Performing Capers

In this episode of our The In/Out Crowd podcast we are joined by Rhiana Laws. Rhiana is a Dance Artist based in Scotland. She works with 'Safe To Be Me' - a project for young people in schools that provides a space to introduce and develop conversations around equality, and discrimination towards LGBTQ+ and other marginalised communities.You can keep up to date with Rhiana here:Instagram: @rhiana__lawsTwitter: @RhianaLaws

In this episode of our The In/Out Crowd podcast we are joined by bisexual YouTuber, Emma Thorne. Working in the VFX industry by day, by weekends and evenings she takes to YouTube to discuss everything from consumer protection to misogyny, shady business practices to bigoted podcasters and always brings light and laughter to her community online. She critiques anti-LGBTQ+ content and brings focus to the queer community and the issues we face online and in reality.You can keep up to date with Emma here:Instagram: @emmainashesTwitter: @EmmaTheGoblinYouTube Commentary Channel: Emma ThorneYouTube Gaming Channel: Little Duck Gaming

In this episode of our The In/Out Crowd podcast we are joined by NYC-based ballet dancer, Adriana Pierce. Through her #QueerTheBallet initiative, Adriana showcases queer stories and identities in ballet and highlights the stories of queer folks from all walks and ways of life!You can keep up to date with Adriana and the project here:@queertheballet@adriprcwww.queertheballet.com

On this month's The In/Out Crowd podcast, we are joined by a brilliant special guest, Amazin LeThi. Amazin LeThi is a global LGBTQ advocate, keynote speaker, athlete and cultural change leader. She is the only Asian LGBTQ Athlete to simultaneously hold six LGBTQ sports ambassador roles across the world: Stonewall UK, Athlete Ally, Copenhagen2021, Federation Gay Games, Pride House 2022 Commonwealth Games and Vietnam Relief Services. Amazin has addressed audiences from fortune 500 companies, governments around the world and international organisations such as United Nations and The Prince's Trust. As a cultural change leader and through conversations, Amazin shares her personal journey of homelessness to becoming one of the most visible and influential LGBTQ advocates in the world. Her story was included in the It Gets Better campaign and the first White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Asian anti-bullying campaign Act to Change. For further information: www.amazinlethi.comSocial Media: @amazinlethi

In this episode of our The In/Out Crowd podcast we are joined by Thomas and Kathryn from the Scotland-based LGBTQ+ magazine Somewhere: For Us. They offer some advice to their younger selves and older selves. Plus, they play another game of 'This or That'!You can keep up to date with what they're up to here:www.somewhereforus.orgIG @somewhere_ediTW @Somewhere_ForUs

As part of Pride Month, we delighted to bring The In/Out Crowd to a podcast near you……erm…..here! We're here, we're queer, we're a podcast! Ta-dah! Each month, The In/Out Crowd can be found once a month on our social channels and once a month as a podcast. For this episode, Alex is joined by our Youth Advisory Council, The Body, to talk about what Pride Month means to them!

In this special LGBTQ+ History Month edition of our Finding our Feet podcast, we are joined by dance artist, Vince Virr. Vince has worked with us for many years as a dancer in productions including 'Within This Dust', and he will also be in our new show 'Teeny Weeny' commissioned by Starcatchers. Vince is well known across Scotland and internationally as a dancer with Barrowland Ballet. He joins us to talk about 3 significant moments in his life, including his experience of coming out. He also contemplates what advice he would give his 14 and 90 year old self. Plus, he plays another game of 'This or That'!

Joining us today is dance activist and educator, Linzi McLagan! Linzi works as Head of Education at YDance and is a self-confessed learning lover. She joins us for a chat about 3 significant moments in her life. She also considers advice for her 14 and 90 year old self. Plus 'This or That'!

After a wee lick of paint, we are back with a new format! Welcome to Finding Your Feet with our special guest, Mark Franks. Mark is a singer/songwriter from the platinum-selling vocal harmony group, The Overtones. Mark worked with us at Shaper/Caper last year when he created original songs for our show, The Unwanted. Mark has also remixed songs for Pink and Steps under the name DJ RescueRangerz.

On today’s Performing Caper’s Podcast we have our Creative Learning Coordinator, Sarah chatting with two of our lovely Body members, Jorja and Lesley, about teaching and training online. Jorja discusses what it’s like teaching online vs in a studio setting and Lesley shares her thoughts about being a recent dance graduate in this digital-lockdown time. Being members of our youth advisory council, The Body, Jorja and Lesley share their favourite memories and experiences while volunteering with us (there may be a mention of a Madonna themed Christmas party!) and their work with independent company Clifftop Projects.

On today’s episode of “Performing Capers”, we have two of our core team members, TraineeFundraiser, Dylan, and Dance Artist, Alex, chatting about working class access to contemporary dance and the arts as a whole. Drawing from their own experiences of early dance exposure, through their years of training and now working in the dance industry full time, they discuss about why the work that we do as Shaper/Caper is important in getting people of all ages excited about dance and perhaps even inspire folks to have a good ole boogie themselves. Enjoy!

