“Shallal has its place in the dance world rather like naive and outsider art have their place in the visual art world: it comes from a community of philosophy, a world view, of each person’s value and contribution. Labels are only useful to define and assist someone’s needs. We know that people have been moved, challenged, and changed by watching. Choice and freedom are especially important for people who have less say than most over what happens in their lives. We do not wish to tell people how to move, we are much more interested in learning from them and seeing their inner beauty. The facilitators’ creative role is to allow that to happen and to help that person find their way in and access that world. It is not so much reliant on skill... more, it tests out your belief system. If you believe this you will try to allow it to happen by adapting, changing, maintaining communication, until something breaks through.”
Jo Willis - Creative Director of Shallal in their 2009 promotional film
At the start of October, I went down to Cornwall to shadow Jo Willis and the arts charity Shallal. Shallal originated as a dance theatre in 1985 to provide a performance and creative space that celebrates diversity, ability, and community. The charity has groups all over Cornwall, with some aimed specifically towards performance whilst others are focused towards engaging the community in arts opportunities. It aims to provide space for individuals to celebrate and express themselves through collaborative, improvised performances or creative practice with others.
On my first day with them, I attended sessions in Falmouth which included an arts workshop where artists were provided with materials to consider the theme of a solar eclipse, an improvised dance practice, and a performance-focused dance theatre. During all these sessions, a few members joined online via Zoom. Whilst normally I find blended online-in-person sessions can feel disjointed, there was an amazing energy from the people participating through Zoom and Shallal managed to create a very cohesive group feeling. People shared the art that they had created as well as dancing to the camera or laptop in a way that felt very naturally accessible, as if accessibility was not something to be seen as a challenge but an issue of the energy we put into it.
Jo told me how she trained under Wolfgang Stange who, inspired by his own expressionist dance teacher Hilde Holger, developed a dance theatre that provided opportunity for, as Stange himself puts it, “a form of creative expression for people who otherwise would never have the chance to develop their artistic potential” (Wolfgang Stange). Stange's teaching methods emphasise the importance of recognising ability over (dis)ability, creating inclusive performances where individuals with physical and/or intellectual disabilities or none all dance together in a celebration of what our bodies can do.
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The next day, I visited the Redruth art studio at Krowji creative hub where community members are able to come use the studio space and materials to explore various creative outlets. One member was writing a children’s book and was gathering feedback on her writing whilst she sketched illustrations to go alongside the story. Another artist worked on a large mixed media painting of a pot of flowers which used a fantastical array of colours and shapes.
One artist entered in a hurry and very quickly had his support worker ripping large pieces of a seemingly-endless roll of paper to stick on the wall of the studio. Once one was up, the artist was immediately in action, using oil pastels to draw around blocks of shapes to create intricate and entangled images. As one picture was completed, the next roll needed to be at the ready, prepared to catch the next idea and movement. At the end of the session, the rolls of paper were piled high and left to join the existing artworks in the studio. Jo explained they are planning to exhibit this work as part of a performance space in the future.
All the while this was happening, one more member was doing a presentation via Zoom. Eddie Callis, a multi-media artist, ceramicist, musician, and performer, was sharing his work in a talk called Then and Now which you can find on YouTube.
All together, it was a wonderful space of individuality, creativity, and possibility. I was almost too taken aback by how natural the processes seemed that I was often drawn into the process myself and forgot that I was also there to ask questions.
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Later that day, I got the train down the beautiful South West Cornwall coastline to Penzance, as the next day was to be a rehearsal for the Shallal Dance Theatre group in Newlyn. This group is particularly aimed towards individuals looking to perform and so there is a more purposeful air in the room. Members are encouraged to lead their own warm-ups, although we all do these together and are encouraged to work with others, sharing ideas, mirroring, or even using each others’ bodies to stretch. The rehearsal, like the performances, was entirely improv-based.
Jo explained to me that she uses improvised dance as a way to enable performance and accessibility for people whose energy levels can vary significantly, so that when moments of inspiration and creative energy hit, there is a space for this. Improv also allows for expression in a way that is not choreographed. Choreography can perhaps demand too much in terms of memory and focus and therefore might add to pressures and stresses that creativity should largely dissipate. Thus, Jo teaches the skills of process rather than particular techniques. In this way, people learn to move their bodies in communication with others, always looking and responding to what is going on around them, and building off this in symbiotic, creative ways.
"Have intent in your movement. Or be still. Or get off the stage. Make it look good."
Jo directs three options and one rule across the room.
The above image shows a collage I made during the art studio session at Krowji. It explores the critical foundations for improvisation, as explained by Jo Willis, through Structure (the room, the music, the opportunity), Freedom (the space to create), and Intent (that artists make only purposeful movement).
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After the rehearsal, a few of us went back to Redruth to get settled into a new space, Back Lane West, where Shallal are doing a residency for a month. This is a small space with huge potential and everyone is very excited: it is currently a blank canvas, with white walls, ceiling, and floors and within moments of arriving, three artists are set up with wood and cardboard and begin making. They have the project 'On Board' to focus on, that should hopefully culminate in a public exhibition, around the topic of migration, movement, and travel. Shallal makes material how art is political, social, and critical in both practice and performance. They make room for conversations and expression which are led from the possibilities of the body, not constrained by others’ ideas of one’s body.
The above images show works-in-progress by Sam While, Kerry Jackson, and Tina for the project 'On Board'.
I attended these sessions ready to write notes about how the space was set up and creativity encouraged, however, in the end I barely sat down. I was integrated into the performances and improvised dances; I became a body moving through the music the same as everybody else. When we were directed to particular practices, such as crossing the room - a practice which encouraged improvised movement in travel and interaction between those moving in the same and opposite directions - my movements were entangled with others’ as we mirrored each other, followed one another's steps, or built off each others’ energies. It was an amazing experience to fully accept the movement of improvising with one’s body and not over-thinking what it means to be a researcher, a dancer, a participant, a performer, or a facilitator.
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What have I taken away with me?
Individuals hold endless potential, there just needs to be a space in which to access this.
Providing structure and a framework for creativity that allows for freedom and expression can enable beautiful, cohesive art without limiting artists through demands for long-term focus, memory, energy, repetition, and movement that entangle ableist ideas of what art is.
Establishing positive reinforcement for creativity through listening and, critically, acting on feedback and suggestions that allow for the artists or community members to lead their own practice.
Bridging practice, including around socio-political and cultural conversations, to individual interests and potentials enables equitable engagement and community involvement that actively envelopes and celebrates diversity.
A huge thank you to all the artists at Shallal for welcoming me into your creative space and sharing your works and performances with me. Particular thanks to Jo Willis, Colin Curbishley and Debbie O'Nyons for allowing me to shadow your work as facilitators and artists. I take so much away from this experience.
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