship – Final Report

November 30 2015 – May 27 2016

Please find below extracts from Louise’s report on her apprenticeship:

With the support from Jobs Growth Wales I was able to start my six-month apprenticeship with Rubicon Dance at the end of November 2015. The time scale of six months was perfectly suited to my programme of development as I had previously completed the three-month Paul Hamlyn Funded Professional Placement with Rubicon Dance and Ballet Cymru earlier that year. This had given me the necessary experience of having shadowed community dance leaders in order to take the next step in my training.

Over the six months I have worked with very young children, both with and without learning and physical disabilities, sessions in primary schools, nurseries, adult and toddler sessions and intergenerational family sessions.

I have worked with adults with a vast range of ability throughout my apprenticeship training. The sessions have included dance for those aged 60+, adults with learning and physical disabilities, elderly people in day centre settings, adults undergoing stroke rehabilitation, and adults with dementia in a care home setting. 

As well as having had Welsh Language training and gained my First Aid at Work certification whilst being an apprentice, I will be attending three CPD training programmes at Rubicon in July. The training days will be comprised of Foundation Phase Dance Day led by Anna Daly, Working with Challenging and Hard to Reach Groups led by Paul Kitcher, and Dance in Dementia Care led by Nicola Jacobson.

Throughout my apprenticeship I have received constant mentoring and weekly meetings with Tracey to discuss feedback, the problems faced within sessions, and how both the dance leaders and I had overcome these obstacles. The support structure set up within all aspects of my work with Rubicon was very nurturing and enabled me to really develop my skills and take advantage of my strengths when leading.

I am very grateful to Jobs Growth Wales for funding my apprenticeship and giving me such a brilliant opportunity. I am also thankful to the entire team at Rubicon Dance for all the time, wisdom and support they have given me and continue to share with me.

We are so pleased and proud that Louise has had a rewarding experience.  Many thanks to all involved, and especially Jobs Growth Wales for their funding.   For more information on training and apprenticeships, please contact Tracey at Rubicon Dance – 02920 491477 tracey@rubicondance.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Report – Vocational Training Assistant

Please find enclosed extracts from Luke Bafico’s report on his time at Rubicon:

 

I got involved in British Dance Edition (BDE) 2016, a massive event on the national dance calendar, which hit Wales in mid-march and brought a diverse programme of quality British dance to Cardiff and Newport. Through participating in the event I was able to see what is relevant and current in the contemporary dance scene, which had a hand in shaping my thinking on what kind of an artist I aspire to be and what types of work I am interested in pursuing.

It is always an honour being an advocate for Rubicon and the full-time course and I especially enjoyed our sessions with the Fusion and conFusion groups, from which we had a very positive and engaging reaction from the participants. What a great group of people they are and it was truly a joy getting the chance to work with them on this level.

I have been keeping my training up and continuing with technique classes and fitness sessions which needless to say are important to keep the body fit and in shape so I can be fully prepared for external opportunities. I have also been able to get in the studio by myself and have some solo creative sessions. Mainly, I have been discovering new ways of moving and how music can inform the body.

Another highlight from the past three months was attending Rubicon’s 40^th Anniversary lunch with guest of honour Sir Matthew Bourne, where again I was able to act as a spokesperson and representative for Rubicon Dance and further understand the ideals and principles of the community dance industry’s working environment. This was honestly a fantastic afternoon of being able to celebrate everything that is good about Rubicon and I can easily say what a success the event was. It was one of those experiences that made me realise how lucky I am to have Rubicon in my life and how much it has helped me career-wise and how proud I am to be part of such a special organisation.

To sum up, I cannot say how grateful I am that the past six months have happened and how thankful I am for the opportunities that arose within my time as the Vocational Training Assistant.  

Many thanks to Luke for all his work. We wish you the best in your future endeavours.

