Emily May Dance Theatre is the umbrella under which I present my choreographic work. I have recently been commissioned to create a short dance work by the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal based on an aspect of Cumbrian cultural heritage. The creation period will take place during a residency w/c 28th August and will be performed on 30th September as part of a day long festival. I will also be required to deliver children's workshops based on the themes of the piece.

I am currently interested in exploring the philosophies of Cumbrian poet and painter John Ruskin, and particularly his attitudes towards modernity expressed in his book "The Stones of Venice", in which he condemns the dehumanization of man resulting from the process of mass production. This topic is part of my ongoing research into the process of dehumanization, which I explored in my previous work Silkscreen|Machine (in reference to the work of Andy Warhol and 1960s consumerism) and in my undergraduate dissertation (artist's relationships with the dehumanizing metropolis of 1920s Berlin). Exploring this theme in relation to Cumbrian cultural heritage offers a wide variety of inspirations, including exploring the area's history of manual labour and factories such as Stott Bobbin Mill, as well as how the Lake Districts' landscape can offer a humanizing escape from an urban lifestyle (as it did for so many Romantic poets).

Whilst we will some support from the Arts Centre we desperately need your help in order to fund the travel and accommodation for myself and three dancers. Supporting this project offers a great opportunity to enable us to champion art and culture in rural areas outside of London. We hope that this performance may develop in the future to be performed at a wide variety of rural venues and therefore engage a larger audience of people who don't have easy access to the "London bubble" of art and culture.

We greatly appreciate any donation you can make - large or small!

Thank you!