A film of dance, movement, poetry and story.
Created in 2021 by dancers from About Being, with a University of Cumbria dance student and dance graduate, in partnership with Dance Art Foundation, and filmmaker, Alice Underwood.
About Being is a North Cumbria dance group for stroke survivors and their families.
We started with the word ‘Change’:
Changing my socks
Changing direction
Small change in my pocket
‘A change is as good as a rest’
Changing seasons: Summer into Autumn. New school shoes, conkers, the smell of bonfires, darkness by tea time, a chill in the air.
Changes I have had to make because of my stroke.
Over 3 months we worked with this theme of Change and created small dances that reflect what it means to us.
This film captures the beauty of each participants movement and their own dance, the fragility of being human and the importance of connection and creativity as we change through life.
Poetry accompanies the film and was co-created with project participants and written by About Being participant, Rachel Beadle.
Swimming Upstream was funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery with artist support by Joe Moran (Artistic Director, Dance Art Foundation) and Sandie Fisher (Principal Lecturer in Performing Arts, University of Cumbria).