Mentoring with Charlotte Vincent
A massive thank you for your support over the last half a year or so. I feel a huge shift in my confidence and in the clarity of what I’m doing both in and out of the studio. I don’t think I would have got to this point without the push from you, so thank you for not letting me off the hook!
Mentee, 2024
Charlotte Vincent is an experienced performance maker, dramaturg and trauma informed facilitator.
Vincent’s mentoring style is generous, intellectually robust, playful, honest and direct. Her mentoring immediately unlocks conceptual and contextual challenges, engages in meaningful enquiries and offers clear, solution-focused ways forward. With three decades of leadership and making, Vincent’s mentoring and creative methodologies unlock immediate and long term creative breakthroughs.
Vincent’s mentoring can be practice based (clarifying aims and intentions, offering new tools and approaches to move forward) or production focused (resulting in clear, positive shifts in the making process to make meaningful, individual work).
Mentoring can take place in the studio or online, or a combination of both.
Charlotte is an incredible mentor. She pushes and challenges in the best way and is also so kind and able to give a perspective that is reflective and empowering.
Mentee, 2023
Boost your practice, clarify the direction of your current project or address your creative or organisational enquiry with experienced Mentor Charlotte Vincent. Online mentoring could be a one off exchange that addresses immediate needs and offers ways forward, or a series of sessions that unlock and explore practice. Initial 45-minute introductory session to clarify aims and number of sessions required is free.
For further details of ONLINE MENTORING contact VDT’s Administrator Gemma Morris admin@vincentdt.com or call 01273 911616.
Since 2011, mentoring with Charlotte has mostly been supported by individual practitioners applying for Developing Your Creative Practice grants from Arts Council England to fund Vincent’s mentoring input, with VDT supporting the writing of these applications and offering space in kind in Brighton. We understand that DYCP funding is increasingly difficult to achieve in the current landscape, however, if you are looking for sustained, intensive, individual mentoring, designed to deepen your understanding of your own practice and unpack the context you are working in, this may still be the most appropriate approach for Charlotte to support you – to add to your creative toolkit and develop clear pathways to take your practice forward.
To write Charlotte as a Mentor into your DYCP Application, please contact VDT’s Administrator Gemma Morris admin@vincentdt.com or call 01273 911616.
Charlotte has applied her dramaturgical, compositional and directorial skills, working as an Associate Director, Co Director or Outside Eye with many of the artists she has mentored as a natural progression to the beneficial shifts they encounter in their practice through working with her in the early stages of mentoring. Charlotte supports the Artist to clarify concepts, stage new ideas and push their vision forward into performance. Artist’s lived experience often informs their work and when scrutinising practice and unpicking reasons for making work, personal issues and past traumas can resurface. Prior to working in the studio, VDT will discuss any additional support the Artist may need to ensure a safe framework for this mentoring journey to take place. Charlotte’s role as Co Director is usually supported by the Artist applying for and Lottery Project Funding , with VDT supporting the writing of these applications.
To write Charlotte as a Mentor into your Lottery Project Funding Application (fees £450 per day), please contact VDT’s Administrator Gemma Morris admin@vincentdt.com or call 01273 911616.
‘Over the past few months I’ve started playing with movement and text and landscape in a way that feels actually true to me, and I credit Charlotte with sparking this inside me.’ Mentee, 2024
‘The mentoring process has helped me gain clarity on where my skill base is and what it is I am really interested in. I also feel massively supported in planning the next steps over the coming months.’ Mentee, 2023
‘This was very valuable to the process and development of myself as an artist and a leader. Supporting streamlining and strategic next steps.’ Mentee, 2024
‘I always feel that I have such clarity after our mentoring sessions.’ Mentee, 2024
‘As emerging artists at a crucial stage in our careers, the guidance we were able to receive from Charlotte’s Mentoring was invaluable. Charlotte was able to give us honest advice, as well as question us to aid us in clarifying our aims and evaluate what we want to say as artists. She then enabled us to explore stimulating ideas and gave us the time and space to untangle and realise them together. In return we were able to ask ourselves searching questions about our working methods and frankly address the areas we could develop and hone.’ Mentee, 2017
For further information about Charlotte Practice see VDT Practices.
