Dialogue and Debate
Three women holding microphones are seated on stage, engaged in a lively panel discussion. They are smiling, creating an engaging and warm atmosphere.
Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent is regularly invited to talk about her choreographic, socially engaged and mentoring work as Keynote speeches or on panels and long tables at conferences, by universities and dance festivals. Listen to her deliver keynote speeches, talk about women in dance and engage in post-performance discussions below.
On 16 March 2019, VDT Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent delivered a keynote/provocation and took part in an event as part of POW! Thanet Festival. This event followed 3 days of VIRGIN TERRITORY Film Installation being open at Turner Contemporary as part of the Festival.
Vincent shared short-form content from VIRGIN TERRITORY, and explained the personal and political behind the work. The session then saw those who attended circulate around tables with representatives from local organisations working to support young women including Not Having It, Medaille Trust, JAM Network, Out of the Shadows, Thanet Oasis Project and Nordic Model Now.
Pink event poster with bold text: "POW! Empowerment," celebrating International Women's Day. Illustrations of eyes add a playful tone. March 8-17, 2019.
On 5 March 2019, VDT Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent took part in a panel organised by South East Dance and Brighton Dome, exploring issues facing women working in the UK and international dance sector.
Also on the panel wereAmy Bell, Alexandrina Hemsley, Rob Jones, Es Morgan and Laura McDermott.
The panel was live-streamed, and can be viewed here.
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VDT Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent delivered a remote lecture via Skype with Q&A with students and staff at Lancaster Arts on 13 November 2018, after VIRGIN TERRITORY Film Installation had been programmed at the Peter Scott Gallery on campus earlier in term.
Vincent explored the creative methodology in making work on stage and on film, as well as considerations undertaken in creating powerful work with cross-generational casts.
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On 2 November 2018, VDT Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent delivered a keynote at Our Dance Democracy; a one-day conference as part of LEAP conference, organised by Merseyside Dance Initiative.
Vincent discussed VDT’s creative methodology, particularly reflecting on ART OF ATTACHMENT; reading some of the texts from the performance and sharing the process the company undertook to facilitate such a process.
Elements of Vincent’s keynote were written into Dr. Sarah Black’s feature in Animated Magazine, published May 2019.
Bright poster for "LEAP Dance Festival 2018" on a yellow background. Bold, colourful letters spell "LEAP" above the festival dates, November 2-12.
Fabrica Gallery, Tuesday 11 September 2018
As part of the wider Art of Attachment programme Bobbie Farsides, Professor of Clinical and Biomedical Ethics at Sussex University, chaired a panel discussion with Charlotte Vincent, Marina Castledine (Head of Learning, Towner Art Gallery), Lucy Finchett-Maddock (Lecturer in Law, Sussex University), Dr. Leslie Ironside (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist) and women involved in the project discussing attachment and all its clinical, emotional and practical affects on those involved in substance misuse.
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As part of the premiere run at the 2018 Brighton Festival of SHUT DOWN Film Installation, Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent gave a talk on 23 May 2018 on the process of creating the company’s first all-male work to date, particularly in the light of the #MeToo movement which evolved during the work’s creation.
Brighton Festival logo
On 23 May 2018, Charlotte Vincent delivered a talk at Jubilee Library, Brighton, as part of Brighton Oasis Project‘s 2 week residency in the library with Art of Attachment.
Charlotte spoke about the process to date of working alongside women from Brighton Oasis Project, a charity supporting women and families affected by substance misuse, and the process of beginning to create a professional piece of VDT work with them ahead of its performance at the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts on 18 October 2018.
Illustration of children in green clothes playing, joyfully floating against a grayscale background. Text reads "Jubilee Library 21 May - 3 June (Including May Half Term)."
On 11 January 2018, Charlotte Vincent delivered a talk at the University of Plymouth to coincide with VIRGIN TERRITORY Film Installation touring to their Roland Levinsky Gallery.
In the talk, Charlotte explored her choreographic approach to making VIRGIN TERRITORY, and discussed the collaborative approach of the company to creating new work with professional and teenage performers, including the many safeguarding challenges. The talk also shed light on the creative and logistical processes of translating the live performance of VIRGIN TERRITORY into a multi-screen installation.
