In 2023, we hosted CROWD residencies on our Nottingham and Birmingham sites. Chelsea Gordon (UK) and Hubert Mielke (DE/PL) were in residence with us in Birmingham.
Another 10 artists came together in pairs for two 2-week residencies hosted by the partners for the third year of the CROWD – international dance exchange residency programme.
Prior to their residency in Birmingham, Chelsea and Hubert had spent time in residence together at TanzFaktur in Cologne, Germany. They then came together for a second residency in our Birmingham studios, continuing to exchange knowledge around community focused dance supported by Birmingham based facilitator, Adam Carver.
The Birmingham CROWD artists and their facilitator visited Nottingham towards the end of their residency to extend dialogue on community practice with the Nottingham artists, Bakani Pick-Up (UK) and Shaquille George (NL) and their facilitator, Usha Mahenthiralingam.
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about Chelsea Gordon
they/she
Chelsea is a neurodivergent movement artist interested in people, communication and the role of identity within their self-expression. Their practice currently investigates the instinctive choreographies within the body and the way in which these instructions dictate how we navigate people and space. Specifically working with community dancers, Chelsea is interested in editing and curating these patterns to reveal new pathways and possibilities for movement.
Recently, Chelsea has recently completed an international research project, looking into the nuances of non-verbal communication in storytelling amongst the people of Jamaica. Exploring how timing, volume, and repetition are used universally to aid in expression and translation.
Chelsea is based in Birmingham, England.
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about Hubert Mielke
he/him
Hubert Mielke is a choreographer and dancer from both Poland and Germany. He studied at the National Music School in Poland and completed his dance education at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD) in Austria in the direction of choreography and contemporary dance. He is the co-founder of LEHM Collective. His approach to choreography involves using movement as a means to explore concepts related to time, collective emergence and discordance.
Hubert is based in Ratingen (NRW), Germany.
