Vertical Dance & Aerial Dance Harness Intermediate Level with Lindsey Butcher & Autin Dance Theatre!
Mon 9 Dec-Fri 13 Dec (10am-4pm) 
The Daimler Powerhouse
Vertical Dance: An extraordinary exploration where the walls become your dance floor. Using climbing harnesses and rigging equipment, we’ll tip the dance floor 90 degrees, turning gravity into a playful partner. This practice is liberating, exhilarating, sometimes strenuous, and always a bit disorienting!
Aerial Dance Harness: An immersive low-flying aerial dance experience, where the harness allows for dynamic movement just above the floor, blending grounded dance with flight. Using low-fly aerial harnesses, you’ll move fluidly between the floor and air, opening up new dimensions of dance theatre. This style is perfect for those wanting to explore weightlessness and suspension at a manageable height.
What to Expect:
On the wall – we’ll start with an introduction to specific rigging equipment and foundational orientation, building common ground before progressing to more complex sequences. Throughout the week, we’ll explore movement through different planes, engaging in creative exercises and improvisation tasks – all designed to help you discover your unique dance on the wall.
Low fly – we’ll build familiarity with the harness and equipment, exploring balance, surrender, and creative movement, finding effortless transitions in moving from floor to air while hovering just off the ground. We’ll experiment with low-fly sequences, working both independently and with partners, to discover how aerial dance harness work can add depth and expression to dance theatre narratives.
Prior experience with vertical dance is required.
This project is produced and delivered by Autin Dance Theatre in partnership with Imagineer Productions as part of Powerhouse Pro, and supported by a grant from West Midlands Combined Authority Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund.
This intensive week is designed for dancers who are confident and experienced in vertical movement; prior experience with vertical dance is required.
You should feel comfortable with the following skills:
- Demonstrating planks on various planes
- Finding your balance point on feet or hands under the rigging point
- Jumping away from and returning to the wall – with control!
- Basic rotations, such as forward and back somersaults, and cartwheels on the wall
NB: None of these need to be perfect!