 

 

 

Artis Community Apprenticeship

 

A selected extract from Sam Kelland’s second term at Artis Community Apprentice:

The second term of my apprenticeship has allowed me to experience new groups and new responsibilities. My role for this term was to assist, participants, collaborate, observe and lead sections of different community dance workshops around RCT. The quantity of the session I would lead would depend on my relationship with the group, my readiness to take on more responsibility and discussions with mentors and dance leaders.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Lizzie Davies and the True Colours groups. During my time with them I have gained and learnt so much. I had the opportunity to lead warm up sessions and choreographed group sections of the dance pieces. I have had the opportunity to work with props, film and music. The highlight of working with these groups were the sharings that were held at the end of term. The progression of both groups during the term were visible and the end results were beautiful.

Insync is an inclusive dance workshop for participants ages 11+. The session concentrates on both contemporary technique and creative dance. The biggest challenge for me during this session was knowing how difficult to set exercises. I was unsure of how to approach contemporary material for an inclusive group and didn’t want members to find it too difficult or too simple. At the same time I wanted to push participants in order for them to improve technically as well as creatively. I had endless discussions about this with Sarah Rogers who was leading the session.

Working with such a diversity of different groups and highly skilled dance leader has given me a range of different tools that I can reflect upon. These tools have given me the option to choose how I want to develop and deliver warm ups, dance phrases, creative tasks, structure session and choreograph dance pieces. This opportunity has enabled me to experience hands on what it is like to work in the community dance sector. I have learnt from mistakes and have had many an ‘on the spot’ moments which I have learnt to deal with confidence. None of which would have been possible without the encouragement and guidance of such a supportive team.

For further information on placements and apprenticeships, please call Tracey Brown at Rubicon 02920 491477.

 

Vocational Training Assistant – A Report

What follows is an extract from a report by Luke Bafico on his experience as a Vocational Training Assistant at Rubicon in the six weeks leading up to the end of 2015.

The main focus for me has been engaging in the inaugural Cardiff Dance Festival. It gave me a great opportunity to get involved with professional projects and was a way for me to start liaising with established people on the contemporary dance scene. Through these opportunities I was able to build upon and develop my organisational and social skills. I felt the biggest achievement was organising four workshops and performance dates from visiting artists by cooperating with Chris Ricketts, the Festival’s programmer and project manager. I also worked with Joanna Young, a home-grown choreographer, on the Cardiff West project, which I enjoyed very much and hope that I can build on my professional relationship with her.

Another personal thing I achieved was putting a proposal together for a residency at the Festival. It was a good exercise because I am aware I am going to have to submit proposals in the future in order to pursue career development. Rubicon was able to support this creative development by pushing me to apply for this proposal to try and further myself.

 I also hope I have had some impact on the full-time students. By being in the classroom with them I like to think I am a role model for them, which in turn has raised standards and aspirations amongst the group. By taking part in select classes I am still able to work on my own artistry and improve my technique whilst preparing for my exit strategy after my six month internship is completed, giving me the best chance of finding another industry-related job. 

All in all, it has been a crazy but exciting period for me so far, and it’s safe to say I have definitely got a lot out of the position. Moving forward, I need to think about building on some of the things mentioned and what should become a priority for the next month.

Luke, it’s been great having you around.  We are all looking forward to the Spring Term.

 

Apprentice Report July 2015

What follow below is an extract from Elin Haf Morris’ report on the first term of her apprenticeship with Dawns i Bawb – April 2015 – July 2015.  We are glad that you are enjoying it, and wish you all the best for the forthcoming term ahead.

I have just finished my first term as a Dawns i Bawb apprentice, this term has been amazing it’s opened my eyes to so many different things and ways of working within dance, also it has helped me improve on what I did already know.
I applied for the apprenticeship whilst I was in my last year of college, I studied Performing Arts for 3 years and in my final year I knew that Uni wouldn’t be the right choice for me as I want to be a dance tutor and I felt that Uni would be more like college, as they would work more with me as a student and not work with me in a way where I’d want to learn how to teach. Where as with Dawns i Bawb they give you the opportunity to go out with mentors such as Emma-Jane & Catrin and get the experience first hand of how they do things. My college tutor, Lisa Jones helped me with contacting Dawns i Bawb as she knew about them and knew about the apprenticeship and thought it would suit and help me.

I’ve learnt quite a few things already by doing this apprenticeship scheme, I’ve learned about the different variety of teaching styles/ methods, for example there’s the Command style – this is where all the decisions are controlled by the teacher, I’ve seen this being used by both Emma-Jane and Catrin in their lessons, mainly in the warm ups.

