WAINSGATE DANCES OPEN PRACTICE
“In Open practice the shared interests, variety of age ranges and experiences is joyous.
It is incredible to share dance together in this unique way and to see the real difference it makes to peoples lives.”
Katy Hewison
Open Practice is a daily space for moving.
It’s an hour for doing your own thing in the company of others with an eclectic playlist changed daily.
It’s for anyone who likes to move, in a welcoming and open space.
The session runs 9-10am Monday to Friday almost every week throughout the year.
No need to book – just come along.
£2 is our suggested minimum donation, but please pay what you can – the money all goes to paying for the space, and if there’s any left over we use it to support the artists in residence, performances, childrens workshops and other parts of our programme, so if you like what we do, please do consider paying a bit more.
And if you’d like to know more about Open Practice, you can contact us via email at:
Open Practice is facilitated by a rotating group of people including:
Charlie Morrissey, Caroline Scott, Lucy Suggate, Ben Wright, Rob Hopper, Romany Dear, Chemaine Cooke, Charlie Ford, Caitlin Paramour and other visiting artists.
All Welcome!
“The Open Practice at Wainsgate is an incredible resource for all moving bodies- (professional or otherwise) which I attend as often as possible. From my experience it is a non-segregative, inclusive, welcoming and accepting space. “
Anushiye Yarnell
Open Practice is an hour for moving, for dancing and for doing your own thing in the company of others to an eclectic playlist of sounds changed daily.
a simple idea:
Find a space in the room and stick to that space. It’s your own little island in a room full of islands, or your own swimming lane in a pool full of swimmers. (You may need to renegotiate your space as more people fill the room)
To support the experience, here are some thoughts and guidelines that have come out of the 5 years that this has been happening and being developed by many moving bodies.
Open Practice is a space for exploring, bringing attention to, developing, and sustaining your own way of moving whilst others are doing the same – in their own way.
So doing something for yourself, and taking care of your own practice; being completely engaged in your own moving is a way to support and be supported by the whole space.
Open Practice is a space for moving alongside rather than with or to the others or in contact with them, so again, please keep to your space.
One thing that supports practice is curiosity.
Including all of the different ways that movement arrives and is experienced; feeling your way into moving, taking time and resting are all part of what you could be curious about and play with.
Open Practice started as a means of supporting professional dance artists to develop and sustain their practice.
It is open to all no matter what your movement experience and it continues to be a space for exploration in which many approaches to moving can happen alongside each other.
Doors open at 8.50am. The playlist starts at 9am and runs for 60 minutes.
Come as often or as little as you like.
It’s ok to arrive late, or to leave early. Please do so with consideration for the other people in the space.
Open Practice is a shoe*, chat and phone free space.
The toilets downstairs double as changing rooms.
*Indoor footwear is fine if you need to wear it. Outdoor footwear to be left at the door please.