People Power Partnership (PPP) have chosen their eight unique individuals, aged 18-30, who have expressed their passion for dance. This is a joint venture with numerous international organisations from across Europe over the next three-years.
PPP is a physical street theatre project that celebrates the power of people from 11 countries across Europe with the help of 14 partner organisations. Partners include PASSAGE Festival in Denmark, Teatrul National Radu Stanca from Romania, Tourist Board Varaždin in Croatia, Cultural Centre Loftas in Latvia and Câmara Municipal de Lisboa in Portugal.
As part of the Grimsby Creates programme, Magna Vitae Trust for Leisure and Culture are working with colleagues across Europe on the world-class €4 million Creative Europe project which will showcase local talent on an international scale. Grimsby is the only UK host of this international dance project and attracted national interest as dancers travelled from London, Sheffield, and Lincoln to the auditions.
On Friday 19 and Saturday 20 November, Magna Vitae welcomed the lead partner, Pan Optikum, to the auditions at Grimsby Central Hall. Matthias Rettner, Sigrun and Luka Fritsch flew over from Germany to judge the dancers. Each audition saw the talented dancers learn choreography, express their passion for dance creatively and discuss any burning questions with the team. Grimsby Creates and North East Lincolnshire Council were also on site to support the team.
After some tough decisions by the judges, the final eight talented individuals, from across the UK, were chosen, and attended an official welcome meeting to the project on Sunday 21 November. The lead partner discussed the project itself and what the team are to expect in the upcoming three-year project.
All partners of the project have now selected a group of young adults to work closely with and develop a spectacular performance piece with a deliberate focus on socially relevant issues.
The team will be meeting in Grimsby in the new year to work on team building before their first creative street theatre piece in March in the town. During the intense 12-day rehearsal period, the Grimsby team will host the dance team from Freiburg, Germany and, together, they will create their performance piece. This creative piece will be expressed through hip-hop. Hip-hop culture is built on understanding local political and social issues. Performances will be based on the themes chosen by our final eight and will be unique to Grimsby.
Matthias Rettner from Pan Optikum said “We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Grimsby and are very happy to have this team in our project. We can’t wait for the joint performance with the Freiburg dancers. The beautiful Grimsby Minster will be our location for the production in March 2022.”
James Turner, Director of Business Development for Magna Vitae added “This incredible international project will see Magna Vitae and Grimsby Creates’ connections with Europe flourish. The auditions were extraordinary, and it was remarkable to see such great talent from the young dancers. We are already looking forward to the first official project with the Freiburg team in March.”
This fantastic project will enable Grimsby to develop and showcase its world class potential with a scale and ambition that can shape its future.
The selected team will be revealed over the coming weeks so keep up to date with the journey by following @PPPGrimsby on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
The project is part of the Creative Europe Programme of the EU and 50% funded by the Commission and 50% by Grimsby Creates. Grimsby Creates is funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and administered by Arts Council England as part of the Cultural Development Fund (CDF).