University of Plymouth Logo
In June 2018, Charlotte Vincent delivered a practical discussion workshop as part of the first Carnival of Invention, hosted at the University of Brighton. The focus of the day was exploring creative and artistic approaches across many disciplines towards art and research for social action.
Charlotte’s session focused on the Art of Attachment.
Throughout 2018, funded by the Wellcome Trust, Charlotte worked with women and children at Brighton Oasis Project (BOP), a unique substance misuse treatment service in the heart of Brighton to develop the Art of Attachment project, culminating in a performance at the University of Sussex Attenborough Centre for Contemporary Arts on 18 October 2018. Art of Attachment explores the complex emotional bonds that exist between women in recovery from substance misuse and their children, partners, family and friends. Based on real-life testimonies and 9 months of workshopping ideas with the women at Oasis, the project embraces and explores the challenges women face and celebrates the everyday resilience of women and children overcoming adversity, whose stories demand to be seen and heard.
Charlotte workshopped and discussed her methodology, developed over 25 years hiking the horizontal between ‘community’ and ‘professional’ practice to make ‘brave, intelligent entertainment’ (The Times) for the complex times in which we live. With challenging subject matter at its core, this session offered insight into her creative process and the reasons for and results of her approach – which includes gathering real life testimonies and ‘staging’ conversations that then translate into material and visual/physical metaphors for live performance.
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On 26 November 2017, Charlotte Vincent hosted a table at a world cafe as part of attendees at One Dance UK’s Choreographers’ Conference at Laban, Greenwich. The session explored VDT’s creation and distribution model of work on stage, on film and online.
Charlotte also sat in on a long table discussion later in the day exploring equality and diversity within the sector with fellow choreographers, performers funders, and venues.
One Dance Logo
Charlotte Vincent was a guest on BBC Woman’s Hour on Monday 27 November 2017 discussing Vincent Dance Theatre and our latest production, SHUT DOWN, which opened at The Place 28 November 2017.
Hear Charlotte from 21mins, 53 seconds in.
Charlotte presented a provocation to 150 delegates and led 2 more intimate dialogue sessions to as part of Yorkshire Dance’s Dance Creates conference on safeguarding and working with young people in professional performance context on 26 October 2017. As one of the main speakers, Charlotte was able to share VDT’s current practice, sharing content from VIRGIN TERRITORY to demonstrate the company’s approch to working with young people.
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Charlotte was invited to take part in University of Sussex’s I Heart Consent week in May 2017.
She delivered a lecture/screening to students, focusing on Glasshouse and Virgin Territory as part of a free lunchtime screening and discussion.
The session focused on Charlotte’s inspiration for tackling social commentary through dance, alongside the gender equality championing that runs through all of VDT’s work.
‘Your work is so important and it was even more moving and intense than I had imagined. Many people told me how much they enjoyed the conversation, and how they kept these discussions going later on in the week with their friends and classmates. It often takes visual images and movement to express uncomfortable and taboo subjects, and I am so glad there are women like you who are doing this unapologetically.’ Consent Week Facilitators
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The BENCH was a three year programme hosted by 2FACED Dance that was developed in direct response to serious concerns about the lack of equality currently faced by female choreographers within the contemporary dance sector. The BENCH offered female choreographers working within the UK the opportunity to participate in a 9 month programme of training, discussion, debate and mentoring, all within a bespoke and creative framework.
Mentors leading the programme were: TAMSIN FITZGERALD, KATE FLATT, ROSIE KAY, LIV LORENT, SHARON WATSON and CHARLOTTE VINCENT.
THE BENCH FELLOWS 2015-16 ARE:
JENNIFER ESSEX, REBECCA EVANS, LEE GRIFFITHS, RACHEL ERDOS, ELLA MESMA
Blurred silhouette of a person with outstretched hands and flowing hair behind frosted glass. The image conveys a sense of mystery and motion.
The Red Line was a South East Dance online initiative tracking the artistic process of making work via a series of interviews with established dance makers. PREPARE MAKE PRESENT went live in May 2016 including a contribution about collaboration and ensemble devising processes from VDT’s Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent.
