Bring out your curlers! Next Wednesday evening, the first Salon takes place at Duke Studios, Leeds – a social event for people interested in or curious about the future of dance.. Hollie Harkness-Gowers of Yorkshire Dance tells @Zoe_Parker more…
What’s a salon?
The Salon sits between a hair salon, where you often end up chatting to people you’ve not met before, and the original idea of a Salon as a ‘gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host’ designed ‘to amuse or educate’. We liked this idea of amusing, inspiring, information sharing and bringing people together in a social way. We also liked the idea that hair salons are places where people chat and to get to know each other.
How did The Salon come about?
Yorkshire Dance used to run a dance network to bring people working in dance together, but it wasn’t working out, so they did the brave thing and scrapped it. Then they spoke to a range of people at different points in their career, and not all of them involved specifically or only in the dance world, about what sorts of networking might benefit their peers, and the idea for a Salon came about. The result is a test event, to try out some new, social and definitely playful ways to bring people together.
What’s different about the Salon?
It’s not a dry, or exclusive networking event – it’s a social gathering that finds it’s starting point in the aspirations and needs of people working in dance, but it’s certainly not exclusive to the art form and we think we’ll all benefit from being better connected across art forms and across the creative industries. What’s also different is the way this first test event has been designed – by a group of individuals working with Yorkshire Dance to think about it from different perspectives. Those individuals have contributed their skills and time to develop something fun. The idea is that anyone interested in the future of dance or working in and around the creative industries can come and join in. We hope you’ll find the Salon entertaining, social and participatory.
How will the Salon work?
The test event is free and doors open at 7.30pm. It’s a get-together with some playful surprises, a brilliant compere, drink and snacks, and plenty of excuses to talk to people, including a cheeky and provocative question to get people talking. It’s all light hearted but our thinking is that a good Salon, should ask the tough questions in a fun way, and invite people’s thoughts, for and against. What’s the point of dance? You decide….
What if I work in the arts but I don’t understand dance?
That’s part of the point, and you’d be especially welcome. Dance isn’t just the stuff that happens on stages in quiet auditoriums or studios with sprung-floors, it’s something people do from a very early age, instinctively. You hear music, you tap your foot or more right? People dance throughout their lives so we think that is our starting point – and we’re as keen to involve people who shy away from the dance floor as those who stage-dive or leap into the middle with no inhibitions.
Is this happening at Yorkshire dance?
No. It’s at Duke Studios which is based within Munro House, just round the corner from Yorkshire Dance. The space has a laid back vibe with pub style benches and decking with beanbags!
What would Fred Astaire make of all these shenanigans?
I think he’d tip his Top hat!
Book an appointment at The Salon and reserve a place for a dry cut, a shave or a full perm.
The Salon #1: Wednesday 25th September, 7.30pm at Duke Studios, Munro House.
Places can be booked online here.
The Salons is led and delivered by Yorkshire Dance in partnership with a steering group made up of people working or studying in the creative sector in Yorkshire.
Steering Group members: A quiet word | Dep Arts | Sara Teresa | Zoe Parker | Phoenix Dance Theatre | Martin Henson Dance | Fran Graham | Nicola Forshaw | Rachel Fullegar