THE MOTHEROTHER RESIDENCY 2023

On Tuesday 13th September 2023, we were delighted to welcome Lizzie Klotz, our first artist in residenct, to The NewBridge Project. Lizzie is beginning her residency into exploring the impact the post-partum period upon creative practice only a few short weeks after delivering her second child. Her baby will be with her throughout the residency period. Lizzie has already made the residency space a calm and reflective environment in which to begin.

As Lizzie approaches the middle of her residency period, I checked in with her to see how things were going. She has been utilising her time to work through several ideas relating to her ambitions for the residency, as well as responding to the post-partum phase and the impact of this time upon her work.

Lizzie has been reflecting upon her practice prior to the residency, evolving a form of archive, this has led to her consider her body as an archive of her experiences. The shifting and adaptations of the body during and post pregnancy as well as the lasting impacts of birth. As a performer Lizzie is challenging aspects of bodily perfection and what that means within her field.

New work is being developed in the form of scores for improvised dance and Lizzie has invited musician Jayne Dent (Me Lost Me) and dancer Alys North to join her in the space to test and analyse these new works.

As well as bringing in guests herself Lizzie is also being supported by NewBridge staff and BALTIC curator Niomi Fairweather in the development of her practice. I was also pleased to introduce Lizzie to artist Stephanie Daniels when she visited from Glasgow to deliver the Empowered Bodies workshops at the University of Northumbria.

Supporting Lizzie and her baby is Rosa Postlethwaite, longtime collaborator, and friend, who has been caring for both mum and baby in the space for a portion of time each day. Rosa’s role also includes being a sounding board and another pair of eyes and ears in the development of Lizzie’s work. The residency has made Rosa’s vital support possible, and it is wonderful to see the pair work so harmoniously together.

Lizzie is working towards multiple points for sharing her work both internally within the residency and externally with the wider world. It was lovely to hear Lizzie describe the idea of a shared experience as ‘a gift’.

To see more of what Lizzie is choosing to share at this time please click here

Regarding the residency Lizzie states:

“From September to November 2023, I took part in a residency at The NewBridge Project as part of MOTHEROTHER; a programme for artists who are parents and carers.

The residency was a paid opportunity for me to reconnect with my practice as a dance artist, and put ideas in motion for new work - and was structured flexibly around my role as a parent to my two year old son Max and newborn son Frank.

I worked for 2 days per week, in a studio with 2 comfy office chairs, a table with wheels, a standing table, a beanbag and 2 lamps. I brought things for Frank, and a yoga mat and my laptop.

MOTHEROTHER paid for Max’s childcare, which meant we enrolled Max into nursery for the first time.

MOTHEROTHER also paid for friend and collaborator Rosa Postlethwaite to join me - to physically hold my newborn so that I could lie on the floor, type at my laptop or go to the toilet, and to have someone to listen, and to ask questions about the work.

I was also joined by dancer Alys North, who is also a parent to her one year old daughter Solmaz.

Conversations that arose during this period were centred around Parenting / Perfectionism / Archiving / Improvisation and relationships between them.

I wrote a series of scores based on my current postpartum experiences;

The care dance

The rocking dance

The I am a natural dance

The interrupted dance

The unfinished dance

The negotiation dance

- a practice that stems from a really small dance, a collaborative work made with Luca Rutherford.”