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In April 2016 Charlotte took part in Corp Real | Galway Dance Days Festival’s Dance Artist Survival Toolkit in Galway, Ireland. She gave a talk about her creative practice and how she has created strategies and built resilience over a life long career as a dance artist in the UK.
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How Do We Level The Playing Field For Female Choreographers?
Rambert Live was an industry-focused Rambert Debate chaired by Judith Mackrell, dance critic for The Guardian, which looked at what can be done to level the playing field for female choreographers.
Charlotte Vincent, Tamsin Fitzgerald, Brendan Keaney, Shobana Jeyasingh, Patricia Okenwa, Peggy Olislaegers, Rupert Thomson and Didy Veldman debated the challenges.
The number of women entering vocational training for the dance profession vastly outnumbers that of men, yet most lists of established or renowned choreographers show a predominance of men and the repertoires of the world’s most celebrated dance companies is overwhelming man-made.
It seems that some of the same institutional, historic or societal obstacles that impede opportunities for women in other industries also apply in dance.
How can we give female choreographers a lift? Join Rambert’s debate. The Guardian, October 2015
Alt text: "The word 'Rambert' in bold black font, overlaying a dynamic motion blur effect creating a sense of movement and energy."
Spoken Essay
Claire MacDonald, collaborator, writer and co-Director of The Table talks about 21 Years of Vincent’s practice, about falling and being held, about the body and change, about friendship and time, and how the body is shaped by experience.
You can LISTEN to the essay or download it as a PDF.
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Dr Cath Lambert, Associate Professor in Sociology at University of Warwick, in conversation with Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent discussing the role of live arts in enacting social and political change (and how much live performance often offers you less of something you might need or want).
A group of people sit around a long table covered in papers and objects, engaging in discussion. The setting is a dimly lit room with dark curtains.
Dance as method? A discussion about the possibilities for developing embodied, sensory, live and practice-based methods and methodologies led by Charlotte Vincent and Dr Cath Lambert, Associate Professor in Sociology at University of Warwick.
In disciplines such as theatre and visual art, practice-based research is recognised as a valid form of knowledge production. The same is true of more vocational programmes such as health care and social work. In many social science and humanities fields, however, research is taken to be a matter of brains, words and numbers, rather than bodies, senses and emotions.
Knowledge is not only produced through words but also in gesture, in movement, in emotion and in sound. How can our research tools, designed to produce, re/present and analyse narrative accounts, make sense of embodied forms of knowing and being in the world?
A group of people sit around a table in a cosy room, engaged in discussion. Papers and cups scatter the table. A chalkboard is visible in the background.
Written for 21 Years /21 Works, Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent contemplates the shifting aesthetics, personal experiences and recurring themes of loss, longing and sexual politics that have shaped her directing, design and performance practice since 1994.
Considered one of the UK’s leading (female) choreographers, Vincent discusses collaboration, intuition and risk, autobiography in performance and what the body can no longer remember.
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The Table is about nurturing dialogue and nourishing exchange between established female artists across disciplines. Hosted by Charlotte Vincent and Claire Macdonald, The Table is a growing international network of women whose creative and political voices are captured online, sharing food, artistic practice and feminist thinking at our Table Dinners.
Guests in Leeds, Brighton, London and New Jersey have included:
Linda Brumbach, Salette Gresett, Liz Lerman, Jowale Willa, Liz Gerring, Shelley Lamberta, Bonnie Marranca, Emily Mann, Deanna Shoemaker, Fawzia Afzal-Khan Charmaine Warren, Debbie Saivetz, Ruth Ben-Tovim, Zoe Manders, Lou Cope, Becky Edmunds, Sarah Rubidge, Mine Kaylan, Orla Flanagan, Amy Voris, Stacey Lister, Dena Lague, Holly Noble, Jane Coulston, Rachel Champion, Claire MacDonald, Sara Jane Bailes, Sue MacLaine, Marissa Zanotti, Claudia Kappenburg, Liz Aggiss, Tessa Howell, Chrissie Poulter, Teresa Brayshaw, Gabriele Griffin, Catherine Laws, Aurora Lubos, Rachel Krische, Lisa Chaney, Beth Cassani, Anna Furse, Siobhan Davies, Tamara Rojo, Sue Parrish, Ros Philips, Jocelyn Pook and Anna Birch.