Some of the artists Charlotte has mentored
Vincent mentored Sylvie Holder, a Northern School of Contemporary Dance MA graduate, as part of her ACE funded DYCP project at Yorkshire Dance Leeds and then online. Mentoring included supporting Sylvie to clearly articulate her aims, facilitate live music with a composer in the studio, find new approaches to working with an intergenerational cast that played to their individual strengths and beginning to explore nascent concepts and approaches for an emerging new.
Sylvie Holder @jordenbrooksphotography_
Emily is a choreographer, facilitator, dance maker and community artist. With over 10 years of experience Emily has worked with people from a wide variety of backgrounds across the North West of England, London, Ghana and Peru in a wide variety of roles. Emily originally trained at the Hammond School, graduating in 2011 with a strong classical background. After several years of working in the industry, performing on cruise ships and with smaller contemporary companies as well as leading her own projects, she went on to gain an MA in Dance (distinction) at the University of Chester in 2018, where her research focus was dance and storytelling.
In 2018 Emily founded Kindred Folk Dance Theatre with the aim to create performances, using both dance and oracy, for non-traditional performance venues. Emily’s Irish heritage heavily informs her working her approach to making with an integration of folk and contemporary styles. All productions are developed for and with communities, through workshops and interviews stories and testimonials are gathered to inform the work. This creates productions that communities are invested in and excited about, where people can relate first hand to what is going on on stage and/or are opened to a perspective of a community they don’t belong to.
Emily believes that it is stories that connects us all and the more stories are shared the less isolated people feel.
Emily is currently working with Charlotte on developing a full length piece for rural touring. The work explores Emily’s Irish heritage and uses stories collected from Emily’s family members, told through dance and oracy by four performers.
@kindredfolkdt
Emily O’Shea
Performer and dance maker Stefania Catarinella was born in Bari, in the South of Italy. She has been working as dancer/performer and dance practitioner across Europe and overseas since 2016, after obtaining a BA (Hons) in Dance Studies at the School of Performing Arts, University of Malta.
Working with mentor Charlotte Vincent as part of a year-long development project (DYCP) founded by Arts Council of England, Stefania produced her first full-length independent dance-theatre solo.
Charlotte guided Stefania through a process of dismantling structures, exploring ideas and concepts, offering tools to communicate her vision in the most authentic way. Working through tasks, Charlotte provoked Stefania’s artistic response, thinking and decision-making and helped her to identify the pillars and lay the foundation of her independent career.
The mentoring sessions took place both online and at Vincent Dance Theatre studios, in Brighton.
Stefania was thrilled to be mentored by Charlotte and looks forward to continuing working with her during the next phases of the development of her work.
Stefania Catarinella
Weronika Pelczyńska is a Polish artist and a graduate from SEAD (Austria), Warsaw University of Technology, Institute of Polish Culture. Recipient of DanceWEB2013 scholarship at ImpulsTanz Festival, Carte Blanche 2013 (Modul-Dance), Alternative Dance Academy 2017/2019 by Art Stations Foundation. She worked with Bodhi Project,Mouvoir Company, Coccon Dance, J.Wieland Company, in the frame work of Art Stations Foundation, as well with individual choreographers as J.Frucek, L.Kapetanea, M.Kejzar, M.Stokłosa, A.Nowicka. She is the author of individual & collective works. Member of the Centre in Motion and ICoDaCo. Since 2010 she works as a movement coach and stage choreographer in drama theatre, movie and video clip productions.
In 2021/22 Weronia worked with Charlotte Vincent, as funded through The Polish Cultural Institute, on her choreographic project “THE THING OF FLUFF” which focussed on the images of women in Polish Romanticism and aimed to transform them through a creative confrontation with their author – the Romantic poet.
