Did we find it?

Today has been a real fire-cracker and memorable day for Dance Mama. Today I delivered the inaugural Dance Mama Live! in partnership with world-renowned dance house, Sadler’s Wells, in the Rosebery Room. Since hitting the refresh button on Dance Mama late last year, events have always been high on my agenda to create and produce. Over the past few months, this has manifested itself in a number of plans, and some not-so-successful public bidding attempts (!) but all of these circumstances have led me to today’s moment. I am very grateful [and say this out of realism, not a sympathy plea]. A huge hurdle for all parents in attending events is overcoming childcare issues (shortly followed by money) so we removed these two barriers by making it free and welcoming for children. The Rosebery Room provided a great venue as it’s spacious with lots of natural light and children could watch the big red buses out of the large, iconic windows. We were able to talk in-depth and have plenty of room for the children to move about in. Dance Mama also provided a small goody bag with some themed colouring in and a few bits and bobs. The group came from all over London, some with their children, and as far as the depths of Surrey. Not only was the connection and meeting of like-minded dance folk important here, but in this event, I wanted to ensure that we were talking about the real issues and talking in a positive solution-focused way that can help guide the industry forward into being more inclusive. Hence me approaching four of the most influential organisations on this topic, One Dance UK, Dancer’s Career Development, Parents in Performing Arts (PIPA) Campaign and Sadler’s Wells. In recent weeks, in synchronicity, Movement Director and Performer, Belinda Lee Chapman got in touch with me as she wrote an article a couple of years back following researching dance and parenting in the sector. Belinda works for New Adventures delivering community projects (following 7 years dancing with the company internationally in most of their major productions) as well as founding her own company and working freelance. As New Adventures is a well-known resident company at Sadler’s Wells, Belinda was even more appropriate, and brilliantly shared her story with the group, as well as completing a case study on Dance Mama which also now houses her article. Belinda bravely talked about the positives and challenges of being a freelance Dance Mama. This covered both of her children’s arrival, house moves in and out of London, building her support network, connecting with her peers and upholding clear values and goals when considering work. She also talked about those moments when work is slow and the ‘Dance’ part reduces and the ‘Mama’ bit takes over. This struck a chord with all of us, as the experience of the momentary absence of our art form on becoming a parent can at times feel very bleak. You can watch it on replay here: Following a Q&A moment where we explored some of these issues further, we had a break in the foyer to allow people to get to know one another a bit better or simply catch up. I did remark how this was an elaborate plan to catch up with most of the people in the room I knew (including one who lives 20 minutes away and it has taken 5 months to catch up in and around the children!). What was great was there were some women I didn’t know and a couple of people who were able to make it last minute. I think it is essential to have good flexibility to ensure people can access events regardless of their circumstances. Back in the Rosebery, I hosted our informal discussion panel made up of Joce Giles (Director of Learning & Engagement - Sadler’s Wells), Helen Laws (Head of Industry and Artist Support / National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science, One Dance UK), Anna Ehnold-Danailov (Co-Founder Parents in Performing Arts Campaign) and Ellen Chambers (Dancer Support and Programmes Officer, Dancers Career Development) and Belinda Lee Chapman, with valuable contributions from the group at large. Some given whilst doing a nappy change which I thought was totally brilliant. We worked our way through the following areas; working context, physiological impact, psychological impact and creativity. [Transcript will be up soon] What sang out was the need to connect, have better structure and support to enable the freelance community in particular, to enable them to have similar benefits to counterparts in well-resources companies. There is a huge disparity for those out of an organisational structure as so much of the work required to recover physically, emotionally, creatively and spiritually has to be initiated by the individual as they are often working for so many different organisations as well as creating opportunities themselves. This also struck a note on ‘resilience’ and the benefits of the dance mindset to be tenacious, but also the challenges this can bring in admitting or accepting help. What was a pleasant surprise was how some simple changes can be overcome some of the barriers with the right mindset of leaders in the dance sector. For example, I didn’t realise until this discussion that my first pregnancy was the moment when Rambert offered keeping in touch days (KIT) to freelancers as well as employed staff, thanks to Joce Giles’s foresight and leadership at that time. Similar policies and ideas can be adapted by others which is right for their context if an organisation is informed and willing. Another strong point was the communication and information share between individuals and organisations, and this is appreciatively, unique to each person. This is where PIPA Campaign, One Dance UK and DCD really come into play at facilitating better understanding through their work and research to ensure that more formal organisations are up to date with best practice and approach. However, we know there is more work to be done. Much more. One small step for Dance Mama… So after summing up the session with some simple evaluation statements, Dance Mama intends to use this wonderful moment to create more opportunities for us to be inspired, share and connect, to improve our outlook and situation for future generations.