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ART WILL CHANGE THE WORLD, SOUTH BANK CENTRE LONDON
Charlotte Vincent was invited to talk on a panel at the Women of the World Festival at Southbank Centre London in March 2014 with one of Venezuela’s most gifted musicians, Gabriela Montero, who uses her albums to rail against the regime, Ros Horin, an Australian theatre director, and Josie Rourke is Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, where Phyllida Lloyd’s ‘all female’ production of Julius Caesar sparked huge cultural and politcal debate.
Emerging from strikingly different artistic backgrounds, these artists meet here for the first time to discuss why art will change the world. Chaired by Southbank Centre Creative Director of Learning and Participation Shân Maclennan.
Red and yellow starburst with bold white "WoW" text overlaid. Below, black rectangle reads "Women of the World Festival" in white letters. Energetic and empowering.
In 2013 Charlotte Vincent was asked to talk about her choreographic body of work and career choices for BA and MA students studying dance and performance at Goldsmiths University London.
You can listen to Charlotte Vincent’s Lecture at Goldsmiths University HERE.
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Charlotte Vincent‘s presentation from the Dance UK National Choreographer’s Conference 2013 on gender equality in the dance sector, with Jane Coulston & Holly Noble, founders of the Female Choreographers Collective at Sadlers Wells, London.
Dance UK is now One Dance UK.
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As part of CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF CHISENHALE DANCE SPACE, Charlotte was invited to take part in a discussion about dance and politics: Feminism and Dance. After at least two decades in the shade, a new feminism is revealing itself, this debate provided a fresh opportunity to discuss the particular challenges facing women choreographers and dancers; to ask questions about women’s artistic practice and the contexts in which it endeavours to take place – have things improved and if not what can be done about it?
The debate followed a performance of ‘O’, a dance duet about being black, mixed and female by Alexandrina Hemsley and Jamila Johnson-Small that addresses awkward and uncomfortable everyday experiences of ‘difference’.
The discussion was chaired by Jacky Lansley with a panel members Charlotte Vincent, Anne Furse, Alexandrina Hemsley and Jamila Johnson-Small.
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Celebrating 25 years of making fierce physical theatre in Wales and touring it worldwide, Volcano Theatre invited Charlotte Vincent to talk about her experience of working with the company in 1994, speaking alongside co-founder of Volcano Fern Smith, Volcano’s Artistic Director Paul Davies, Gilly Adams, Arwel Gruffydd, Graeme Phillips and Brent Morgan.
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Launched by Charlotte Vincent and Yorkshire Dance in March 2012, Juncture was an initiative, designed to bring new work, professional development, critical debate and innovative performance practice to Yorkshire.
Juncture was conceived by Charlotte Vincent in collaboration with Yorkshire Dance, and the inaugural programme was curated by Charlotte in March 2012: four weeks of residencies, performances, workshops, a symposium and critical debates, programmed with an emphasis on female-led work and experimental, cross-disciplinary practice.
“I invited some of my closest working colleagues to be part of this initial programme – funny, smart women (and a few renegade men), who have something to say and a unique way of saying it. Their work is surprising, bold and intelligent. They are quiet anarchists, searching for an appropriate language to say what they need to say. They are mature, experienced makers, researchers, producers, writers, performers, dancers, managers, musicians and composers – artists whose work needs to be seen and whose voices need to be heard.” Charlotte Vincent
In 2016 Juncture was curated by Gillie Klieman.
“Congratulations for a stunning festival: it was the best thing I’ve seen in the Leeds dance world for a long time (ever?)” Film Maker, Leeds
“A remarkable achievement and much needed in this dance climate… one of the great things about Juncture – it’s asking some important questions and providing a space to debate some of the potential answers.” Jamie Watton, CEO South East Dance
“Programming the festival, Charlotte Vincent chose the work of strong female artists who wittily and wisely address the notion of age and the female body in performance, a festival with an inspiring female theme saw powerful minds and bodies of difference.”Participant
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Charlotte was invited to talk about female practice and gender politics in Dusseldorf at Tanzmesse NRW as part of their T-Talks series that accompanies a festival, choreographic platform and marketplace for dance companies from across the world with Liz Roche chaired by John Ashford (formerly Director of The Place Theatre London, now Aerowaves).
