We have given young performers who attend our classes in Reading, Bracknell and Windsor an amazing opportunity to use the Covid 19 / Corona Virus Lockdown to get creative at home, develop their own choreography, singing and acting skills and to showcase their talents to some incredible industry professionals.
LOCKDOWN CHALLENGE PANELISTS
We are so priviledged to have an amazing panel to give our young performers inspiration and feedback.
Actor – Dominic Monaghan (Star Wars / Lord Of The Rings)
Vocal Coach – Jai Ramage (The Voice / The Voice Kids)
Director of Read College – Helen Read (Former West End Performer)
Composer, Producer & Film Maker – Tim Arnold (Latest single release – Weird Now)
All of the creative challenges have something to do with themes we are all experiencing during this extraordinary time. Artists use the world around them to explore and create meaningful pieces of creative work. It has been our aim to encourage young performers to use themes like social distancing, self-isolation, lockdown, heroes working on the front-line, kindness in the community, what it’s like to live through a pandemic and personal freedom to create their pieces – and of course all the pieces created will have been created during lockdown.
There were three challenges to enter pupils could enter as many as they like!
The Singers Challenge: film yourself singing a song of your choice during lockdown that showcases your vocal talents.
The Actors Challenge: write and act to camera a monologue that explores or is inspired by an aspect of living through this pandemic.
The Choreography Challenge: choreograph your own dance exploring themes of lockdown, isolation and dreams of freedom to a set piece of music called The Fall Of A Sparrow – written by Tim Arnold.
CHOREOGRAPHY CHALLENGE ENTRIES
We are thrilled with the creativity shown in the wonderful choreography work that has been submitted and would like to congratulate you all.
Here is a message to the students from Tim, before they created their dance to his music.
Here are the amazing choreography entries. We are enormously proud of the work produced and we are incredibly grateful to Helen Read and Tim Arnold for their contributions to this project and giving their feedback to those who entered.
Maks – Age 6
Maks uses his passion for street dance to create a contrast to the classical style of music with his style of movement. Notice how he uses a ‘ wash your hands’ motif in his choreography.
Helen Read gives Maks feedback on his Lockdown Choreography Challenge entry.
Alexis – Age 6
We love how Alexis’ piece explores freedom from lockdown and the freestyle use of balloons and the sense of play is so beautiful.
Helen Read gives Alexis feedback on her Lockdown Choreography Challenge entry.
Brooke – Age 9
Brooke shows excellent use of repetition in this piece, echoing the repetition of days on lockdown.
Helen Read gives Brooke feedback on her Lockdown Choreography Challenge entry.
Twisha – Age 11
Such a lovely sense of reaching out of lockdown to ideas of being free again.
Helen Read gives Twisha feedback on her Lockdown Choreography Challenge entry.
Cj – Age 15
Cj shows a strong use of the emotions she has felt on lockdown with a sense of being pulled and torn.
Helen Read gives Cj feedback on her Lockdown Choreography Challenge entry.
Sara – Age 18
Sara demonstrates intricacy and detail in her isolations – a clever use of physical isolation to echo the isolation she has experienced being so isolated.
Helen Read gives Sara feedback on her Lockdown Choreography Challenge entry.
Huge thanks to Helen Read of Read College for such wonderfully detailed, thoughtful and skilled feedback to the entrants who will benefit enormously from receiving her professional opinion of their choreographic interpretations.