Sunday 17 March, this McCrudden certainly had the luck of St Patrick’s day as I had the privilege of leading two session at the Royal Opera House as part of their Wonder Woman themed family Sunday. ‘What’s one of those?’ I hear you cry. Each month the Royal Opera House opens up its doors and fills their bright and beautiful new foyer and other sumptuous spaces with music and dance activities for all the family. Using the caped crusader as a term for all the super-women who have contributed to the organisation and ballet and opera as we know it is very apt. As I checked in to the artists desk (that was my first of many treats) I was greeted by the friendly archive team who had a table of photographs and information on some of these important women from the past including Dame Ninette de Valois, founder of The Royal Ballet and the legend that is Margot Fonteyn who has her centenary this year. I’m acutely aware of the prominent women who have come before us and built the foundations of the dance industry as we know it. The enormous barriers they overcame to lay those stones for the time they lived in is certainly built of superhero muster. Back to the present, and for me the day was like being in my own personal X-men film.  Gush warning!  Wonder Women du jour, Ruby Wolk (Ballet Learning and Participation Manager) is there to meet me. Ruby is also a #dancemama and has programmed the day, which from the schedule in front of me, is chocked full with a huge array of things to do, taking into consideration the needs of the participants and create an atmosphere to feel inspired by. Next #dancemama to arrive is the electric Bim Malcolmson (Independent Dance Artist) who will be leading the creative tasks in our session. We head through Paul Hamlyn hall to run into Don #dancemama - choreographer Kate Flatt who will be joining our session a little later. Kate has been commissioned to create Sleeping Beauty en promenade for the event with a boutique cast includes #dancemama and former Soloist of the Royal Ballet, Laura McCulloch. In a flash, Brun Hilda and the Ugly Sisters suddenly appear who are around for the day. It is fabulous to see the costumes up close and the fine detail. Just behind them I see a dressing up rack next to tables of craft where you can decorate a paper ballerina overlooking the mighty Paul Hamlyn hall. Looking down, a dance floor has been put up – soon to be filled with dance workshops, music recitals and a DJ. After a quick catch up in the staff canteen, #musicmama pianist Frances Yonge arrives closely followed our ballerina #dancemama s featuring in our session, First Artists of The Royal Ballet, Nathalie Harrison and Tara Bhavnani. Tara recently went viral with her timelapsed video (below) of her pregnancy pirouette and has developed a huge collection of vlogs and films about being a parent in dance as Brigitte Ballet which are definitely worth a watch. Both Tara and Nathalie have brought their families with them, a fantastic demonstration of the inclusivity we are aiming for, so we move into the Clore Studio. There’s a storytelling session just coming to an end ahead of our slot and it is busy! The storyteller is wonderfully animated (with a gorgeous singing voice) who is leading some very engaged children and their parents through Hansel and Gretelwith live piano. At the end of their session, they get their stamps for taking part on their trail booklets and we head into the space. The session starts with all of the team sitting on bean bags on the floor with participants. I welcome everyone and state with pride that all the delivery team are mothers. Both sessions followed the same structure. I kicked-off leading a discussion with Tara and Nathalie about the physiological and psychological factors in being a mother and a dancer, and the impact this life stage has on their artistry. I encouraged the participants to ask questions to Tara, who’s very sweet daughter was keen to get in on the action, whilst Nathalie hugged her toddler between her knees, resting on the bump of baby number two due in a couple of months. I shan’t paraphrase the answers here as both the artists are due to be joining Dance Mama’s case studies shortly, but we covered a lot of hot topics including; coping body changes in class, rehearsal and on stage, childcare and support, dialogue between dancer and rehearsal directors, choreographers and senior management, and the fantastic health suite facilities that the Opera House can support pregnant dancers with where a range of different fitness methods are on offer (Pilates, gyrotonics) under the caring eyes of the company health team. In the second session, Kate was able to join us in between performances, and gave a brief overview of her experience choreographing Les Misérables when both her children were under 5. I am complete awe of how she achieved this in 1985, making the decision to take on the project when her youngest child was only 11 weeks old. I look forward to enlightening you on more of this story in future! Nathalie brilliantly commented that it was thanks to trailblazers like Kate for really creating powerful role models for today’s parents in the industry. the potent combination of our collective two passions – dance and family Naturally, Bim was brought into this conversation as freelance #dancemama of two where there are a myriad of similarities and parallels in experience. Following our discussion and after listening attentively to Tara and Nathalie’s answers I gave a word I heard to Bim for her to expertly take into creative dance tasks. Bim has a industry-renowned ability to bring people together through diverse backgrounds through dance and was able to get the whole room moving together both ‘symbiotically’ and in an ‘empowered’ way. Supported by the wonderful improvised music from Frances, the whole group explored different levels, shapes, travelling and creating group tableaus which connected everyone from very young toddlers, to parents and to the professionals themselves. It was magical! At the end of each session, the on-the-ball support team brought out a box of pointe shoes and sharpies. Here, we invited participants to decorate a shoe with a word that had meaning to them which summed up their experience as a momento of the session and their visit. This was definitely a career-highlight day and a great milestone for Dance Mama. I am hugely grateful for the opportunity that Ruby gave all of us to share these experiences and then turn them immediately into the potent combination of our collective two passions – dance and family. Other related articles worth a read on the Royal Opera House Site: Ballerinas with bumps What's it like being a pregnant ballerina? NEXT EVENT: I am next live, leading a session on ‘Building A Portfolio Career’ for dance professionals at Greenwich Dance on Tuesday 23 April 2019. This is open to any dance professional and is particularly useful for anyone who is a parent with the added plate of family to juggle. Click here for more information and to book tickets:

Last Friday saw me running around London like a large, enthusiastic golden retriever and not just because I was excited about #crufts. I had my own mini-festival celebrating #IWD2019 culminating in the launch of my Mentor Mama programme. What mentoring is really about for me is a celebration of the potential of the individual – and enabling people to see that everyday should be a me-party! First stop was to visit actress and accidental activist, TracyAnn Oberman (@TracyAnnO) in Covent Garden giving an inspiring talk about how she is acting as a lightning rod for debate over anti-Semitism. Not that this is in any way my area of expertise, but it was hugely inspiring to hear the challenges of having your voice heard as a woman – something that strikes a chord with me in regard to giving amplification to many women (and men’s) stories here on dancemama.org Next stop was the highlight of the day – watching James Cousins Company's Epilogues at The Place. It was wonderful to return to this fantastic organisation where I spent a considerable amount of time training hundreds of young people as Programme Manager for their Centre for Advanced Training. These matinee performances for parents and their babies are 100% directed towards the parents, however a relaxed environment is created in the front of house and the auditorium to allow babies to be as comfortable as possible so that they can enjoy the show - Lia Prentaki, Youth & Family Producer, The Place As I entered this very familiar building, (which has had some wonderful nips and tucks in its interior since I departed back in 2011) I entered the bar of the Robin Howard Dance Theatre to be happily greeted to the sight of the audience of parents and children under 5. The ever-brilliant Lia Prentaki, Youth and Family Producer, programs at least one performance like this per season. She carefully constructed the environment, being a #dancemama herself, to ensure that the audience were put at ease. There is a children’s play area set up and she gathered the audience to make them aware of changing facilities and moments in the performance where there would be blackouts for their health and safety. James Cousins himself was present at this moment, stoically taking in the comfortable atmosphere being created. Everything has been thought about. Lia commented, ‘As a parent of two and a person that loves going to watch dance I recognise how difficult it is to continue going to see work when a baby arrives. So when we started addressing that issue here at The Place I was delighted.  These matinee performances for parents and their babies are 100% directed towards the parents, however a relaxed environment is created in the front of house and the auditorium to allow babies to be as comfortable as possible so that they can enjoy the show. 'There is space to leave buggies, at box office, little bit of light when possible I the auditorium, space for bags and baby paraphernalia, relaxed feeding and breastfeeding atmosphere etc etc.  Baby cinema has done this for many years, with great success, but not always great care. I remember watching a film with my baby (a number of years ago now) in a freezing cinema, wrapped up in blankets upon blankets. 'This made me not repeat the experience and it became my mission to ensure that all aspects of the experience are taken into consideration when planning our Parent and Baby matinees. In terms of the work we choose very carefully the work that we put forward to this audience. Having had a pilot year and tried a few different types of performance we have a clearer understanding of the type of environment that would best work for the babies so that their parents can get that much needed cultural fix. James’ work is extremely high quality so anyone watching it is in for a treat, we just wanted to make sure that parents with small ones don’t miss out!’ A parent and baby matinee is a relatively simple offer to be able to implement within a run of performances at one venue, and allows access to people who find it difficult to get childcare in an evening - James Cousins, Choreographer Watching the work was an absolute joy, with Cousin’s sumptuous complex movement vocabulary, married with outstanding performances from the dancers who danced with incredible focus whilst embracing the context, which at times did involve the odd ‘Dada’ and gurgles from the youngest audience members. James commented, 'As a company we feel really strongly that we want our work to be seen by as many people as possible. A parent and baby matinee is a relatively simple offer to be able to implement within a run of performances at one venue, and allows access to people who find it difficult to get childcare in an evening. Thanks to The Place this is the first time on tour we have been able to offer this and hope that it proves popular and easy to continue to offer in the future.' To have programmed this event on #IWD2019 couldn’t have been timed better, and it is great to know that more opportunities for parents and their children are coming up within the artistic programme in this way, as well as the multitude of opportunities for young people to get involved in dance over Easter and beyond. Dance is and should be for everyone It was a real pleasure to be back there and privilege to spend time with colleagues in the industry who are being progressively inclusive with their offer – dance is and should be for everyone. Finally, after much on-the-hoof social media campaigning, I skipped back to Covent Garden to take part in a mentoring session with the Head Start programme for The H Club Foundation. Brilliantly timed with the launch of my own mentoring service. The H Club Foundation is a fantastic scheme for people early on their creative career. Here I was able to offer my skills as an interviewer for some of the passionate individuals who are developing careers across the creative arts including fashion, design, direction and comedy writing. I really enjoy helping others to see and realise their own potential, and it was just divine to spend an hour connecting to them. Finally, I hit ‘publish’ on the site (with another round of social campaigning) on my Mentor Mama page to publicly release into the world my service. I have mentored hundreds of individuals throughout my career; from young talented people at the start of their journey, to teams I’ve led and colleagues I have worked alongside. Building on my private client base I can offer one-to-one (Soundboard) and group mentoring (Squad), which can be a one-off session, or series of sessions. I also extend this to organisations (synchroniser) which could be start-ups or emerging choreographers who want to be better informed to support parents in their company, or more established organisations who want a fresh approach. More information on prices and what to expect can be found here. What mentoring is really about for me is a celebration of the potential of the individual – and enabling people to see that everyday should be a me-party!