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A ballsy, thought-provoking debate chaired and facilitated by Charlotte Vincent with a panel of established and emerging female artists from SE England to discuss the politics and issues involved in making contemporary performance work. Hosted by The Point, Eastleigh as part of their Professional Development programme.
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In November 2010 Vincent Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent and Dave Edmunds, Director of DEP Arts, were invited by Arts Council England to facilitate the first Northern Area Dance Meeting (NADM) in Leeds. The first meeting was designed to enable individuals from dance sector to talk, network and discuss some of pressing issues facing practitioners who live and work in the North of England. Questions arose around whether the northern region is a place where dancers can study, train, perform, develop careers, produce work, practice community engagement, tour with confidence and make a living. The day was Amplified so that what was discussed at the meeting could be witnessed and engaged with by those unable to attend on the day.
In February 2012 Dave and Charlotte followed up the first NADM meeting with three intimate dinners in Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds, inviting key people working across the North to further discuss ideas and issues raised in the initial meeting in 2010. Each dinner began with a commissioned provocation from a speaker (Matt Fenton Director from Nuffield Theatre Lancaster in Liverpool; Victoria Firth Director of Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield in Newcastle; and Martin Wilson Director of Tin Arts Durham in Leeds. A series of lively and thought provoking discussions ensued with the invited independent dancers, artistic directors, producers, community practitioners, venue managers and dance agency representatives at each event. These dinners were also amplified and the issues raised were processed by Charlotte to form the agenda for the second larger sector wide meeting, which took place at Yorkshire Dance in March 2012.
Identified at the meeting were some key principles / future strategies and a spontaneous Manifesto that the members of the meeting collaboratively agreed upon. Dave and Charlotte handed their tenure of responsibility for the development of the NADM network and its identified aims back to the sector at this meeting and a number of sub groups were formed to continue addressing the needs of the greater north. These included a Festival of the North sub Group, a Professional Development Group, a Touring Group, a Digital Network Group amongst others. It remains now to be seen how the NADM progresses from 2012 onwards.
Three people sit in a discussion, engaged and expressive. Behind them are written notes on a board. The atmosphere is collaborative and focused.
In 2009, Merseyside Dance Initiative invited Charlotte to host and facilitate a conversation that considered the role of female dance makers in the UK and beyond. Joined by Panel members Liz Roche, Sharon Watson, Lucy Suggate, Liz Aggiss and Antonia Grove, they debated whether equality of opportunity exists in the dance field and if so, why there is this ongoing feeling that women’s dance work doesn’t reach as far or get taken as seriously as that of our male counterparts?
Are men fast tracked in their careers or is this a myth? Is women’s work better placed on the small scale and therefore not as visible? How does female-led practice differ from the male approach to making work? How do women measure success? Does the British Dance scene fairly represent female led work and if not, does that matter?
Discussing career trajectories and confidence, gratitude and glass ceilings, family and feminism, this experienced panel discussed their own experiences in and perceptions of the dance world to provoke a debate that highlights where we find ourselves right now and where we might like to be in future.
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Music and the Choreographer: Richard Alston and Charlotte Vincent.
Everyone knows there is a fundamental link between choreography and music, but how do choreographers choose their music, and what part does it play in developing a new piece of work?
The relationship can be straightforward or complex, the sound score can be pre-existing, devised, commissioned – or even non-existent. There are as many ways as there are choreographers and dances, but one thing is certain: the soundscape of any production is an integral and vital part of the artist’s vision for the work.
Following the sell-out success of Dance Umbrella’s 2007 talk with Shobana Jeyasingh and Siobhan Davies, A Feeling for Practice returns with music and choreography as its focus.
Richard Alston and Charlotte Vincent reveal something of their very different working methods and give insights into their own individual relationships with music and movement.
Facilitated by Dick McCaw, with performers from Richard Alston Dance Company and Vincent Dance Theatre.
VDT Practices
An online resource of videos offering real insight into the key aspects of Vincent’s creative methodology, her approach to making socially engaged production work and her work with young performers.
Publications
See the Publications that include chapters written about Vincent’s practice and production from 1994 onwards.
