Peer to Peer Support Network for Female Aerial Leaders

‘Etre et Durer’ (a translation of ‘to be and to last’ borrowed from parkour which sounds so much better), was born of a desire to create a peer to peer support network for female aerial leaders and artistic directors.

Jennifer Paterson, All or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre (Scotland), Chantal McCormick, Fidget Feet (Ireland) and Lindsey Butcher, Gravity & Levity (England) are all EU pioneers of aerial dance; generating, advocating for and growing the sectors in their respective countries over the last 2 decades.  

In recognition of the weight of responsibility inherent within this longevity of practice and to support those nurturing the sector, we proposed this pilot project to test a means of creating ongoing, mutual long-term support; formulating a model of structures to support mid-late career artists and female aerial leaders to sustain their careers.  

We aim to meet in the studio as moving bodies and artists first and our ensuing conversations then flow from that shared meeting of physical bodies, practice and common ground.

The first meeting took place at The Dance Space in Brighton back in June 2022. We’ll meet again in October in Scotland before filming a conversation of our findings in Limerick and sharing that amongst other international aerial dance leaders for comment.

A final Zoom will invite further discussion and evaluation with a potential for disseminating an ‘action plan for support’.