Another major thing I’ve learned is that adaptability is a must, because not all groups are going to be the same, and not all groups have the ability to do the same. Everybody is different and I think it’s important that if you go to a new school or club to have an open mind because you never know what you’re going to get.

By being on the apprenticeship I have also been attending any meetings they have, and I also get to help out with any new work they have going on. By doing this I’m not just getting told whats going on, I’m also getting the chance and opportunity to get fully involved with the company and what they do.

Overall my first term has been amazing and I have to say I have met some brilliant people and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

The apprenticeship programme is part of the Wales Wide Training Scheme,  funded by Arts Council Wales.

DUETS Final Report

What follows below is an extract from Louise Lloyd’s final report following the completion of her placement on the DUETS programme.    DUETS is a programme linking Rubicon Dance and Ballet Cymru, and is funded by The Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation Professional Placement was the perfect way for me to develop the necessary skills and experience that I desired whilst learning in a very supportive environment that was very established in the realms of community dance.

Having done ballet since a very early age, it was useful for me to understand how to deliver a class to an older group of children from Communities First areas linked to primary schools that Rubicon has worked in for many years and who had never undertaken any lessons in this discipline. Clarity and simplicity was important for the children to understand the technique and the same exercises were repeated every week until the children were ready for an increase in difficulty.

Having the children demonstrate moves gave them confidence and a chance for them to be praised. I realised praise to be a difficult reward to manage as every single child desired it and would be disappointed when not chosen by an adult as performing one of the best dances. However, though praise should not be falsely given, it could greatly increase the confidence of a child who usually struggles and may not have been the best but had tried hard and that deserved to be recognised. This was evident with one child in particular who was reluctant to join in at all in the first few sessions, but as the term developed and his efforts were recognised grew more confident in taking part and performing dances in partners.

Creating a short dance in groups at the end of the class allowed for creativity and a chance to perform the piece to the others in the class. This gave the participants a sense of achievement as they would always receive applause and we would get others in the audience to select things they liked or were specifically looking for. Familiarity was useful in this class so that participants didn’t get confused and so the structure of the class remained the same.

I spoke to the students on the full time course about my experience and knowledge of vocational training and answered any questions they had as they continued with the audition process for vocational schools or universities. I then joined a couple of their ballet and contemporary classes and this was useful for me to see the highest level of dance training offered at Rubicon and the potential outcome for younger dancers attending weekly classes at Rubicon.

The relationships I have developed with the dance participants while working closely with them on a weekly basis and as part of their groups has helped me to discover ways of encouraging the best out of them. I am truly grateful for the position I’ve held and to have been part of this programme.

We are very lucky to have worked with Louise, and all at Rubicon wish her well with her endeavours.

DUETS Project

Here’s a selection of comments from Louise Lloyd following her recent completion of the Payul Hamlyn Foundation funded Professional Placement in partnership with Ballet Cymru:

Paul Hamlyn Scholarship: Shadowing the Paul Hamlyn Scholarship sessions has given me the chance to see how children, many with no previous dance experience, can quickly develop their dance skills with only one lesson a week. This insight has made me realise just how beneficial this programme is to such a group, some of whom would otherwise have no opportunity to take dance lessons. I have a better understanding of what is appropriate for students in their first year of receiving ballet and street lessons and one of the most important things I have witnessed is the need and means to energise and engage this group. The relationship I have developed with the students while working closely with them on a weekly basis and as part of their group has helped me to discover ways of encouraging the best out of them. I am truly grateful for the position I’ve held and to have been part of this programme.

My general experience: My experience of working with different groups within a community dance context has dramatically increased thanks to the possibility for me to have such a diverse programme of shadowing sessions on the Paul Hamlyn Professional Placement scheme. Having witnessed and participated in group sessions for a range of ages and abilities has given me more confidence to be able to approach a variety of different sessions and have a better understanding of how to manage and lead the group. It has also exposed my own strengths, weaknesses and preferences in relation to certain groups, so I have realised which groups I take to more naturally and those which I need to work a little harder to keep control and enjoyment in the session. I am now a lot more relaxed and feel a lot more in command of my own actions and choices within dance sessions.

