Vote 100 Public Dance & Debate
On 6th February 2018, Reside Dance C.I.C. celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act achieving Royal assent by performing Vote 100 Public Dance and Debate in Broad Street, Reading East. With funding from Women’s Vote Centenary Fund and commissioned by the Alliance of Cohesion and Racial Equality, this proved to be a one-off, exciting, outdoor dance performance that not only informed local people of the events that led to Royal assent but also, encouraged a discussion of the issues important to local women today regarding their rights & equality.
Early women’s politics historian, Dr. Jacqui Turner, helped create a narrative of the key events & wrote a blog of her experience of working with professional dance group, Reside Dance C.I.C. and Dramaturg, Miranda Laurence. Local musician, Jamie Haydock, composed original music that accompanied the voiceover made. The blog includes audience feedback that states, “The performance was extremely moving! The choreography did a wonderful job of translating words into movement, giving even a mere man like myself the opportunity to share the feelings portrayed” (Eddie Winship). The performance attracted and bought together Reading’s culturally diverse population; some of which, do not usually interact.
After the performance, the public’s views were recorded with two, portable sound recorders following the conventions of the Data Protection Act. The public’s views were later shared on local radio station, Blast 1396 on the Community Matters programme to further increase people’s awareness of the women’s suffrage movement and encourage and inspire future participation in Reading’s planned year-long events programme, Vote 100: From Suffrage to Citizenship. In addition to live TV coverage on BBC South Today, Reading UK CIC, Reading Borough Council and the Department of History, University of Reading wrote online articles on the event.
Re: Vote 100 Public Dance & Debate
On 7th July 2018, Reside Dance invited the public to record their views on the rights and equalities of women and girls in Reading today in a revisit of Vote 100 Public Dance and Debate at the Takeaway Gallery, Harris Arcade, Reading as part of Open for Art 2018.
The public were asked; what has changed for women and girls in society today in comparison to 100 years ago? What has stayed the same? What change would you like to see for women and girls in the next 100 years?
All views recorded in the visitors book were discussed on the Community Matters programme on Blast 1386 on 10th July 2018.
