Jasmine Ricketts, is an Exeter University graduate and Creative Shed 2014 alumni. Jasmine tells Dance in Devon about her choreography and making Blink. Blink was performed at Northcott as part of the RAW Emerging Arts Platform.
“I am combining my interest in dance with what I have learnt during my degree, in a piece that embodies the type of work I want to go into creating after I have graduated, in dance theatre choreography. Dance, to me, is about communicating something important or thought-provoking to others, through movement that is expressive as well as dynamic and interesting to watch.”
Blink is a piece of dance theatre that was developed over a year. It was initially inspired by a BBC Panorama documentary called The Mind Reader – Unlocking My Voice (2012). The documentary followed a group of severely brain injured patients and reveals new research and practice that led to rediscovering these patients’ voices, helping them to communicate with their families and the outside world. Jasmine created the dance piece as a response to watching this and after learning more about the brain through research, including the mind/body connection and the question of what happens when the mind wants to communicate but the body is unable to do so.
“The piece was a result of the choreographic techniques I have learnt through A level dance, the dance/choreography and physical theatre modules within my degree and the opportunities I have been lucky to take part in, such as Dance in Devon’s Creative Shed Young Choreographer’s Weekend at Dartington Hall. Working with MBE Kevin Finnan was a privilege and I came away from the experience feeling like I had learnt so much. We were introduced to alternative ways of creating material that I had not thought about before, and worked at such a fast pace that we were forced to think on our feet and put something together within a matter of minutes. The techniques I learnt definitely helped the way I worked with my cast during the rehearsal period.”
Performers: Aimee Corry, Nicole Dadhley, Sarah Pearson, Kyle Pryke, Lisa Raitio and Joel Smith.