Handle (me) With Care

Tomorrow I start my final project of the year before heading off on my travels.

Handle (me) With Care is a research and development project exploring dressing rituals between patients and carers in domestic care settings in collaboration with research artist Noemie Soula. In August 2021, we had our first research and development week and now we have been funded by Arts Council England and Lab 4 Living (Sheffield Hallam University) for 2 weeks of further research and development. This was easily one of my favourite weeks and projects of last year. I kept telling Artistic Director of Hype Dance, Anna Oljenicki who commissioned me to create the work in the months that followed what a total joy it was.

Last year we had a week with no pressure to create a product just play play play! Our team word is JOUER (play in French). Going through the archives, we found a video from day 1 of week 1 where Jouer become our word. It was there from the very beginning. Play and Jouer with Noemie, Sarah and Chris is so joyful.

Play – Play – Play! – Jouer – Jouer – Jouer!

Now we have 2 weeks and are working towards a sharing at the end of the project. I’m really looking forward to getting back into this and revisiting the research from last year and all the learning thats happened between then and now for us all.

Research – Noemie Soula

Choreography – Lucy Haighton

Dance Artists – Sarah Hobson and Chris Brayford