Photo credit: M. Ankiersztejn
Weronika Pelczyńska
Katie Squirrell is a Suffolk-based young choreographer who is in her early stages of making contemporary dance work. Charlotte has helped her in finding her artistic voice, figuring out what she wants to say with her work and refining her creative process. Katie has since choreographed for SPILL Festival of Performance and showcased several of her pieces at Dance East in Ipswich. She aspires to begin full time training at a dance conservatoire next year and pursue a career creating meaningful work.
“The advice and guidance Charlotte has given me will stick with me throughout my career, she has challenged me to reassess everything I thought I knew about making dance and I have seen huge growth in the quality and depth of my work since.”
Mentoring organised through the SPILL Young Creators programme.
Katie Squirrell
VDT Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent has supported Scotland-based dancer and choreographer Bridie Gane through the research phase of new intergenerational work, The Sylph, The Vixen and The Bombshell.
Perfomers of three generations will play with different portrayals of women, hopping between superheroines to cowgirls, Audrey Hepburn to The Shirelles. Taking well known images of female characters in media and violently clashing them together to create new Frankenstein-like archetypes. In contrast to perceived ideas of how women should behave at different ages, this piece explores, evaluates and revels in the collision of these unexpected juxtapositions. Aiming to overcome gender and age-related bias, with women no longer in supporting roles but telling their own stories.’
Charlotte offered remote support throughout the studio based work Bridie undertook with her performers, offering insight and reflection into the work being developed and its future potential.
Bridie Gane
Keira Martin and her sister Sioda received Arts Council funding to develop Good Blood in collaboration with musician/composer Jamie Roberts and directed by Charlotte Vincent.
Good Blood was a work in progress production that looked closely at the relationship of two sisters: Keira and Sioda Martin. Entertaining and familiar scenarios were refreshed and brought into focus to shed new light on family ties; the bonds that hold us together and the people that make us. Both sisters were inspired and influenced by their working class upbringing, politics, Ireland, dance and music. They are both mothers and have an unforgettable dynamic that is humorous and heartwarming, bringing personal, shared experiences to the stage. Good Blood explored the journey from childhood to womanhood. If there is one thing they both agree on, it’s that you don’t get nowt without hard graft!
Good Blood was supported by Dance City, The Place, Kala Sangam, NSCD, Yorkshire Dance 2 faced Dance Company and Vincent Dance Theatre.
Keira Martin is Managed by Sarah Shead and Spin Arts.
Keira & Sioda Martin
Artist and activist, Nicola Hunter was born in north east England (UK), and has been performing and showing work nationally and internationally for over a decade and has seen international success as founder of intersectional feminist project Raising the Skirt. Hunter continues to develop a queer feminist arts and photographic practice, which is rooted in action based performance and spans live work, documentations of its products & traces and the re-presentation of these in other forms.
Throughout 2018, Nicola worked with Charlotte Vincent on their newest and most theatrical work, Motherfucker. An exploration of the binary, sex, death, life and the relationship western society has with the mother and the birthing body.
Nicola Hunter
Throughout 2017/18, Anna Clasper worked with Charlotte Vincent on her first solo extended choreographic work, Where Are My Glasses?, a personal story of ‘love, a fight, freedom and getting up again’.
After a number of mentoring sessions, Anna shared a 20 minute piece with invited guests at ONCA Gallery, Brighton, whilst Vincent Dance Theatre were in their premiere run of SHUT DOWN Film Installation, and in Norwich, as The Garage also supported the work, funded through Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts.
Anna Clasper
Dancer and theatre maker Emma Jayne Park was mentored by Charlotte Vincent as part of The BENCH Fellowship Programme, 2017.
Charlotte directed It’s Not Over Yet, a Bench India Commission which toured in 2017, and was programmed at DanceBase as part of Edinburgh Fringe 2018.
