Hip-hop production helps young people in care look after their mental health
16 October 2018
A Chesterfield-based arts charity has received funding to develop a hip-hop dance production to help young people in care look after their mental health.
Rationale Arts has been working with 14 young people in the care system in Derbyshire to develop the ‘Trust in Care’ play. The play will be performed as part of the Culture Cares Conference at Derby Theatre on Tuesday 30 October, during National Care Leavers’ Week.
The charity received funding and business support to bring the Trust in Care production to the stage from In Good Company - a creative and business development programme for theatre makers and companies in the East Midlands, as well as funding from Plus One, Virtual School and Arts Council England.
The Culture Cares Conference at Derby Theatre is the first of its kind in Derbyshire which aims to show how arts and culture are making a positive impact on young people in and leaving the care system. It is supported by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, in partnership with the Family Arts Campaign.
Training and rehearsals for the play are being delivered by Rationale Arts in partnership with a cognitive behavioural therapist. Together they have developed a method of helping the young people look after their mental health through spoken word, hip-hop poetry, street dance, contemporary dance and beatboxing.
The youngsters were referred to the project through Derbyshire Country Council’s Virtual School programme and Derby Theatre’s Plus One scheme – both of which aim to improve the lives of children and young people in care.
Rationale Arts was founded in 2011 by artistic director Nathan Geering who has worked as a creative mentor for young people in the care system.
He said: “I am passionate about using hip-hop as an art form to help children and young people in care who can often experience feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression. Through the Trust in Care programme we teach them that they’re not alone and we’re thrilled to be working with such a talented group of young people who have become the ‘artistic consultants’ for the production.
“Being able to host our first-ever Trust in Care production, thanks to funding from In Good Company, will give a platform to young people in care and we are really grateful to Derby Theatre for making this possible.”
In Good Company and Derby Theatre are part of The Big House, a £5 million tailored support programme for the creative and digital industries (CDI) sector, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Tickets for the Culture Cares Conference are available to book online at: https://www.derbytheatre.co.uk/culture-cares-conference-2018
Notes to editors
Media contact: Charlotte Goldthorpe at Capital B Media charlotte@capitalbmedia.co.uk or 01226 766900
Photograph shows Nathan Geering
About Nathan Geering & Rationale
Nathan Geering began his dance career in 2002, receiving training in America, China and Korea where he learned advanced techniques from the former world champion Breakdance crews.
In 2006 Nathan was first introduced to hip-hop theatre by Jonzi D who made him an original cast member of TAG which went on to tour the UK. He was also part of the first UK group from outside of London to perform at Breakin Convention in Sadlers Wells theatre. Nathan then went on to become the local hip-hop representative for Sheffield on the Breakin Convention tours.
In 2010 Nathan became the Artistic Director of Rationale theatre company. The company sold out many venues across the country – including breaking a box office record at The Key Theatre in Peterborough.
More recently, Geering has been pioneering research into the unlikely link between hip-hop and visual impairment and in 2015 Nathan became a fellow for ADAD’s Trailblazers programme. He is currently partnered with a Neuroscientist at the University of Sheffield to conduct fMRI scans on people with visual impairment when they watch ballet, contemporary and breakdance. The findings will hopefully go on to inform choreographers and directors of how to enhance accessibility in both dance and physical theatre on a global stage.
The company has also increased accessibility by reinventing audio description using the skills of a beatboxer to provide a richer soundscape for the listener. Always striving to be innovative, Nathan also developed a method creating art which uses different types of visual impairment as creative starting points. This is known as the ‘Rationale Method’ and works right across art forms such as dance, writing, acting, painting and is even being developed to enhance productivity within businesses. In 2017 Nathan was appointed the position of Artistic Director for the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony.
In Good Company (IGC) is the flagship professional creative and business development programme for theatre makers and companies in the East Midlands. IGC’s ERDF-funded business support service provides a wide range of targeted business support, from workshops to one-to-one mentoring, for theatre makers, performance artists, actors, producers, directors and those forging a career in theatre in the D2N2 region (Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire).
IGC and Derby Theatre are part of The Big House
Supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), The Big House project, provides free support for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire-based creative and digital businesses. From developing potential business ideas, nurturing start-ups and new entrepreneurs, to working with established businesses wanting to grow, our partner network provides specialist support. You can access grants, 1-2-1 mentoring, networking events and workshops to help build contacts, skills and knowledge to succeed. #TheBigHouse #ERDF. Match funding has also been secured from the Creative Local Growth Fund programme, funded by Arts Council England.
European Regional Development Fund
The Big House Project is receiving up to £4.5 million of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund.
Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
Derby Theatre (previously Derby Playhouse) is the lead partner of In Good Company and has a long and rich history of delivering high-quality drama to audiences. Through Derby Theatre's unique partnership with the University of Derby, and as an Arts Council England National Portfolio organisation, the Theatre has transformed from a traditional producing house, to an organisation of training, mentorship and artistic excellence.
This press release was prepared by Capital B Media, a public relations and media training agency based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. For more information, please visit www.capitalbmedia.co.uk.