Apprenticeship Report

Rhian Lowe is the community dance apprentice with Artis Community as part of the Wales Wide training programme.  What follows is a selection from her second term’s report.

 My role had developed during the second term in comparison to the first. My additional roles were to lead parts of the sessions, work alongside the leaders, engage with themes and begin to experience non-practical duties such as, liaising with the Artis team at the office. On the office side I was given tasks and projects to assist with such as marketing, sharing ideas and learning ways to advertise classes and pull in new clients. This was exciting for me as this was an unfamiliar area of which I found a positive and motivating challenge.

It was extremely noticeable which groups I had worked with during the first term as I had already established a working relationship with those particular groups. This meant that the second term with them felt like a natural development. Though the new groups took a while to get into, as the relationships were not established I found myself having to continue with the development of the apprentice scheme whilst also establishing the connection with the group.

Within these classes I was able to begin to practice my management skills particularly classroom management and time management. As with all new encounters the first few weeks were a struggle, I had to think of my own teaching style, how the groups were familiar with their leaders teaching methods and how to infuse the two together. Once I had connected the two, I was able to focus on managing tasks to fit the individuals within the group.

As with the previous term the post feedback sessions continued after each session or as close to the session as possible. However this term the feedback had more detail and depth to it, as I was being observed over a greater scale of areas. I found the feedback of great use, the majority of feedback I had already noted myself based upon my own reflection.

I have discovered that there is a significant skill to teaching various ages. I do not feel that there will be a point where I would stop learning this skill; I feel that through practice and series of trial and error will allow me to develop more knowledge and, a greater understanding of classroom management.

We’d like congratulate Rhian on her work so far.  We are rightly proud of the Wales Wide training programme, and would like to thank all involved for the support.

 

 

 

Rubicon / Caerphilly Arts Development

As part of a new joint initiative with Caerphilly Arts Development, Rubicon has been helping to mentor Bethan Ryland as part of her apprenticeship programme.   Here’s some excerpts from her first term’s report.

 

My first term as a community dance apprentice with Rubicon Dance and Caerphilly Arts Development has been significantly important in my development as a dance artist and practitioner. It has increased my confidence as a dance leader and provided me with many excellent opportunities to learn, perform, network and improve my skills. It has also been a great opportunity to work with Rubicon, a well-established community dance organisation and work-shadow experienced dance leaders in a variety of settings.

The aims of the apprenticeship for Caerphilly Arts Development were to develop dance activity in the county. I believe this aim is being addressed during the first term of my training and will continue to be developed through sessions, projects and creating a discourse between council officials, Communities First officers and other community dance/arts organisations. The sessions I have been work shadowing at Rubicon have direct parallels with the sessions I have set up in Caerphilly with the support of Dave Chamberlain – Senior Arts Development Officer at Caerphilly Arts Development, therefore what I am learning at Rubicon is invaluable.

 

At the start of the apprenticeship I had no experience with working with disabled people in dance. After the first session I realised how beneficial and rewarding the class is and how much enjoyment all involved take from it. Watching Anwen manage the sessions and how well she adapts to situations, the way she engages with each participant and their carers and how she ‘feeds off’ participants, shaping the format of the class through a reciprocal relationship, is very inspiring. Shadowing this class has taught me how to listen, share, communicate and bring the best out of participants, encouraging movement ability and how to articulate ideas through non-verbal communication. I hope one day I can deliver a dance and disability session, it has encouraged me to research more into this area of work with the ethos of working on the basis of what people can do rather than what they can’t.

 

Communities First Officers indicated that a group in Gilfach had expressed interest in a dance class at their local church. After meeting with them, the class soon began with a great initial uptake. Shadowing the Llanrumney over 60s class gave me a lot more confidence to lead this session as well as choreographic inspiration and belief in the health and social benefits a class like this brings to its participants.

 

Having the continued mentoring and support of Rubicon and Caerphilly Arts Development has been imperative to my progression and growth, both personally and professionally. I am looking forward to working in different settings next term and using what I learn to aid the development of dance in the community within Caerphilly County Borough.

We’d like to thank Beth for her work so far – we are looking forward to her continued efforts throughout 2015.