‘I cannot thank you enough. Both for pushing me and having faith in me, but also for helping me pull this project apart so I am creating the piece that wants to be made.’
‘I said I’d never make a show about having cancer. This is a show about having cancer. Three years ago, aged 30, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This is part of the story, but It’s Not Over Yet…’
‘There isn’t a shred of self-pity… she looks the audience defiantly in the eye‘
DanceTabs
‘a bittersweet comic meditation’
The Herald
‘a piece of seated dance unlike anything else you’re likely to see on stage’
Hereford Times
For more information and to keep up to date about It’s Not Over Yet, see https://www.culturedmongrel.org/
Emma Jayne Park
Working with mentor Charlotte Vincent during the r&d phase of Trapped, Rachel and her team developed new movement material, explored the authenticity of existing material and interrogated ways to differentiate between the three male performers and their distinct roles in the work.
Charlotte also guided Rachel through an intense process of deconstructing and rebuilding tasks, equipping her with clearer ideas around instruction based improvisation, as well as discussing the compositional structure of the production and the choreographic approach going forward to gather material of most use from her experienced collaborators.
Rachel is grateful to Preston Manor, part of Brighton & Hove Museums, for providing their cellar space and enabling Charlotte to mentor on site.
Trapped toured in 2018.
Blurred silhouette of a person with outstretched hands and flowing hair behind frosted glass. The image conveys a sense of mystery and motion.
‘Ruido’ was a dance theatre piece by solo artist Lucy Haighton exploring the themes of language, translation and communication barriers. It was funded by Arts Council England, Leeds Inspired (Leeds City Council) and supported by Yorkshire Dance. The piece was influenced by academic research and community practice alongside professional dance.
‘Working with Charlotte was a great experience as it helped me open up new possibilities within the work particularly focusing on structures and offered fresh perspectives and directions the development can take.’
@LucysamHaighton
www.lucyhaighton.wordpress.com
Ruido R&D process
Lucy Haighton
LADYLIKE
2016
In 2015/16 Charlotte mentored dancer / choreographer Ella Mesma as part of via ADAD’s Trailblazers Mentoring scheme and The Bench Mentoring Programme, supporting the research phase of her new trio LADYLIKE.
Wonder-woman? Wild woman? Wicked-Witch? LADYLIKE is a celebration of the female, speaking out against violence and asking questions about femininity.
LADYLIKE explores sisterhood, sanity and sexuality through the medium of Latin Dance Theatre and Breaking.
The piece toured in 2016. The research phase was supported using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and supported by Yorkshire Dance through its Sketch programme for dance makers with a commitment to working in Yorkshire and the North of England. Mentoring and Additional Direction from Charlotte Vincent was supported through The BENCH.
Ella Mesma
Ella also received mentoring from Charlotte as part of The BENCH, find out more about her experience here
In 2016 Charlotte mentored UK’s First Lady of Funk, hip hop artist / choreographer Yami ‘Rowdy’ Löfvenburg, through the ADAD / One Dance UK trailblazers starters scheme to rework her emerging solo Other and talk business and career choices.
The re-worked production was performed at The Place, London on Thurs 12 May 2016.
‘OMG. The crowd loved it… It was insane. People who said they seen me before, said I’ve grown as an artist and it was clear and not too much…I told them you kicked my ass… It is really because of you I have this show and I can’t thank you enough and I really hope we can continue our work together’
Yami ‘Rowdy’ Löfvenberg
YamiI ‘Rowdy’ Löfenberg
In 2016 Charlotte worked with Nadia and her Company of Others. Supported by Arts Council England and Dance City’s Expanding Horizons programme, Charlotte mentored Nadia to explore new frameworks and approaches for making devised work, following Nadia’s research process in May collecting tales of real life endings from women of Yorkshire.
Company of Others Facebook
Company of Others Twitter
Company of Others Instagram
Nadia Iftkhar
Here Comes Trouble
2016
Charlotte directed Kiera Martin’s new solo HERE COMES TROUBLE, a rigorous personal investigation into womanhood and Keira’s individual identity.