Sun’s out, birds are singing, trees are coming into bud! A happy sign of global warming as it’s February, but a wonderful natural reminder of regeneration. I have emerged from the duvet from my last blog and have had the pleasure today of getting my ass back to class. Today I did a wonderful yoga session at Red Hot Yoga which I can say has really set me up for the day. I know, I know, I said I would sign up to a digital fitness course (which I may yet do), BUT I was reminded today that if I work my schedule I can go to a session with ACTUAL people. This comes with so many pros including the lovely chap next to me who reminded me not to leave my watch behind – I was very blissed out – especially with a bit of essential oil on my forehead. [it's] challenging to get to class for ourselves even though we are often moving through our day with and for other people To actually get to class there are a few elements that you have to juggle here that feel slightly more amplified being a Dance Mama – schedule (check), childcare (check), sleep/energy levels (check) and of course it brings up some of the postnatal body anxieties which this time I have tried to turn the volume down on. I’ve written before about returning to ballet after my daughter was born and squeezing oneself into spanx before class to try and tame the wild excess before getting my plie on. Getting to the class at all is what should be commended as it really is not easy to get there on physical or emotional level. In Kitty Winter’s story I released last week she (like me and many Dance Mama’s) finds it challenging to get to class for ourselves even though we are often moving through our day with and for other people. This time, I cared a lot less, hitched on my leggings and top and embraced my fuller-figure with a view that with regular practice all of the above will get easier. I think of the lovely La Mariposa passage in Dr Clarissa PInkola Estes book, ‘Women Who Run With The Wolves,’ celebrating a mature woman who dances in a butterfly costume in Monument Valley – a symbol of strength and transformation. If you have the time, you may be lacking the confidence. After your body has been through so much and the demands on it are different, shifting your expectation is key So where to find the time? Well, if you are short of it, there is Dance Mama’s online class programme which will give you a few shortcuts to workouts you can do in the comfort of your living room. To give you succour I have it on good authority from a Dance Award winner that they too, roll out the mat at home. If you have the time, you may be lacking the confidence. After your body has been through so much and the demands on it are different, shifting your expectation is key – for this you need to do the work internally. I do not buy into the idea that once you have given birth to children you are somehow beyond repair and it’s the end of the road. It takes courage and commitment to slowly and thoroughly navigate your new body, and La Mariposais a great reminder that our increased body wisdom is beautiful and powerful. I’m a total personal development junkie and like to look outside dance (as it can be very insular at times), studying and listening to podcasts by people like Gabby Bernstein, Brene Brown and Brendon Burchard (all the B’s!) to give me courage and strength to tap into my own internal purpose and find the courage to act on it. If you’re having trouble with this, then I would highly recommend giving them a listen. I do not buy into the idea that once you have given birth to children you are somehow beyond repair and it’s the end of the road. It takes courage and commitment to slowly and thoroughly navigate your new body, and La Mariposa is a great reminder that our increased body wisdom is beautiful and powerful.

Well, 2019 has been a bit stop and start for me so far. My family has been doing pass-the-parcel with winter bugs and last week it was my second turn. An upside was making the discovery that watching back-to-back episodes of Grace & Frankie is actually an additional cure to tonsillitis. My duvet days last week have been a good reminder to me of the challenges working families face with the dreaded lurgy. It’s particularly bleak if, like many of us, you are self-employed. Taking a day off for yourself of your children immediately impacts your progress and earnings. And, if your anything like me, your inner-critic is really furious you had to reschedule a meeting and disappoint someone else. Ooh, dance folk have amazingly loud inner-critics, and this where I the dancer mentality can trip up this #dancemama. Dance Mamas have been conditioned to strive for perfection from a very young age, and if anything, parenthood is the antithesis of this. I once went to a workshop with The Artist’s Way author, Julia Cameron, who asked us to write down who our inner critic sounded like and give them a name – hers was called ‘Nigel’. Whenever Nigel questioned Julia's creativity, she told him ‘Thank you, Nigel. Now $&@% off.’ I feel this is a top tip, as Nige does seem to be highly active in reconciling your dancer expectations versus parental reality. So how to overcome this? Move those expectations. So how to overcome this? Move those expectations. On a good day, I aim to draw upon my choreography and creative task-setting experience of thinking of shifting my mindset to seeing life as an improv session. I try to harness my creativity to problem-solve, remember that obstacles are redirection, and apply these concepts to the ‘house of cards’ of family logistics (as Edel Quin describes here). This positive use of skills is not always the first instinct Dance Mamas have when faced with this challenge. Most dancers have been encouraged to push past pain/ignore it in the past, and as parents we often put their childrens' needs ahead of our own at our own expense. One Dance UK had a great campaign #dancersneedrest back in 2014 which raised awareness of the importance of rest for dancers, underpinned by dance science evidence. This is a great one to revisit to silence your inner Nige. Where can I put in the rest periods, rather than have them ambush me? Finally, duvet days are your body’s way of giving you time to take stock of what is going on and re-evaluate. I’m now asking myself where can I put in the rest periods, rather than have them ambush me? What can I do to ease myself back into the work zone? So, I’m giving myself a do-over (and invite you to do also if you have been under a duvet) and use today’s Chinese New Year (year of the pig) as the real start to 2019! Here’s to healthier one :)

Hey there! I think I can still just about exclaim Happy New Year! to you. How are you doing? In Christmas recovery and keeping up with that resolution you made a couple of weeks ago? I truly hope so. Well, 2019 has got off to a cracking start :) Firstly, I had the idea of creating the Online Class Programme back in November and was really excited to hit ‘publish’ on this just over a week ago. The aim being to assist you, fitness resolution or nay. I’ve spent years crafting class programme schedules IRL (in real life) so I am interested to see how this develops online. Let’s face it, it’s blimmin’ tricky squeezing in fitness when you're juggling at least 3 schedules and I want it to be easier for us. I’m always short on time and high on content, so I thought this would be a good way of helping everyone else get to the good bits faster and more easily. Let’s face it, it’s blimmin’ tricky squeezing in fitness when you're juggling at least 3 schedules and I want it to be easier for us. As Phoebe once said on Friends, ‘There is no unselfish good deed,’ ha, ha. I’m also going to ‘live my advice’ and sign up to an online programme and report back to you what it’s like. I’m totally ecstatic today as I have been given the big green light from my physio following ‘rec check’. It’s been a shocking 2 years (take that in) since I last saw her, and I was keen to know what the results were of my painstaking attempts to knit my insides back together. I’m thrilled after literal years of quietly, cross-laterally working my abs its good news. Hooray! as I am itching to get back in the studio. More on this later as diastasic recti is a hot topic. I would absolutely love any recommendations you have for more content you have found that is useful – drop me a note @ihearttalent or on the Facebook page. Saturday, I was super-fortuitous to get a ticket (thanks to a generous Dance Mama) for the sold-out, totally brilliant event called Pregnant Then Screwed Live #PTSLive at Conway Hall in London, created by activist Joeli Brearley. Joeli was sacked by her employer when she was 4 months pregnant (horrific!) and created @PregnantScrewed which ‘protects, supports and promotes the rights of mothers who suffer the effects of systemic, cultural, and institutional discrimination through our various schemes and activities.’ Well, I would say if her former employer was at that event on Saturday they would have further regretted their move. It’s not often you feel part of something bigger and history making, and that is exactly how I felt. THANK YOU. It’s not often you feel part of something bigger and history making, and that is exactly how I felt. THANK YOU. Speakers included; inspiring activists like Akeela Ahmed MBE (Women’s March Founder), author, Christine Armstrong, Leader of the Women’s Equality Party, Sophie Walker, campaigner and blogger, Anna Whitehouse @mother_pukka and TV Presenters Cherry Healey and Kate Quilton. Topics ranged from Rock Your Returnand Guilt and Identity, all wittily and sensitively connected together by comedian compere Jessica Fosterkew. What was also fantastic was representation on the The Politics of Birthpanel from communities including BAME, transgender, non-binary and Mums with disabilities, really celebrating inclusivity and getting us to consciously question up to how we can be more inclusive for parents from all backgrounds. Inclusion is something I strongly believe in and have been asked a few times “is Dance Mama’ just for Mums. Nope. It’s not. Just a few weeks ago I posted this story from a Composer Papa and will collate more stories in due course. It was wonderful to see so many women, from a wide variety of backgrounds, all supporting each other and with a common cause of wanting to improve the situation for themselves, their children and future generations. It was also great to step out of the dance world and see what the conversations are beyond our own. I have also found some great women to sign post you to. You can watch some of the debates here on their YouTube channel. It was also great to step out of the dance world and see what the conversations are beyond our own. Combining my back-together-abs and the inspirational inner strength demonstrated by the inspiring speakers from #PTSLive I am looking forward to getting my teeth into this coming year and regularly letting you know how it tastes. May your 2019 too be full of flavour!

