| Description | Kickstart was a small-scale touring dance company that formed in 1977 and was active until 1982. The company was founded by Virginia Taylor, a graduate of Newnham College , Cambridge . She studied dance in London , but in 1976 went to New York to train with Merce Cunningham and Viola Farber. On her return to London she began choreographing and in 1977 set up Kickstart with a small group of dancers who were interested in her work. The group, which is described as a 'modern dance company', toured small scale arts centres and secondary schools with programmes of work; the dancers would take it in turns to choreograph dance pieces on each other, but there was a shared company philosophy of working with humour and social commentary. The company received grants from the Eastern Arts Association, and a small amount of funding from the Arts Council of Great Britain and North West Arts.
In addition to performance work, the company were also responsible for providing workshops and classes. Kickstart became a company-in-residence at Digswell Arts Centre in Welwyn Garden City and also set up their administrative base there. Some of the dancers who have worked with the company are Sue Curtis, Helen Niblett, Pat Garrett, Eva Darlow, Helen Crocker and Kiki Gale.
The Kickstart Archive is made up of photographs, posters and papers. There are 22 photographs that document Kickstart workshops at Digswell Arts Centre, publicity shots of dancers, and scenes from choreographies by Kickstart (including 'They are not like us' (1980) and 'Earthbound/Airbound' (1981)). There are 5 posters advertising various Kickstart performances. The 2 boxes of papers include: performance schedules; adminsrative correspondence; budgets and finance; press releases; publicity materials; company biographies and contracts; correspondence between Kickstart and various funding bodies; and press reviews. |