| Code | DS/UK/C755 |
| Dates | 1977-1982 |
| Person Name | Kickstart Dance Company; 1977-1982; Touring dance company |
| Epithet | Touring dance company |
| Corporate Name | Kickstart Dance Company |
| History | 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. |
| Source | Description derived from the Kickstart collection level description, January 2021. |
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| KS/F/1/21 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/5 | Kickstart \ Digswell Dance Weekend \ Three workshop participants | 1982 |
| KS/F/1/20 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/7 | Kickstart \ Digswell Dance Weekend \ A group of workshop participants | 1982 |
| KS/F/1/4 | Kickstart \ Digswell Dance Weekend \ A group of workshop participants | 1982 |
| KS/F/1/6 | Kickstart \ Digswell Dance Weekend \ Two workshop participants | 1982 |
| KS/F/1/22 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/18 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/15 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/14 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/19 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/13 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/10 | Kickstart \ They Are Not Like Us (Taylor) | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/12 | Kickstart \ Earthbound - Airbound (Garrett) | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/16 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/17 | Kickstart | 1979-1982 |
| XZP/804 | Kickstart | |
| XZG/825 | Kickstart Dance Company, Virginia Taylor, and Pat Garrett & Dancers \ Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, UK | n.d. |
| XZG/826 | Kickstart Dance Company | n.d. |
| KS/G/1233 | Kickstart and Won-Kyung Cho | [1977-1982] |
| KS/F/1/11 | Kickstart \ They Are Not Like Us (Taylor) | 1979-1982 |
| KS/F/1/9 | Kickstart \ They Are Not Like Us (Taylor) | 1979-1982 |
| AD/E/2/5 | Small Scale Dance Companies \ 1 | 1979-1981 |
| XZM/525 | Kickstart Dance Company | |
| XZG/827 | Kickstart Dance Company \ Crewe and Alsagar College, UK \ 15 May 1980 \ Signs and Signals | 15 May 1980 |
| XZG/860 | Dancers Dance, an 'In-Side-Out' Car Park Event \ Oval House, Kennington, London \ 4 October 1981 | 4 October 1981 |
| KS/G/1235 | Kickstart \ Preston Polytechnic Students Union | 30 September 1978 |
| KS/G/1234 | Kickstart \ They Are Not Like Us and other dances | 12 January 1982 |
| KS/G/1236 | Kickstart \ 22/01-23/01, year unknown \ They Are Not Like Us and Other Dances | [1977-1982] |
| KS/G/1237 | Kickstart Dance Weekend \ 04/07-05/07, year unknown | [1977-1982] |