Dance Mama, Lucy Balfour's Vlog (Image: Pierre Tappon) Glad tidings of great joy comin’ atcha from Dance Mama. I’m on a wave of excitement as we close out 2018 - all of the brilliant stories people have shared across the year and the advance I have been able to make with Dance Mama through the generosity and collaborative spirit of friends and colleagues across the industry. A great big THANK YOU to you all. It was a moment of clarity for all of us about the work ahead; emboldening our resolve to push things forward. A big highlight was speaking at the One Dance UK conference in Leeds last month. It was an enormous privilege to be able to curate an afternoon of passionate discussion with Dr Steve Ingham (Director, Supporting Champions) and Anna Ehnold-Danailov (Co-Founder, PIPA Campaign). My segment and the Q&A are still available to view on our Facebook page, along with the brilliant vlog (above) from Rambert Dancer, Lucy Balfour, direct from her living room, inviting YOU to be courageous. Sharing my mission for the platform and some of the latest thinking with so many people in the room and online was a real joy. It was a moment of clarity for all of us about the work ahead; emboldening our resolve to push things forward. I think it hugely important to look beyond dance to chivvy us on, so I have proudly bought my ticket for Supporting Champions Conference 2018 at Olympic Park next March. This is a chance to hear from professionals working with elite performers including Dr Eva Carneiro, Sports Medicine Specialist and Pioneer for women working in elite sport. The early bird ticket offer ends today (EEK!) so give yourself a gift and take advantage of this hot ticket for turbo-charging your 2019 with insightful talks and widening your network. So what’s next for Dance Mama? Christmas is coming early for you with a new case study out next week. I’m also beavering away at evolving the site so it’s even easier to use and developing an exciting new section which should kick-start your 2019! Working from a point of inspiration makes things 200 million times easier (FACT), so until the next time – follow your joy!

I’m in a reflective mood this evening (despite the enthusiastic photo above). Four weeks into putting my full weight of my work capacity into Dance Mama, I found myself on stage at the theatre in Leeds College of Music, interviewing renowned Sport Physiologist, and Director of Supporting Champions, Dr Steve Ingham. I was aiming to recreate a golden conversation we had on the phone some months ago on how he went about successfully training Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill to win a world heptathlon title and Olympic Silver medal after becoming a mother. What a privilege. What a responsibility. As I keep pulling at the thread that is the topic of motherhood and dancing in the 21st Century, more and more fascinating and alarming issues come to light. Soon after Dr Steve has returned to his seat, Anna Ehnold-Danailov, Co-Founder of Parents In Performing Arts (PIPA) Campaign, shared with our break-out group of 25 professionals from across the industry – ranging from CEO’s of leading dance organisations to community dance artists to programmers to ballerinas – confirmation of the anxieties we all have as dancing parents. Strong statistics on departure as workers from the arts due to financial pressures and parental pressures. Any worrying feelings we had before are now confirmed with the stark reality of the findings from two significant cross-industry studies from PIPA. But surprisingly, I’m not deterred. Rather egged on. This information is powerful and compelling evidence to get on with the job. At that moment, to be all together in the same space, talking about this large elephant on the dance scene, was hugely valuable. This is just one conversation that it is part of a much bigger movement we add our voices to. In a workforce that has 40,000 people in it and a vast majority being women, some audience members come to the arresting realisation that it is utterly bonkers we have not talking about this more. I acknowledge the work that has come before and around me, the pioneering work of Vincent Dance Theatre’s report with One Dance UK, their leaflet in turn (which fuelled me to start Dance Mama) and the section of a chapter in Safe Dance Practice (Edel Quin, Sonia Rafferty and Charlotte Tomlinson) and now PIPA. We need to keep the conversation going, generation to generation and doing more. Much more. In a workforce that has 40,000 people in it and a vast majority being women, some audience members come to the arresting realisation that it is utterly bonkers we have not talking about this more. So, I complete the line-up, outlining my own Simon Sineck, ‘Why, How, What’ of Dance Mama, and feature a wonderful vlog (click on the picture below to view) that Rambert Dance Mama, Lucy Balfour has recorded for me earlier in the week with her 3-month old baby in the room. She’s in a Rolls Royce position of being supported to be a Dance Mama. Dancing energetic and performing technical works including Itzik Gallili’s A Linha Curva at 6 months pregnant, she is a source of inspiration for many. The reality is that the majority of the workforce are freelancers and on low incomes with limited or no support. I offered some principles and conversation prompts that can be transposed to freelance working scenarios, but I also offered provocations as there is a large mountain more that we need to be doing. It’s important to acknowledge the issues, but I feel it’s our collective responsibility to use our creativity to come up with solutions to change attitudes, bust myths and circumstances. I feel it’s our collective responsibility to use our creativity to come up with solutions to change attitudes, bust myths and circumstances. On a big high all the way back to Guildford, I then found myself on Sunday at another brilliant conversation at Siobhan Davies Dance studio presented by Katye Coe, Torchlight artist – Surrender in Birth, Dancing and the Everyday. Katye curated an afternoon of insightful and stimulating panel discussion with Laura Godfrey-Isaacs - Artist, midwife and birth activist, Michelle Quashie - Birth activist and creator of the Women’s Voices Conference, Sadie Holland - Case-loading midwife at King’s College Hospital and Fiona Putnam - Actor, writer, producer and mother of two children. Focussing intensely on the highly visceral experience of birth and its attendance was rich and emotional, and really thought provoking. From what at times as a new Dance Mama 6 years ago could feel like a deafening silence on this subject, I feel hugely grateful to have had the opportunity to take part in creating a platform for voices to be heard with industry backing, in person and online. I’ve been happily overwhelmed that in just a 72-hour period there has been intense and complex discussion across the country. I hope I can capture some of its fresh potency as I develop Dance Mama to be of the highest service. To all who took part in person or who have watched it back online – thank you. Now carry on everyone and keep talking! Watch Pregnant Pause? on catch up below and come join our tribe on Facebook

