Dance Portal
Project
We were given the brief to create a space that allowed activities to be carried out in a Covid considerate way. This space is a celebration of dance, situated just outside Dundees train station it allows people of all stages in dance to practise their moves as well as put on a show for onlookers. All of this being accessed in a covid friendly way.
Year
December 2020
Life Drawing exploring the dancers body shapes whilst dancing
As the space was being designed for dancers I started by research by interviewing Abby Dickson, a dancer at my university, to find out what would be needed in the space to be a successful outdoor dance studio. From this research I concluded that the space would need mirrors as they were as necessity in a studio, as well as a barre for support. I used her to help inform my design process, documenting her body’s form whilst she danced as well as her foot’s movements with paint on the soles of her feet. As it was covid times I was limited to the areas I could work in, I carried it this primary research by laying out large sheets of paper on my back garden’s floor.
These images were then drawn over to gather different patterns and forms, which were then used as the shapes of the mirrors in the space. The foot movements were documented and placed on the floors for beginners to follow, acting as instructions during covid times when classes cannot take place.
Inspiration was gained looking into Michael Clark and his extravigant performances and costumes. This creates a link with the Dundee V&A exhibition which took place in 2022. This space would act as a part of the exhibition as due to the location of the space, outside Dundee train station, visitors coming to Dundee would be drawn to explore dance more after viewing the space, which signposts to the exhibition in the museum.