On today’s episode of ‘Performing Capers’ we are joined by Edinburgh based photographer, performer and yoga instructor Sophie O’Brien and our Dance Artist Alex. Having met as colleagues at a previous performance job, now close friends, they chat about the connections between yoga and dance, how they often compliment each other and how they also bring similar challenges and misconceptions.

On today’s ‘Performing Capers’ podcast, we are joined by our Artistic Director, Tommy, and our Dance Artist, Alex. They’re having a chat about the launch of our brand-new online platform … Shaper/Caper’s Village Hall! Our Village Hall is our online programme of classes, events, films, and talks. It’s a place where people can join in our various capers from the comfort of your very own home. There are lots of fun things to do including Children’s Capers: our super popular dance classes for children that we did over the summer, there are seated dance classes for adults, mindfulness sessions, watch-a-longs, and much, much more. It’s just like a visit to your local Village Hall. Want to find out more? Have a listen to our podcast and a check out our Village Hall platform to find out what takes your fancy!https://www.shapercaper.com/villagehall

This week’s ‘Performing Capers’ podcast is a discussion about Intersectionality: Tolerance vs Acceptance. Brought to you by our Co-Chair of The Body, Lesley, and our Dance Artist, Alex, they bring up topics recently raised during our company training about unconscious biases as well as issues relating to tolerance we discussed during ‘The In/Out Crowd’ (our online LGBTQ+ sessions). Lesley and Alex chat about what intersectionality is, why it’s important to be inclusive, and how to get comfortable make these conversations part of our everyday life. Enjoy!

For this week’s Performing Capers Podcast, we have our dance artist Alex chatting with their good friend and fellow artist Emma Lynn Harley. Chatting about their experiences as being bisexual folks, what it means to be bisexual, the issues facing our community today and of the great things about being Bi also. Enjoy!

On this week’s Performing Capers podcast, we catch up with dance artist Katarzyna Leszek and artist, Remigiusz Jabłecki, Both Remi and Kasia joined our very first LGBTQ+ magazine show, The In/Out Crowd, to talk about the political situation in Poland right now. Here, they tell us first-hand experience of living in Poland at this present time and the ongoing challenges for LGBTQ+ people, as well as what we can do to support them. Find out more about their work on their Instagram pages below and please consider offering your support to the Polish LGBTQ+ community using the links below.Remi: https://www.instagram.com/remigiusz_jablecki/Kasia: https://www.instagram.com/leszekkatarzyna/Ways to support the Polish LGBTQ+ community:1. Sign this petition by All Out: https://action.allout.org/en/a/poland/2. Support the Poznan Pride Week - https://grupa-stonewall.pl/we-are/3. Visit/Donate to Campaign Against Homophobia, a nationwide organisation working to prevent violence and discrimination against LGBT people through advocacy work and educational programmes for various professional groups. - https://kph.org.pl (use Chrome browser to translate if needed)

On today’s ‘Performing Capers’ we are joined by our Artistic Director, Tommy Small, and one of our Trustees, Allan McIntyre. As well as chatting all things Shaper/Caper, Allan and Tommy also have a few fun behind the scenes stories to share from their 18 years of being friends and colleagues – everything from their times together in London, to touring Shaper/Caper’s “Within This Dust” production and of course the famous Sao Paolo Pride incident. What exactly happened? Tune in to find out!

Today’s ‘Performing Capers’ is brought to you by our Dance Artist and LGBTQ+ champion Alex McCrossan and is based all around our plans for an LGBTQ+ company policy. Alex chats briefly about their experiences of being a non-binary dance artist both at college and as a recent (but not so recent!) graduate but also explores why we as a company feel a specific policy relating to LGBTQ+ policy is important, particularly at this time we find ourselves in. Enjoy Alex’s ‘Rainbow Ramblings’ (as they say), you can find more details about LGBTQ+ content including our online ‘The In/Out Crowd’ sessions and blogs on our website.

With thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, we are super excited to announce that we have managed to offer two bursaries to a couple of members of our Youth Advisory Council The Body! Jorja will be joining us to assist with our social media content and Eleanor to help us with our new LGBTQ+ project ‘The In/Out Crowd’. Join them on today’s podcast to hear about their plans for the role, what they’ll be getting up to and all the details for you to keep an eye out for. Happy listening!

On this week's episode, Shaper/Caper's Tommy and Alex talk about our new LGBTQ+ project, The In/Out Crowd. It's a fun, magazine style, online show looking at culture and politics with reviews, quizzes and debates! Also, Alex talks about their new blog writing as part of non binary awareness week.

