As we come to the end of another jam-packed term of weekly classes at our home studio at The Beaufort Theatre, we prepare for our summer activities both in and out of our venue.

Always uppermost in our minds is the valuable work that we undertake in the community, reaching people in a different setting to that of a more traditional theatre. For many, the theatre is a place of wonder and escape, and for others it may be a place that doesn’t appeal to them. After so many years in the business, the comment that I have most received is “I’ve never been to anything like this before” referring to our FFIN DANCE performances. Our work is to try and bridge that gap and make our work open to all.
One of the best accolades this year has been from a parent of one of our community dance learners who likened it to being in a pop concert. How amazing is that!

While many organisations shut down for the summer holidays, we ramp up a gear and get going trying to fill the void in learning opportunities for children and young people. Here’s our programme, we hope you can join us. If you’d like to contact us please email Catrin, our Community Coordinator, her email address is ffindancecl@gmail.com

We’d like to invite you along to plus one | parent and pre-school dance

My creative time with the company dancers making my new work has come to an end in the studio. RISE is now ready to be refined, polished and staged and will be premièred at our beloved home The Beaufort Theatre

The last section of RISE is titled rewritten as we look with hope to a rewriting of the fate of the gossip and the victims taken from characters in Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milk Wood”

We selected 3 of our FFIN DANCE Youth dancers to perform alongside us in this section in the première on April 6th. They are essentailly what we have fondly called them – mini mes

Our company dancers Catrin, Georgina and Louis have spent some time in the studio during the half term school holiday making work with them that follows the rewriting of the character’s fates. The young dancers are the last image that we see in the piece as they exit the space which imitates a school line in single file.

We had great fun working with them and we hope they had a great experience working in this way; so lucky to be working alongside professional dancers in the studio on a one to one basis.

So now as I hand over my creative “baby” to my trusty dancers, we look forward to sharing the finished work with you.

In addition to presenting RISE in the theatre, we will also be touring this around schools, groups and festivals with accompanying workshops. If that’s something you would be interested in hosting, please get in touch with Catrin on this email ffindancecl@gmail.com

Until I see you next, thank you for accompanying me on this journey …
sue lewis

My second day in the studio with the company dancers, Catrin, Georgina and Louis.

My new work which will be premièred on 6 April 2024, draws inspiration from a variety of sources including Dylan Thomas’ play for voices “Under Milk Wood”
Today, we explored the psychology of why people gossip.

Aptly titled RISE, the piece discovers what it takes to rise above being hurt by others and not to be controlled by external influencers.

Hannah Rose says this about gossiping:
“It’s a behavior that I can still struggle the most with. I get so easily pulled into the toxicity or drama of another’s life and feel this internal urge to chime in, agree, or give my two cents about certain life decisions of another person. Every time, without fail, these behaviors or life choices have absolutely nothing to do with me or my life”
We all do it in the guise of sharing a bit of news, but do we stop to think of the victim of our casual chat?

Tomorrow, we look at the victims and the toxicity of throwing casual remarks to judgement.

Join me for my next blog and continue my choreographic journey …
sue lewis

I am exceptionally excited to share with you the musings of my new work for the company – RISE

It’s been a while since I have had the luxury of spending time with our company dancers to create a new piece of work and I am so very happy to be able to share my time with you.

Over the next two weeks, I invite you to take this journey with me and read all about my choreographic process, highs and lows and join in the final product on stage at our home theatre

see you tomorrow …
sue lewis

We are delighted to share our good news with you that we have secured funding from the UK Government Levelling Up Shared Prosperity Fund

We welcome three new members of staff to our team:

Catrin | Community Coordinator for FFIN DANCE
Louis | Events & Volunteers Coordinator for The Beaufort Theatre
Andrew | Innovation Coordinator for FFIN DANCE

They start post in June and July 2023 and will be taking our organisations forward and will most certainly be getting in touch with you!

We are pleased to invite you to our new work by Tess Letham at our home theatre The Beaufort Theatre & Café Bar on April 15th 2023

Traces:we are all just passing by

The work explores concepts of how the memories of those no longer present in our physical lives linger on: how these people have influenced and shaped us. Whether their presence was fleeting or enduring, their traces have become an integral part of our personal histories, like tiles in a mosaic, forming a unique and intricate pattern that makes us who we are. And how we embody these patterns in our present, showing up for those around us in the here and now.

Tess, an Edinburgh based Dance Artist describes her work:

“My creations focus on human experience – constructing both obscure and deeply authentic environments, inviting the audience fully into an intriguing theatrical world.
I have spent extensive time studying the methods of Flying Low and Passing Through, created by David Zambrano, a main focus of my teaching practice. I am an ambassador for sharing this work across the UK and further afield. This has also become a vital part of my individual movement practice and philosophical understanding of what dance represents in the wider context of community and culture. Within my whole practice I seek an open and encouraging environment, nurturing the possibility to share, discuss, feedback and discover ideas with others”

Take a look at rehearsals here