The ‘successes’ presented on social media are the ‘best bits’. It has no reference to the confusion, learning, personal and financial sacrifice that sustaining an arts organisation through a pandemic as a naive 27 year old ‘boy’ inflicts. At times it teetered precariously on sweat, tired eyes and hope. It was clear that without change this un-strategic approach was unsustainable and I wasn’t prepared to be a student that takes an exam time and time again, continuing to make the same mistakes. Something would have to change, and it came rather unexpectedly.
In April 2022, Ascension Dance Company (ADC) was extremely lucky to gain funding from Arts Council England to support the inclusive elements of re-touring The Other Side, our outdoor dance work that had been in development since 2019. As part of this, I was interested in understanding international touring for the years to come. I remember sitting in Coventry a few years back at an Outdoor Arts UK Conference held at Fargo Village, listening to Louise talk with passion and frustration about touring non-UK based countries in the new Brexit climate. I knew that she would be the perfect person to mentor me in terms of how to tackle this new beast of an ambition, and after a few emails, she graciously offered her time in-kind.
It would be false to say I didn’t arrive to our first meeting with a preconceived idea about how these conversations would go. Talking about partnerships, understanding additional touring costs and how to re-budget your performance fee etc. etc. and yes, elements of this arrived later but the first question she asked was about me and the organisation. Stating, “Before we get into international touring, let me know about the company and it’s structure?” This threw me a bit, but this “foundation up” approach and probing honest but simple questions, I would come to realised was part of the success of Motionhouse.
Her knowledge about business and developing people was key. We spoke about responsibilities, cultivating a team of people who have autonomy and highlighted the importance of asking difficult questions when required. One question rings in my mind to this day, which was “Is this mission critical?” Meaning, “is this the most important thing for you to be doing to move the organisation forward” and if the answer is no, well I guess you can imagine what the next steps are for you.
She finally asked me, “what are the jobs that only you can do and how can you delegate the other responsibilities to be the most efficient version of yourself?” A simple question but something I had been not prioritising highly enough. The clarity in which she spoke was refreshing and humbling for somebody still in the early stages of company leadership. The reasoning for the seemingly full company analysis was to ensure you have the right people in the right roles because touring abroad is something that you can’t do alone. You must have faith in the people who are at home doing the youth/community aspects of the organisation, whilst you tour with another team. All this whilst still having the personal hold on “what’s next”, and putting the pieces in place for the months to come.
This 360….or 720 approach to arts business management should have been expected from a company that seems ever presence but the scale and personal awareness was honestly astounding. I sat outside the Motionhouse office after the first meeting and wrote notes alongside thinking deeply about my role and how the potential growth for ADC starts with me. I paused for a moment and looked up, noticing the calm, and structured energy that emitted from the Motionhouse office and realised it echoes the energy of Louise. Placed, strong, poised, open yet in control.
I have never had the pleasure of watching Louise dance, I thought, in some later meeting as she explained the journey of Kevin and herself, and how she moved into the role of Executive Director from being a performer but it occurred to me that she rather artistically, choreographed a team of people and thinkers who had the precision, working flexibility and personally responsibility that mirror their touring team. A silent business choreography, 10 (or more) steps ahead, enabling the future, being the visionary, calculating what’s next before the current project has been seen on stage. This is enabled by her ability to have the right people with her supporting the company’s vision. It permits her to do her jobs and for epic things to be digested in small sections by a community of employees. The events speak for themselves, multiple international tours with indoor and outdoor performances, facilitating the arts opening show of the Birmingham 2022 Festival with the award winning Wonderous Stories and Motionhouse performing with RAYE at the National Lottery’s New Years Eve Big Bash in 2022 are just a few projects that I’m sure shows the scale in which Motionhouse now work. And these are just a few highlights from 2022.
Many meetings later, on reflection of what we have spoken about, the understanding of “getting the right people in place”, “knowing what’s coming in and who’s in charge of what” and “where you want to go next” hit home. You can get carried away with creativity and being ‘artistic’ but if you want to create a long and lasting legacy, you have to be considered and structured. The people you bring in need to know where you’re going and you need to do the things that only “you” can do. The saying, it takes a village to raise a child feels like it has a coloration with running an arts organisation. It takes a team to build an artistic legacy. And this feels perfectly correct with Ascension’s ambition for running multiple strands of work across multiple places or even countries with our touring work, community and youth focused delivery.
I still feel there is a lot of learn but I would like to thank Louise for taking the time to share her thoughts about Ascension and what we should be looking to do next. With all the above happening with Motionhouse, I was surprised when she was complimentary about the work of ADC and my presence as a leader. If I’m completely honest, I think I needed that small nod from her to remind me that although the path seems dark and unguided, ADC and I are moving in the right direction.
