Launchpad - Clare and Lesley

c. David Thomas Adam
c. David Thomas Adam
We are super excited to have the support and guidance from Imaginate to help us develop our piece. We think it’s great for young people to have the opportunity to see the arts, especially seeing disabled led work. We love putting our friendship, fun and imagination into everything we do and are looking forward to sharing our work with young audiences.

—Clare Adam and Lesley Howard

Clare and Lesley were selected to be Launchpad artists as a duo in 2022.

Clare Adam, a Deaf Dance Artist, and Lesley Howard, an Autistic Dance Artist, are both based in Scotland. They are 2020 graduates of the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance. They enjoy creating work that is immersive and interactive, aiming to teach life skills through a multi-sensory and kinaesthetic approach. They combine movement with play to help their audience connect with that inner child we all tend to hide away when we grow up. Their work has one aim, to simply make people smile by sharing their movement, passion, and friendship, often combining British Sign Language with movement and storytelling, allowing them to share this beautiful language to a wider audience. 

They put accessibility at the forefront of their practice. Valuing the importance of disabled voices within Dance, they want to use their own experiences to help educate other Artist and inspire young disabled people, whilst speaking up and challenging ableist views. They are passionate about ensuring professional dance training can be a more inclusive space for disabled artist to be celebrated and how they can have these important conversations.

www.clareandlesley.com

  

A Home for Hamish

Through Launchpad, Clare and Lesley developed their dance performance idea for children called ‘A Home for Hamish’.  

A Home for Hamish follows the journey of May and her imaginary friend, Hamish as they travel across Scotland on an exciting adventure. Upon their journey they escape from the Dragon of Edinburgh Castle, drive deep into Loch Ness where they make friends with the Jelly Fish before discovering the magic of the Fairies at Skye.

Communicating through British Sign language, and the playful merging of Contemporary Dance, this immersive, sensory filled adventure will have your imagination running wild!

A Home for Hamish is commissioned and supported by Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists, with funding from Creative Scotland.