July 28, 2017
Caitlin from Thorns Community College has been at DanceXchange on work experience all this week. Here is an insight into what she did and her personal highlights:
The dance industry is extremely large and many roles are never spoken about. As a dancer, I have always just considered roles as a performer, choreographer or producer so for work experience I decided that I wanted to find out more about the roles in a dance organisation. I couldn’t think of a better place than DanceXchange for that.
My week started with Simeon Liley, Operations Assistant, giving me a tour of DanceXchange. It started in the offices and then went up to Level 5 in the main building for me to see the studios. DanceXchange has many departments and throughout my week I spoke to lots of staff in various positions. These roles included operations manager, programme officer, producer, programme manager and marketing & press officer. It was good to speak to staff in the office as if you attended a class you would never see the work they do. I now have a valuable insight into how a dance organisation is run and the tasks they complete.
Another part of my week was getting to watch classes and rehearsals in the DanceXchange studios. This was the highlight of my week as I saw a large range of abilities and styles. From Move into Fitness to a professional class taught by Shelley Eva Haden to a rehearsal by Jamaal Burkmar, one of DanceXchange’s choreography award holders for Autumn 2017, it was amazing to watch their approaches to classes and all their different ways of teaching participants.
I am studying BTEC Level 1/ Level 2 First Award in Dance. DanceXchange has been remarkable in showing me different roles in the dance industry and has made me more determined to make that my area of work. Thank you DanceXchange for allowing me to complete my work experience placement here. It has been amazing to see an organisation so passionate about dance and dance in the city of Birmingham.