It’s week three for me here, giving my full working energy to Dance Mama and behind the scenes I am peddling away in developing my ideas to best serve you. Amongst one of my many Post-it note a-plenty ideas is how to reach you in person, and I am happy to remind/alert you that on Friday 23 November I will be leading one of the afternoon breakout sessions at One Dance UK’s wonderfully diverse, annual conference, Leading the Way at Leeds College of Music. I am hugely grateful to One Dance UK for giving a great amount of time for this hugely valuable issue, building on their previous research into dance and parenting with Vincent Dance Theatre in 2008. The break-out session I am curating is entitled, ‘Pregnant Pause?’ with the added question mark (Ron Burgundy impression optional) to pose this rhetorical question to delegates from across the industry. I am hugely privileged to say that this session will open with Dr Steve Ingham, BSc, PhD, FBASES, who is one of the UK’s leading figures in sport and Director of Supporting Champions. He has trained a vast number of sports people including many Olympians, but most importantly from a Dance Mama point of view, Athlete Mama, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. Hearing him talk about his approach to supporting her to win a World Title and Silver Medal at the 2016 Olympics is incredibly inspiring and I am so pleased that the dance world will have this great opportunity to meet from him. There is much we can learn from him, and the sports-world at large. The session is also a great opportunity for delegates to hear Anna Ehnold-Danailov, Co-Founder of Parents In Performing Arts (PIPA) Campaign who will be joining us. She will be telling us all about the latest developments in the campaign. This includes new data from their Balancing Act Survey in partnership with Birkbeck University, their recently launched My Family Care pilot scheme and future plans. PIPA have been championing parents in performing arts on and off-stage across theatre, music and dance since 2016, and have enlisted many major companies and organisations across the sectors to their Best Practice charter with enormous success. I will then round off before Q&As by giving an overview of Dance Mama and future plans. This will include frank conversation about my Dance Mama journey and some highlights of featured case studies to date – in particular Lucy Balfour, Rambert. I was honoured to connect Lucy together with Dr Steve Ingham earlier in the year before her maternity leave – they shot this great podcast. I will be guiding delegates through as an interactive task based on conversation prompt resources devised during Lucy’s pregnancy. So come join us for a fun, insightful and inspiring afternoon! (full programme/ tickets)

Having made my move back into the world of being full self-employed a couple of weeks ago to focus on Dance Mama, there are lots of ideas and issues coming up. I’ll be sharing these thoughts with you over the coming months, but to kick off, a timely issue is that of ‘keeping up with the Spaldings’ on seeing dance work. As an ever-changing art form, knowing what is current and who’s who is a constant game of looking at programming across the industry and what trends, issues and new movement styles are on offer. It’s not called ‘contemporary dance’ for nothin’ folks! However, being a parent, and especially for new parents, this can be a humungous challenge for a multitude of reasons; evening performances versus bath and bed routines versus childcare versus travelling distances versus sleep deprivation…I feel exhausted just typing that list! This is where the internet is totally brilliant, and for all its faults, the 24/7 connecting of like-minded individuals for discussion and information, as well as being able to watch trailers, excerpts and documentaries is a lifeline for so many of us. But there is only so far your iPhone can satisfy your artistic hunger and it cannot compete with being in the same space as live art. this can be a humungous challenge for a multitude of reasons; evening performances versus bath and bed routines versus childcare versus travelling distances versus sleep deprivation... I remember seeing my first show after having child number one back in 2012. I was tremendously excited that the venue down the road from me, GLive, Guildford, was programming Ballet Black – particularly as I had just moved there from West London where I could see anything whenever I felt like it. I romanticised how I would take Husband or a new friend to come and share the experience. But alas, after a frustrating few hours trying to work out breast milk maths (she was still feeding at the time), childcare and Mother Guilt, I ended up going stag. When I got there though, I very happily lost myself in the performance and returned with my creative soul more fed and a smile on my face. Hooray! And, what’s more, I will now more than happily enjoy the luxury of going and see things on my own these days. Having a close-nit family to rely on for babysitting isn’t as much of a fait de complis as it was for previous generations. Absence of close family somewhat limits your ability to get out and about for even the most basic of things like doctor’s appointments, let alone the ‘frivolity’ of going to see a show. But is it frivolous? For the creatives souls who have spent a large portion of their life from an early age engaging with their artform, being severed from the artistic umbilical cord can be hugely disorientating, and Dr Theatre can give us great succour. Bach to Baby have really forged ahead here in the last few years by specifically creating a plethora of regular classical music concerts that the whole family can attend. I thoroughly enjoyed going along to this as a punter, so much so that I was able to engineer a successful collaboration of a dance and music concert-workshop on my return from maternity number one in 2014 at Rambert. I’m happy to report that further relaxed performance opportunities continue to develop in the dance world. This week The Place have a relaxed performance for the Clod Ensemble on Thursday 8 November at 11am. As Lia Prentaki, Youth and Families Producer and a Dance Mama herself comments: ‘Here at The Place in a move mirroring baby cinema we choose a show each season to invite parents to enjoy without the guilt and expense of having to leave their babies behind. We create a welcoming atmosphere in theatre bar for before and after the performance where the little ones can acclimatise as they need to. The performances we chose are for the grown-ups, we programme family shows at different occasions, but the parent and baby matinee is a chance for you to recharge your cultural batteries with baby in tow.’ Although so much programming is geared towards the evening, this is a brilliant step in the right direction and a positive statement from The Place about inclusivity. I’m sure as things progress there may be a listings of relaxed performances on Dance Mama that may assist you in your journey of venturing out, but until then you can start with Placebo and see where it takes you. Enjoy!

