In the summer term of 2010,The Orangery, a group of ten young people and two staff from Northridge Special School began a new adventure. Having just completed their bronze arts awards it was important that this adventure was both fun and challenging, offering a unique opportunity to develop the skills they had already gained.
The group worked with dancer Hayley Beecher and Musician Janet Wood throughout the project alongside a specialist arts team to help them create a live performance, a professional recording and a music video!
Parklife is a performance created as a result of responses and explorations around several stimuli. The group first created their own life-size flowers filled with textures colours and creatures weird and wonderful. A colourful, magical garden of flowers representing their individuality, their growth and the cultivation of their creativity provided the perfect backdrop for their story to unfold.
Parklife is a story of everyday life within a park… why do we go to the park? What characters do we find there? What will happen when two strangers meet by chance on a park bench?
They fall asleep and a fantastical dream unfolds. Ballerina swans dance on an ice cream lake; there are slides, chocolate houses and spiky spiders on juicy boozy lemons. The sky rains oranges and it seems as though anything is possible. The group bring the story to life with live dance, song and drama performing to an audience who are encouraged to interact and join in the closing song.
Daydream is a music video like no other. Born out of the Parklife performance and inspired by the themes and title track Daydream the group worked incredibly hard to record their own voices and film their playful choreography.
The film also featured a track I am the orangery originally composed by group and recorded with musician Phill Howley over a two week period. Next up was the choreography, exploring a series of ideas…..a big brass band, bowling with oranges, dancing with flowers, playing in the park and hide and seek. The film shoot with filmmaker Jim Lockey took place in three different parks in Doncaster and involved costumes and props galore.
The impact of the project on participants has been significant for each individual involved. Members of the group have increased enthusiasm and enjoyment during sessions. They have focused for longer periods of time, maintained energy levels even after a hard days work at school. They have responded more quickly to instructions, improving their memory remembering song words and choreography. They have shown patience and maturity when filming supporting each other and being mindful of each other’s varying needs. Some have sung solos confidently, volunteered for new roles and have been proactive offering suggestions and ideas.