Rachel Birch-Lawson
2009/10
The LUTSF scholarship supported me to travel to Germany, Portugal, and Belgium as one of three UK choreographers invited to take part in Dance Beyond Borders, a unique residency/training scheme.
DBB was a truly seminal experience for me: it challenged me to go inside the work and feel, experience, and make from the inside, from the core of the idea. DBB set me on a path to make a range of solos and duets and in recent years to develop my company Tall Tales Big Moves. We are passionate about opening up and humanising the process of creating dance for young people, creating work which tours theatres, schools, village halls etc.
I am so grateful for the work I am able to do; DBB and the LUTSF scholarship were the first step on this path.
Rachel Birch-Lawson
My DBB experience heavily influences my ongoing work with the National Youth Music Theatre company (YMT). My new immersive work for YMT, The Dark Tower, will be at The Bussey Building, SE London, this summer www.youthmusictheatreuk.org/thedarktower
I am so grateful for the work I am able to do; DBB and the LUTSF scholarship were the first step on this path. I know the work I make has greater authenticity, integrity, and value because of those experiences.
Photo credit: Stephen Wright