Animate Artists
Animate Artists courses bring together experienced young musicians in exciting collaborations with other artists and art forms.
Taking place on a project-by-project basis at weekends, evenings and during school holidays, these courses normally last for a minimum of four days. Working together as an ensemble to create music from scratch, young musicians get the opportunity to work alongside choreographers, theatre directors or film-makers.
What will you do on a typical Animate Artists project?
- Work closely with a team of typically 20 – 25 other Animate Artist musicians and other young artists to create a brand new piece of performance art
- Be supported by an artistic team of professional musicians and other collaborators
- Take part in a series of creative sessions to shape your ideas and get more comfortable playing together with the other musicians and young artists
- Be part of a high-profile and public performance at the end of the process
In previous projects, Animate Artists have collaborated with Emergency Exit Arts, Trinity Laban Youth Dance Company and Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre, amongst others, and performed at the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall, Tate Modern, Southbank Centre and Cadogan Hall.
Who are Animate Artists projects aimed at?
- Anyone who plays any instrument, aged 13-18
- Priority will be given to more experienced musicians who are grade 4 standard upwards (or equivalent)
- Young musicians from South-east London and/or who have taken part in past Animate projects are particularly encouraged to take part.
Upcoming project:
Animate Artists X Trinity Laban Youth Dance Company
With sessions across November 24 to February 25 – on occasional Sundays and Tuesday evenings – you will work as part of a group to devise a brand-new piece of music for dance, collaborating with the Trinity Laban Youth Dance Company.
This daring new work will be performed live at the state-of-the-art Laban Theatre on 23 February 2025, as part of U.Dance 2025: London Regional Platform.
Limited spaces still available – apply as soon as possible and before 16 November 2024.
Previous events
2023
As Time Goes By
Between October and December 2023, Animate Artists and Trinity Laban Youth Dance Company collaborated on a new music and dance piece using the theme of time. Around 40 young people worked with music director Sarah Freestone and choreographer Alethia Antonia to devise and perform the piece.
Thirteen young musicians, aged 11-15, came together with Sarah Freestone, and supported by Trinity Laban music students, to compose the music from scratch. From fragments of melody to finished musical episodes, and taking inspiration from composers Steve Reich and Terry Riley, the young musicians performed, composed and shaped their own ideas in dialogue with the Youth Dance Company.
2022
The Ultimate Storyboard
In February 2022, young musicians worked with undergraduate music and dance students from Trinity Laban in a very special collaboration, as part of the annual CoLab festival of creativity and innovation. Taking inspiration from using ancient star maps to create graphic scores and exploring the stories behind constellations, participants visited the Royal Observatory Greenwich at the start of this five day project. Guided by musical director Sarah Freestone, and choreographer Laura Doehler, the group improvised and developed their own performance piece from scratch. They then performed this on the stage of the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre, as part of the London Music Fund’s 10th Anniversary Gala Concert, in front of a packed and appreciative audience which included the Mayor of London.
2021
Ideal Palace
In summer 2021, a group of young musicians came together at Trinity Laban to create and then record their own music. In this latest Animate Artists project, Animate artists collaborated with the pioneering outdoor performance company Emergency Exit Arts to help create some of the soundtrack for ‘Ideal Palace’ – a new interactive audio-theatre experience which then toured to public spaces in Greenwich.