DANCEEAST: WELCOMES THREE NEW AUDIENCE AMBASSADORS!

Gabrielle “it helped me find community.”

The home of dance in the east of England, DanceEast, has announced the names of its three audience ambassadors. These exceptionally enthusiastic members of the local community love attending DanceEast shows and events, and will now network, connect and introduce under-represented people to the joys of dance shows and experiences. DanceEast’s goal is to change any misconceptions about dance events and performances, to show how accessible, inclusive, and affordable they can be. The appointment of the three Audience Ambassadors is part of a new project called Future Dance Audiences, funded by Foyle Foundation.

Gabrielle Shefford will focus on family audiences. She moved to Ipswich from Greater London just a few weeks before having a new baby and just before lockdown. Without any family connections to the county of Suffolk, it could have felt very isolating, but Gabrielle says, “We’ve felt it was easy to find a community here”, perhaps because of her thriving network of other parents of young children. With a father who was a ballroom champion, Gabrielle has always loved watching live performances, saying “I think it’s that energy, you just can’t replace it with anything else. You feel part of it.” Gabrielle was impressed with DanceEast’s inclusion measures from the outset. On the day of her interview for this role, the childcare arrangements fell through (her firefighter husband suddenly needed to be on duty), so the two girls came along too! They were happily distracted by the children’s dressing up and reading corner in the DanceEats café. Of the work ahead, Gabrielle said, “I feel raring to go.”

Millie Powell will work with audiences aged 18 – 35. A contemporary dance fan who recently graduated from University with a Dance Performance degree, Millie has been on both ends of dancing, with people watching her and being an audience member herself. Millie’s priority is to gather as much feedback and information as possible from younger people about what they do want to see and experience, and what they don’t. Speaking of the many misconceptions of dance and her own experiences of having to encourage her friends to enjoy dance events, Millie said, “I feel like dance is often seen as for really young people or really old people. Dance is for everyone.Quite a lot of performances are only 1 hr to 1.5 hours. They (friends) want to make a whole evening of it, so trying to find ways of extending the whole experience is important.”

Brian Powlett will work with Global Majority audiences. Brian (pictured above) whose powerful image is currently featured in An Eye For Life exhibition celebrating the works of photographer John Ferguson, is a full-time student, a part-time supply teacher and a freelance chef at weekends. Not a dancer, Brian watched his first show “on a whim” and now attends regularly. He said, “What I genuinely like with dance, you’re always having to do your own interpretation of things that are going on. There’s not a specific narrative and you have to decide for yourself what’s happening.” Of the task ahead, he said, “I want to branch out and look for people who might not onsider watching dance shows as a night out. There are lots of people who don’t currently know this place exists. Or they think it’s a dance school. The more shows I watched, they just got better and better and I thought, “I’m into this”. There’s been shows which have absolutely resonated with me from a non-white perspective. Brian intends to make the most of his role as a supply teacher to engage with the next generation of dance fans, adding, “it’s about seeing the representation from all walks of life”.

* An Eye For Life, featuring Brian’s image above, takes place at Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich, until April 2025.

* To find out more about future dance events and performances, click here or call 01473 295230. Email, info@danceeast.co.uk

Jerwood DanceHouse, Foundry Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1DW