Coming Up in West Sussex
The Ahead of the Game cultural programme has taken great steps over the past few months, and much more is taking place over the Autumn.
Blue Touch Paper Carnival has the ambition to create the most accessible, inclusive, integrated and friendly carnival experience the world has ever seen! Building slowly over three years in time for London 2012, it is designed to enable people with disabilities to take a leadership role, and to be at the heart of the project.
Having been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark for our vision, the first event ran on London 2012 Open Weekend. We linked The Ropetackle, Shoreham-by-Sea, with our creative partners at the Isle of Wight Carnival Learning Centre, Ryde. Disabled young people attended with carers, support workers, and in some cases parents and siblings, and professional carnival artists led workshop sessions in music, costume making and narrative development. The website www.btpcarnival.co.uk was launched.
Blue Touch Paper Carnival's focus is turning to the extensive professional development training that will underpin the project. Experts in disability will work closely with Carnival experts from around the world, hosted in West Sussex.
The Child and the Magic is one of the most adventurous artist-led projects in the Ahead of the Game cultural programme - the ambition is to create an outdoor production of Ravel’s Children’s Opera master piece, ‘L’ Enfant et Les Sortileges’, translated into English as ‘The Child and the Magic’.
The first public event, as part of London 2012 Open Weekend, highlighted the projected animation that will be central to the design of the production. 40 young people and families attended a workshop in drawn and digital animation techniques, led by one of the country’s award-winning young animators, Mark Charlton, and digital sculptor and media artist, Malcolm Buchanan-Dick.
The Child and The Magic `showcase of ideas` took place on Thursday 19 November at St Andrew's CE Primary School, Steyning. The next steps are being planned.
Autumn activities are underway for two more Ahead of the Game cultural programme projects: Whispering Woods, and The Great Gardens of Sussex.
Whispering Woods, a county-wide singing project leading to a choir of up to 500 creating a piece for woodland in the High Weald, got off to a great start. We hosted one of Europe's leading young people's music and dance ensembles in a unique international collaboration with Zagorche from Bulgaria. The London Bulgarian Choir, who are hosting Zagorche, led masterclasses at Steyning Grammar School, and The Bourne School, Southbourne in September.
The emerging theatre company, Goat and Monkey, have been commissioned to begin a research and development programme with The Great Gardens of Sussex consortium: High Beeches, Wakehurst Place, Borde Hill and Nymans. Goat and Monkey will work with the gardens to devise an outdoor dance and theatre piece, inspired by the gardens’ extraordinary history.