Choreographed by Keira Martin, Directed by Charlotte Vincent, Designed by Ryan Laight and original music composed by Jamie Roberts, HERE COMES TROUBLE is a series of episodes that draws on the social and cultural influences from Yorkshire, Ireland and Jamaica, with Keira rhythmically weaving together traditional music, authentic song and moving, gutsy Irish and Contemporary dance. She shares hard hitting and heart-warming chapters of her life, building bridges and burning them again, within a looping structure that with each repetition reveals a deeper layer of herself, her heritage, her strength and her vulnerability.
HERE COMES TROUBLE was supported by the Arts Council England, Yorkshire Dance, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, The Civic Barnsley and Spin Arts Management.
For more information contact Sarah Shead at Spin Arts sarah@spin-arts.com or Kiera Martin keiradance1@gmail.com
Keira Martin
In 2015/16 Charlotte mentored dancer / choreographer Ella Mesma as part of via ADAD’s Trailblazers Mentoring scheme and The BENCH Mentoring Programme, supporting the research phase of her new trio Ladylike.
Wonder-woman? Wild woman? Wicked-witch? Ladylike is a celebration of the female, speaking out against violence and asking questions about femininity.
Ladylike explores sisterhood, sanity and sexuality through the medium of Latin Dance Theatre and Breaking.
This piece toured from September 2016. The research phase was supported using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England and supported by Yorkshire Dance through its sketch programme for dance makers with a commitment to working in Yorkshire and the North of England. Mentoring and additional direction from Charlotte Vincent was supported through The BENCH.
‘Thank you so much for supporting her professional development journey to create excellent choreographic work in the field of her choice. This support is very helpful to the artists and means a lot to our work too.’
Director of ADAD, Mercy Nabirye
www.ellamesma.co.uk
http://www.the-bench.org/about/
http://www.onedanceuk.org/programme/dance-of-the-african-diaspora/
Watch Ella talking about being mentored by Charlotte here
Ella Mesma
In 2015, supported by Arts Council England, Yorkshire Dance, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Spin Arts Management, Charlotte mentored Kiera Martin in the research of a new solo Here Comes Trouble based around identity.
Starting as a request to mentor Keira, Charlotte’s work shifted quickly from conventional mentoring into practical direction to help clarify Keira’s conceptual and compositional frameworks for the work. Over 6/7 days working together, Charlotte’s role became director of Keira’s solo.
Here Comes Trouble also been accepted on NRTF Dance Menu 2017-2018
27th July 2017 @ Blue Elephant London
22-26th August 2017 @ Edinburgh Festival DanceBase
Woman with curly hair holds a large knife vertically, cutting through the centre of the image. Her expression is focused against a dark background.
Supported by CATAPULT – a year long professional development programme delivered by Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Spin Arts Management, and Yorkshire Dance awarded each year to the most exceptional emerging dance maker(s) in the North – Gracefool were mentored by Charlotte for 4 days, addressing how the collective was being run, roles within it, approaches to devising and looking in detail at conceptual developing their work THIS REALLY IS TOO MUCH.
http://www.gracefoolcollective.com/
See Rebecca Holmberg from Gracefool talk briefly about their experience of being mentored HERE
See Rebecca Holmberg from Gracefool talk briefly about their experience of being mentored HERE
Four performers in underwear energetically change outfits on a dimly lit stage, conveying motion and theatrical intensity against a dark backdrop.
Dance UK Choreographer to Choreographer award with Charlotte Vincent, 2015
‘Although this process is not new to me, I have felt boosted and inspired’
Supported by Dance UK’s choreographer to choreographer award scheme, Scarlett came into VDT’s rehearsal process for 21 YEARS / 21 WORKS to gain further insight into how an established choreographer balances different roles, notably in terms of leadership – how to delegate, employ, run a company, strike the right balance between being ‘hands-on’, direct and sensitive.
