|
SOCIAL DISDANCING - Breakin Convention 2020ONE% is premiering in Breakin Convention's first live event since Covid-19 at Sadler Well's, alongside all-female popping crew, AIM, Boy Blue and a big screen showing of Jonzi D and Jessica Care Moore's Our Bodies Back.
This premiere is an honour and major milestone in the journey of OC's portfolio of achievements, performing alongside influential artists in hip hop theatre. By showcasing and continuing to talk on the topic of mental health, we continue to stay in line with our values, aiming to bring the elements of breakin' together |
ART X BREAKIN' ANIMATION
|
In collaboration of two artists, from differing art forms, this animation captures breakin' movement from an artistic lens. Rebekah Knight, an Illustration Animation student at Kingston University, created this hand drawn animation of Jamaal O'Driscoll at Resurgence 4 breakin' competition.
Exciting announcement: An interview with Rebekah, on the artistic process, will be added to our blog in the upcoming weeks, so keep up to date with this space! |
|
|
|
EXPLORING NEW CREATIVE SPACESCovid-19 has enabled O'Driscoll Collective to explore photography and videography, to further capture personal stories and communities. By adventuring into this field, O'Driscoll Collective's ability to engage with young people and empower individuals has grown.
This selection of imagery denotes conversations with individuals, for the following organisations: The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Serenity Psychotherapy and Kash The Flash Community Project West Midlands Police. |
STAYING BUSY OVER LOCKDOWNExpanding our outreach work, O'Driscoll Collective partnered with West Midlands Police, in aim to guide and advise young people to make informed and future focused decisions. Two inmates at Oakwood Prison, both called Daniel, were interviewed by Jamaal O'Driscoll, who captured their impactful, eye-opening stories.
“The videos will be shown in schools across Birmingham from this month; they will be shown in small workshops, alongside mentoring, with the aim being to encourage children to make good life choices.’’ - Birmingham Police Sergeant Helen Carver We are pleased to have created and supported this influential initiative over lockdown and look forward to see how these interviews are received in schools. Explore our Instagram and Twitter for more activity on this topic. |
|
|
|
BLACK LIVES MATTERThe movement #BlackLivesMatter began in 2013, following a series of unjust shooting. The meaning became even more prominent in the death of George Floyd in 2020, due to excessive police force. This global event demanded the need for change: increased support, understanding and investment into the challenges black communities face.
O'Driscoll Collective wanted to support #BlackLivesMatter through fundraising, partnering with Popper, Tesko Verde, to deliver an informational dance workshop on black culture through Boogaloo. Exceeding our target, £255 has been donated to organisations supporting black individuals to provide opportunities and help break down barriers, such as, educational inequalities, anti-black and racism, discrimination and underachievement. Please see our video of appreciation for all your support. |
ONE% AT MIDSUMMER FESTIVALWest Midlands Culture Response Unit (WMCRU) organised the Midsummer Festival in response to the Covid-19 impact on the Cultural Sector, led by Culture Central.
ONE% was received extremely well, with reactions and comments from viewers being overwhelmingly positive, having the impact ONE% choreographically intended to have. Thank you to WMCRU for organising, everyone who supported the Festival and those who watched ONE%. |
|
|
WELCOME SIPHO!OC is honored to have Sipho faciliate our 'Male Booster Programme' alongside Jamaal O'Driscoll with support from the West Midlands Police and Newman University. Sipho Eric Ndlovu is a Consultant, Performance Artist, Workshop Facilitator and Writer based in Birmingham, UK. His background is encompassed as an Actor, Spoken Word Poet and Dancer with additional interest in education, disability art, heritage and academia. Sipho has spent the last 10 years working with young people from varying contexts including mainstream education and specialist schools, using the arts practises to engage in creative ways. |
BARNWOOD COLLEGE - CENTRE STAGEIt has been a pleasure working with a fantastic group of boys at Barnwood College, who took their first step on stage for 'Centre Stage Dance Show' on 25 & 26 February 2020. They showcased 4 performances, choreographed by Jamaal O'Driscoll, doing themselves and the audience proud. These boys committed to the process and more importantly, they committed to each other as a collective.
