©️Photography by ASH
The Queer History of Us
Ballet Queer return to Shoreditch Town Hall in a new series of workshops exploring queer identity through dance.
The Queer History of Us is a series of workshops to delve into your Queer journeys through movement. Sessions will use informal ballet practice, movement and dialogue to explore queerness and build community. Specifically for LGBTQ+ Hackney residents without formal dance training. Participants are welcome to join just one or all six sessions.
Sessions will be led by Ballet Queer's founder and choreographer Jonathan Watkins alongside creative collaborator Araminta Wraith.
“So beautiful to get permission to move freely again and particularly in Queer community in a time when we need community more than ever” - Feedback from previous workshop participant
This workshop is exclusively open to Hackney based LGBTQ+ participants without formal dance training. To create a safe space for movement and dialogue, the workshop will only be open to those aged 18+. There is no upper age limit, and we hope to foster intergenerational communities of queer people through creating a sense of belonging and solidarity throughout the workshop.
You can take part in any number of the 6 workshops. Sessions are designed for people to attend just one, or all of them, although we would love to see people come back each week, and have the opportunity to build community over the 6 weeks.
Ballet Queer delivers these workshops in partnership with Shoreditch Town Hall and is funded by Cultural Hackney - a Hackney Council initiative reflecting and celebrating the borough's rich diversity and heritage through its communities.
The Queer History of You
A movement and dialogue based workshop created and delivered by Ballet Queer’s founder and choreographer, Jonathan Watkins, facilitated together with other creative collaborators. It takes participants on a journey of discovery through chat, movement and self-led responses to music. Designed for those without formal training, this workshop is an opportunity to express your identity through your own movement and navigate your own Queer history.
Along with an introduction to improvisation it also looks at reframing and reclaiming the expectations of ‘Ballet’ and presents an opportunity to question and work together to explore what this art form can be. This workshop could be tailored to participants who don’t identify as Queer and it’s self-led nature in terms of movement makes it accessible to most people.
Past Participants Feedback
So beautiful to get permission to move freely again and particularly in Queer community in a time when we need community more than ever.
To express oneself and explore pure Queer joy was a really wonderful experience .
An empowering experience identifying my Queer identity which was a mix of trauma and pain and through reflecting through other people, recognising the joy.
Delving into our Queer journeys together as a group was really special in a dance setting.