Dance UK Observership With Charlotte Vincent, 2013
‘The dance UK observership allowed me to witness Charlotte Vincent ‘in action’ as a choreographer and to hear her views as a maker, company director, producer, forum curator and more. It was inspiring to get to know such a ‘hands-on’ practitioner who multi-tasks so much yet who is utterly focused and committed.
I spent time in the studio watching Charlotte and VDT company re-working MOTHERLAND for performances in Edinburgh and the U.S. I was glad to catch them in the process of re-visiting a piece of work, able to discuss with them the challenges and opportunities this entails. I got to further understand the work and Charlotte’s approach in making it; I was particularly interested in learning from her collaboration with musicians, her use of a rehearsal director, and her structural decisions.
I also got to ask Charlotte her views on making work, running a company, collaborative practice, funding and sustainability in the current climate, audiences and the question of compromise, and of course on women’s careers and representation in this industry. I benefited from the openness, pragmatism and honesty with which Charlotte responded: she shared information, opinion and advice, and in our final conversation generously offered to be a mentor beyond this observership.
Our encounter has mattered hugely to me as an emerging choreographer and female dance practitioner soon to be a mother. It has re-affirmed in me the important ‘stuff’ such as knowing why and what I want to make, taking risks, valuing periods of reflection/non-making as part of ‘practice’ and building on them.’
Scarlett Perdereau
Scarlett Perdereau
Two Destination Language
2013-2014, Over 2 years
Charlotte was Director and Dramaturg for TWO DESTINATION LANGUAGE’s highly acclaimed production NEAR GONE, a heartfelt story about survival.
Two performers have a difficult story to tell. They come on stage and launch themselves into an hour long attempt to put into words the utterly unspeakable. Delivered in English and Bulgarian, with fantastic gypsy-inspired music, this performance fills an empty space with two performers and 400 fresh flowers. It transforms you too, your sense of what it is to be a mother, a father, a child. And you’ll leave more fully alive than ever.
WINNER: Total Theatre Award 2014
WINNER: Pulse Suitcase Prize 2013
See tour dates of NEAR GONE and further work of Two Destination Language here: www.twodestinationlanguage.com
A person in a black dress joyfully stands with arms raised, surrounded by scattered white flowers in a serene forest. Another in a white shirt observes nearby.
‘I felt Charlotte was very appropriate. Her personality, experience and passion was very inspiring, assuring and thought provoking.’
In 2013 as part of Dance UK’s Dancers’ Mentoring Programme, jazz/contemporary dancer Dena worked with Charlotte to clarify career goals and intentions and interrogate ideas for a new duet work.
‘I realised ways in which I can combine my pursuits as Head of Dance at The Brighton Academy together with my choreographic and creative research. I have gained critical analysis of my first choreographic piece and discussed ways to develop and process my future work. I have developed an ability to self evaluate. I have written during the process about my first choreographic experience as well as a document supporting creative exploration for The Brighton Academy directors. Charlotte has also helped me to start a relationship with South East Dance and The Dome. I had the pleasure of attending a Table Event hosted by Charlotte and also a workshop with Charlotte called Developing the Choreographic Process. We have also discussed how to manage family life alongside careers, something that is hugely apparent for female dancers of my age.’
DENA LAGUE
Dena Lague
In 2011 Charlotte mentored Oliver after he was appointed apprentice choreographer at The Point, Eastleigh. At the time he was a dancer with Zoie Logic, resident company at The Point. Their work together involved talking about dancers and choreographers career paths, choreographic strategies, business planning, documenting work and finding an individual voice.
Oliver James Gratton
Other CPD opportunities:
Safeguarding Questions Working in the Arts Training Offers
CPD Training Day and E-Learning opportunities for creative practitioners and arts leaders to develop understand safeguarding for participants, artists, organisations and audiences.
E-Learning
Get involved with our evolving digital knowledge exchange and e-learning platform