O'Driscoll Collective looks forward to expanding our creative work in the future. Congratulations to the Barnwood's team and Victoria Keen, who continue to make a positive impact through the enjoyment of dance. |
|
|
|
DANCE 2 CONNECTJamaal was fortunate to be invited to perform, judge and deliver a workshop at Dance 2 Connect festival, from the 31 January - 2nd February 2020 in Dublin, Ireland. On the first night, Jamaal showcased his solo hip hop theatre piece 'Simplicity'. Judging the one on one breakin' battles on the second day, and delivering a workshop on the last day, sharing his knowledge and approach to breakin'.
It was a great experience, getting to know local artists and international artists, sharing knowledge and energy. I highly recommend not missing the opportunity to attend their next event and experience a possitive sharing of hip hop and Irish culture. |
DX CHOREOGRAPHY AWARD HOLDER , 2020This well-established annual programme will provide support for Jamaal's choreographic career, to build up his successful professional choreographic experience. Through the ambition to grow and further develop his practice, this programme will support Jamaal to experiment and explore his choreographic ideas in a supportive environment, for a step-change.
What will you be working on as part of your award? “I will develop a piece of work which can be showcased to other artists and the public, using open places and unique spaces (OPUS) to influence movement; through the dance style of breakin’. I expect to improve and gain a deeper understanding of my choreographic abilities to create work that is impactful and influential within hip-hop theatre.” |
|
|
|
HIP HOP THEATRE: THE JOURNEYO'Driscoll Collective's 2 year journey in the hip hop theatre world has been creative, wonderful, insightful, inspiring and challenging at times. We started with 'simplicity' which premiered at the B-Side Scratch Night in Birmingham and has now visited London (Artists 4 Artists) & Dublin, Ireland (Dance 2 Connect).
We later developed our outdoor theatre piece 'ONE%' which debuted at the Digbeth Weekender in 2019, but our summer tour has been postponed due to COVID-19, but we are even more excited to make a return. Dance Hub, Birmingham, has played a significant role at supporting our West Midlands based work, enabling our journey and evolving the development of our process. Take a look at our feature in the Dance Hub Birmingham trailer, interviewing our Artistic Director, Jamaal O'Driscoll, alongside live footage of 'One%' being performed by Jamaal and Marius Mates. Recent work by Nathan Lafayette, explored into the development process of movement, where Nathan filmed and produced a short video of Jamaal's space of creation and approach to his process. A studio is not always needed to create, escape and have fun with dance.
|
'INSIDE WE BREAK' - SHORT FILMIn late 2019, we were able to create our short film 'Inside We Break' as part of the New Creatives scheme, supported by Arts Council England, Rural Media and BBC Arts. The narrative of 'Inside we break' is influenced by mental health and the relationship that dance / movement can play between individuals to bring them together. The film will be coming out soon, keep an eye on this space.
Newman University kindly allowed us to use the university as our filming location for the short film. Click on the link below to see our feature on their website about our time on campus! |
|
|
ARTISTS 4 ARTISTS WEEK IN LONDON,
|
PRODUCING A BBC 'NEW CREATIVES' SHORT FILM
Selected by the BBC, Jamaal is having his short film idea 'Inside we break' produced through a talent development scheme in partnership with Rural Media! The theme of the film is based on dance / breakin' and mental health, taking audiences through a journey that has an impact on people's lives here and now.
|
|
BSEEN AT NEWMAN UNIVERSITY, BIRMINGHAMThank you to the BSEEN start-up's programme which has enabled us to work with a marketing company called Lens & Pens, who helped to design the OC logo and create marketing content. BSEEN also supported the company through workshops and talks from industry professionals. This collaborative initiative is between 4 universities in Birmingham, funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
|
|
|
|
|