So far, we’ve had 81 Children’s Capers episodes and over 70k views…… and we aren’t stopping any time soon! On today’s podcast, Shaper/Caper’s Alex and Sarah take a deep dive into the creation and development of our online children’s workshops, Children’s Capers. We chat about how the project came about as a response to the lockdown and Scottish school closures, our personal stand out themes so far, and of course what technical green screen whizzes we have all become! Here’s a sneak peak behind the scenes at Children’s Capers! Click on the link to our website or find us on Apple Podcasts.

On this week’s podcast episode we are joined by two of our Body members Jorja and Myrthe. They will be discussing Jorja’s recent blog created during the lockdown period with lots of tips and tricks including ways to manage our time and how to keep routine. They talk about the impact of making little things such as stopping to breathe or doing small pieces of movement in the morning a habit and how these seemingly small changes can make a big difference to how we feel.

As part of Pride month, our podcast features another member of The Body, Andromeda, joined by her brother Phoenix where they are discussing their thoughts around Pride both pre and post lockdown. They chat about both of them being part of the LGBTQIAP+ community and share some stories around their experiences as young people in same gender relationships at this time.

As Pride month draws to a close, today’s podcast is a bit of a trip across Europe! We have Artistic Director, Tommy and Dance Artist, Alex here in sunny Scotland joined by Body members Eleanor in Germany and Myrthe in the Netherlands. Chatting about coming stories, differences in being out between the 80s and present day and particularly how current events of June 2020 have influenced and affected the LGBTQIAP+ community. And of course, in true Shaper/Caper fashion, there is a good handful of Madonna references in there too!

In this Performing Capers podcast, Sarah Greene and Dylan Boswell, team members of Shaper/Caper, have a chat about all things Mindfulness. They discuss what it’s like leading a Mindfulness practise in person compared to digital sessions and how the lockdown has been affecting people’s mental health and what Mindfulness can do to help. There may also be a short mindfulness session for us to follow along to as well! Shaper/Caper are excited to offer mindfulness to schools, businesses and organisations. Get in touch at hello@shapercaper.com if you would like to know more.

As lockdown continues, so does our Podcast Series! This week’s episode features another couple of members from our Youth Advisory Board ‘The Body’. We have recent dance degree graduates Lesley Howard and Clare Adam chatting about their experiences as dancers living with disabilities. They’ll be chatting about the obstacles professional dance training has presented and also how the challenges with the move to online resources in recent months. They have also included some helpful tips for everyone about how to keep digital communication accessible and inclusive for anyone who may be finding video chats tricky (don’t we all!)

Today on ‘Performing Capers’ we have two members of our Youth Advisory Board, ‘The Body’, chatting about the experiences and difficulties dancers in training and recent dance graduates are facing during the current lockdown restrictions. They talk about the dance training process moving to digital platforms, the challenges associated and, most importantly, how they are maintaining their positivity and joy throughout this time.If you enjoyed this podcast, check out our other episodes, where discuss everything from LGBTQIAP+ issues to life on the road as touring company: https://shapercaper.squarespace.com/comebackstage

Tommy chats about what it was like to grow as gay man in the 80's during the AIDS crisis and the aftermath of Section 28 whilst Alex chats about their mum working as a charge Nurse during the crisis. Oh, and there's a chat about George Michael and Madonna too.....for balance! Part of our residency at Citymoves Dance Agency and our Here. Me. Out. project funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund.

In this episode, company dancers Lisa Hood and Vince Virr talk about their work with Tommy over the past few years. They talk about their experience of dancing in our show Within This Dust and where they were when 9/11 happened. (Sadly, half of the interview got lost due to a corrupted SD card but we’ve saved what we could! Ahhhh, technology!)

In this week’s podcast, we catch up with Harper, a 12 year old boy from Dundee who is taking part in our Hubbub project funded by Cashback for Communities. Harper has been working with one of our professional dancers, Robert Anderson and they talk about how they started in dance and what inspires them, Harper is an incredibly inspiring young person so this is definitely worth a listen!

In this week’s podcast, our Creative Learning Dance Artist, Sarah Greene and Dance Trainee, Alex McCrossan, talks to members of Shaper/Caper's Youth Advisory Council called The Body.The Body have, once again, been creating their own works of art inspired by Shaper/Caper’s productions and project. For this episode, The Body members have created work inspired by Paper Moon, our interactive show for children ages under 5. The works they are talking about can be found on our website.

This week we catch up with Tommy and the dancers as they research and develop a new show for young people aged 12 to 15 called ‘No Offence’ that explores LGBTQ issues in the 21st Century.

In this episode, we catch up with performers Rob and Miranda about the creative process of making Paper Moon for Cumbernauld Theatre.

In our first every podcast, our Creative Learning Dance Artist, Sarah Greene, talks to members of Shaper/Caper's Youth Advisory Council called The Body.The Body have been creating their own works of art inspired by Shaper/Caper’s productions and project. For this first episode, The Body members have created work inspired by their recent involvement in the opening of V&A Dundee. The works they are talking about can be found on our website.