Street Dreams in Bradford

October 3, 2008 at 1:31 pm (Events, General Information, Learning & Access) (, , , , )

Ashley Gobbi is one of the Bradford College students taking part in the “Street Dreams” project. It involves students from the Performing Arts Course working with professionals from NBT and Kala Sangam to create and promote a performance and workshops in Bradford City Centre on 17 October.


Ashley, tell us a little bit about yourself:

I’m 20 years old and I am in my second year at Bradford College. I love it! Hopefully when I finish my course I’ll be able to go out and work in the industry as an actress and one day be very successful. I have a keen interest in all areas of the performing arts business including working behind the scenes and strangely the business element too, which I find fascinating. I am currently working as stage manager for the department and would consider myself suited to that role.

 

When I was younger I always wanted to be a ballet dancer but unfortunately this was too expensive for my family and so I ended up as a successful competitive athlete and swimmer. 

 

What is “Street Dreams” all about?

“Street Dreams” is a project designed to get more people to enjoy dance as an alternative form of exercise. It aims to change the general publics perceptions of ballet as an art form and to put across that it is not just about tutu’s and tights.

More importantly for the students involved it is about showcasing their talents and hopefully making Bradford proud of it’s city and it’s young people who are working hard to be the faces of tomorrow.

 
What aspect of the project are you involved in and what have you been doing so far?

I am working on the Marketing and promotions team for the project.  Although I would have loved to perform with the other students, I think we have been given the best role overall. Working alongside Amy and Ruth has been a fantastic experience so far as we have learnt a lot about an area of the industry we wouldn’t normally look at in such detail. I wouldn’t say it’s been an easy task to take on, as I believe we have the hardest job to do. There’s so much to think about and prepare for, before the project can take place. As artist’s we don’t necessarily think about these areas involved in the performance, but I definitely have a new found appreciation for the work that a marketing and promotions team do.

 

So what stage is the project at right now?

From a marketing perspective we’ve begun promoting the rehearsal/dummy run at the college and when that’s over the real work will start as we start to contact everyone possible to come along to the event on the 17th and join in. Also we will be contacting all areas of the media interested in covering the project.

As for the performers they’ve been working hard to create a fantastic and enjoyable performance. They’ve also been working on the student-led workshops for the event almost everyday of the week. From what I have seen in rehearsals we have an exciting mix of dance with a quirky feel based on the themes from A Midsummer Nights Dream. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

We will have further updates from Ashley over the coming days – watch this space!

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