VincentDanceTheatre's video: In Loco Parentis Online trailer 60 sec

In Loco Parentis reflects on the universal human need to be safe, to feel looked after and to belong. Movement, striking visual imagery and spoken word combine to explore the cycles of rupture and repair that drive children into care and the impact this has on their young lives. “Vitally important social messages way beyond the parameters of theatre and dance” DanceTabs Critically acclaimed for translating real-life testimonies into beautifully crafted performance work, Vincent Dance Theatre shed light on the extraordinary resilience of care-experienced young people, their parents and carers demanding their stories be heard. Age Guidance 14+ “Agonisingly visceral and often beyond words” – The Psychologist W: vincentdt.com F: /VincentDance T: @VincentDT I: @VincentDanceTheatreUK CONTEXT In Loco Parentis is the latest of a series of works that explore the impact of our adult world on young lives. This new production comes as the 4th in the series, including Virgin Territory (2016), Shut Down (2017) & Art of Attachment (2018), all critically acclaimed for translating real-life testimonies into beautifully crafted performance work. In Loco Parentis is the partner piece to Art of Attachment, which saw Vincent collaborating with women in recovery from substance misuse, some of whom had been separated from their children. Throughout 2019 VDT underwent a period of research and collaboration with care-experienced young people and the adults in their lives. The company’s creative methodology unpacks and captures the emotional labour and lived experience of participants, then translates thoughts and contributions creatively into live and film work. The participants’ voices will feature front and centre as the main driver of the show, intending to challenge, provoke and stimulate public debate amongst contemporary audiences. “What gives Vincent’s work its power is that it is born not of hot-housed theory but of lived experience. It comes from the heart and that’s not always a pretty place.” – The Observer Vincent Dance Theatre (VDT) makes crucial performance for the critical times in which we live. Acclaimed as ‘funny, fearless and flintily determined, Vincent is one of the most important feminist artists working in Britain today’ (The Observer, UK), creating ‘astonishingly original’ (New York Times) productions with a ‘crackling intellectual core’ (The Guardian, UK). Artistic Director Charlotte Vincent and her brilliant, cross-generational ensemble have been ‘moving people and making them think’ since 1994, distributing productions on stage, on film and online to place the work at the heart of public debate. In Loco Parentis tours in March 2020, and again in autumn. The film installation of its companion work, Art of Attachment, will premiere in May 2020. See tour dates on VDT’s calendar. ‘Vincent delivers forceful messages through her poetic and political dance theatre.’ Josephine Leask, London Dance VDT’s productions make significant claims for gender politics, and increasingly for social change. Productions are formed from a socially engaged research process and accompanied by a wide range of Participation activity, including; Professional Development, Social Engagement, Teaching & Learning & Dialogue & Debate. Vincent also mentors a range of emerging and mid-career artists, and is widely acknowledged for supporting parenting in performing arts and campaigning for gender equality through all the company’s work, both on and off the stage. VDT is a National Portfolio Organisation, funded by Arts Council England and based in Brighton, UK. VDT is also a Dream Artist at Pavilion Dance South West and an Associate Company at Brighton Dome. INTERVIEW WITH THE CHOREOGRAPHER Q: As an artist, what drives your exploration of these challenging societal issues? A: Equality, mostly. The need for understanding and compassion rather than judgement. The need for young people to be heard. If I can use the platform I have for any of that then I’m in. In the past 5 years the company’s work has integrated the voices of marginalised people through our performance and social engagement work to encourages experiences, stories and narratives that usually remain hidden to come to the surface… Read the full interview with Charlotte about In Loco Parentis via our website. COMMISSIONERS In Loco Parentis Premieres at Connaught Theatre, Worthing and tours UK venues in Spring 2020 and again in Autumn 2020. VDT is a National Portfolio Organisation, funded by Arts Council England. In Loco Parentis is co-commissioned by Worthing Theatres and PDSW. www.vincnetdt.com