After a wonderful 7 years at Rambert, I have now left Rambert to focus my energies on my freelance career, featuring www.dancemama.org and more! I’m excited for all the possibilities that lie ahead in this #newchapter and sharing my forthcoming experiences in creative strategy, dance learning, participation and management, opinions and collaborations with you. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to get involved. Here’s to the future, L x

Evenin’ all. Something that has been increasingly on my mind is the productivity with which mothers deliver their duties. This is a universal observation and something not unique to a Dance Mama, but nevertheless the difference I notice in productivity since coming back to work as a Mum is interesting. Particularly long hours that are usually unsociable is the norm on planet dance. BC (before children), I would quite happily stay at work ‘til 6pm, 7pm, 8pm more at night, toiling away on a schedule or spreadsheet. Nowadays, my days are 10am – 4pm in the office, mic-dropping on the dot to get my train. This is mainly down to the fact of the astronomical charge of £1 per minute if I am late to pick up child 2 from nursery. Surprisingly, this is something that I completely agree with. It is fairly bleak to be left at the stagnant end of a theatre trip with one or two young dancers waiting patiently to be picked up. Especially in winter. However, dance folk ain’t about the money, so wages are not high. I remember explaining this to a rather fantastic colleague without kids who was horrified that if I missed my train I could lose almost a day’s pay. FACT. Ergo, time-management becomes of paramount importance. But d’ya know what, in dance, this is really healthy. I often speak of the dangers of the exploitation of passion, either by oneself or by others, and asserting your boundaries can be tough when everyone wants to put 200% behind an artistic ideal – often at the expense of our wellbeing. It is really up to us all, with families or not, to feel empowered to assert boundaries for ourselves. I am pleased to say, my work fully supports me on this. It is really up to us all, with families or not, to feel empowered to assert boundaries for ourselves. So, like many working parents, here’s a run-down of an average day (for some of you this could be straight from your diary, or may be enlightening. Either way, I’m happy!): 6.45am Alarm of at least one child calling out or crying goes off. Unavoidable so must get up. 6.45 am Get breakfast for all, get children changed (including a nappy), do child 1’s hair OR have a shower and get self changed 7.30am Continue with previous task with at least one person crying and attempt to be-shoe children and check bags (packed the night before) 7.50am Attempt to leave house no. 1 – will involve a lot of coaxing and/or wrangling 7.55am Attempt to leave house no. 2 – will involve going back for a water bottle/ house keys/ phone with at least one person will be crying (myself included). 8am Chase child 2 around the car before getting entire circus into car 8.10am Drop child 1 at school breakfast club 8.25am Drop child 2 at nursery 8.45am Park car at station car park for some extortionate fee. Get train into London (work on train – ah, the quiet) 9.40am Buy emergency coffee to maintain morale and maintain awakened state 10am Arrive into work 4pm Leave work 4.15pm Return train journey (work on train) 5.00pm Pick up car 5.10pm Pick up child 1 from afterschool club 5.25pm Pick up child 2 from nursery 5.45pm Cook tea/ unpack bags/check for homework 6.30pm Bath time (think gale force shipping trawler and you're close) 6.45pm Bedtime story complete with human climbing frame and Fawlty Towers style chase around bedrooms and reading practice 7 – 8pm Various attempts to settle/calling out from both children 8pm Ideally ‘clock off’ from parenting duties but invariably get interrupted with further demands for food/water/cuddles/ Sellotape (Child 1 is very industrious) 9pm Actual ‘clocking off’/ collapse in front of a box set 10.30pm Bed ready to get up and do it all again the next day and pray that there are no overnight wake-ups Time is our greatest commodity – spend it wisely. My point here is to show you what my schedule looks like 3 days of the week, but not in a way that asks for sympathy, for you to feel sorry for me or be annoyed as you may do this 5 or 6 days a week. Its purpose is to give you a snapshot of how someone like me (and millions of other working parents) ‘makes it work’. In a week where we have celebrated #mentalhealthawarenessday and #dayofthegirl , I am proud to have the freedom of operating with this level of scheduling and intensity to assert my right to work, in an industry that I love, and hopefully (although it fluctuates) in a balanced way so that I can fulfil my parenting duties as I wish and can look after myself. Time is our greatest commodity – spend it wisely. Up next… I’m curating a break out session at One Dance UK’s conference in Leeds on 23/24 November more info to come, but check out the info here: