Founded in 2007, Barrowland Ballet is now one of Scotland’s most exciting and successful contemporary dance companies built around the artistic work of choreographer Natasha Gilmore. The company produces high quality, accessible dance theatre performances which tour nationally and internationally to small and mid-scale venues. The work’s themes are delivered with wit and humour, and the insightful observations of human behaviour are rooted in her personal stories.
Barrowland Ballet’s work has gained critical international acclaim performing in festivals and venues across the world. In 2017, Natasha Gilmore was the UK nomination for the ASSITEJ Award for Excellence for her work for young audiences including Little Red (7+), Whiteout (12+) Tiger Tale (7+) and Poggle (6 months – 4 years). The company also have a repertoire of intergenerational, short dance films including Loose Leaf Tea, Whiteout, Wolf and most recently Strings.
Alongside the company’s professional work they produce high quality participatory performance projects; the two are inter-dependent with one inspiring the other. Participatory projects include intergenerational performances Wolves, The River (Commonwealth Festival 2014) and Bunty & Doris. The company also runs Wolf Pack a free, intergenerational company in Glasgow with participants aged 7-80 years old.
Whiteout
Whiteout gives resonance to the complexities of bi-racial relationships. Informed by her personal experiences as a white European who married a black African and as the mother of bi-racial children, Natasha Gilmore explores this issue with honesty and humour. Powerful, and touching, this film stimulates conversation about race and racism, even within a family unit, while celebrating human connections beyond racial difference. Featuring an interracial cast from Barrowland Ballet the film was made alongside a live touring theatre version performed by the six strong cast and featuring filmed projections of Gilmore’s own children.
A resource pack is available to accompany Whiteout offering a creative response to the film and acting as stimuli for creative play and exploring physical dance tasks. The pack contains a number of short instructional videos together with corresponding written instructions. These provide an ‘ingredient list’ of age appropriate activities including playful warm-ups and specific creative tasks that respond to the content of the film. They also provide a starting point for conversation and reflection about the themes of the film.
Artistic Director Natasha Gilmore is regularly sought nationally and internationally to deliver professional development activity focused on sharing knowledge, developing new skills and inspiring change. This has included talks and presentations, mentoring and masterclasses across a range of subjects including her choreographic practice, artistic leadership, intergenerational practice, work with and for neuro-diverse audiences and parenthood and working in the arts.
Wolf
Wolf is set in the stunning natural environment of autumnal Scotland. As its heart is the interplay between being guided to the right path in life by older generations and the need to forge your own path and choose your own way. Using imagery from well-known fairy tales and morality folklore, Wolf explores the interaction and connection between intergenerational communities and families. In 2016 Natasha Gilmore setup an intergenerational dance performance company called Wolf Pack, in Glasgow. They meet weekly to devise dances together and this film was one of their first projects.
The company is formed of thirty participants and has a balance of different age groups, there are children aged 7-12, teenagers, young adults and adults over sixty. A resource pack is available alongside Wolf offering a creative response with the films, acting as stimuli for creative play, exploring physical dance tasks. Each pack contains a number of short instructional videos together with corresponding written instructions, providing an ‘ingredient list’ of age appropriate activities that encourage a creative response to the ideas and content of the film. Wolf won ‘Most Innovative Project’, Generations Working Together 2019.
Artistic Director Natasha Gilmore is regularly sought Nationally and Internationally to deliver professional development activity focused on sharing knowledge, developing new skills and inspiring change. This has included talks and presentations, mentoring and masterclasses across a range of subjects including intergenerational practice.
