TIN Arts Dance Practitioner

Overview of role The practitioner will be responsible for planning, delivering and leading inclusive dance activity as part of the wide range of programmes and projects across TIN Arts. Job Title: Dance Practitioner Responsible to: Artistic Director Location: TIN Arts, Old School House, Framwellgate Moor, Durham as well as

various school and community locations across North East England. Employment Status: Employed – Full time Job Purpose: Responsible for planning, delivering and leading inclusive dance activity Salary: £20,260 - £24,555 (depending upon experience) Job Specification Personal qualities:

A passion for dance and the arts

A commitment to outstanding standards and achieving excellence

Conscientious approach and ability to see projects through from conception to delivery

Excellent communication, advocacy and interpersonal skills and an enthusiasm for communicating with people

Essential Experience and skills:

Dance training to at least degree level or equivalent experience, with experience of at least 3 years of leading dance activity.

Strong organisational and administration skills with experience of initiating, planning, delivering and evaluating dance projects

Practical knowledge and understanding of dance in a diverse community context

Ability to prioritise multiple tasks and meet deadlines

Understanding of current policy around inclusion and participation

Adaptable and able to work under pressure

Able to work both alone and in a team context

Full UK driving licence and access to a car

As this role involves work with young people and vulnerable adults it will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

Further Information During your time with TIN Arts you will:

Be responsible to the Directors for the effectiveness of your duties.

Participate in regular training as provided by TIN Arts.

Attend relevant meetings or conferences.

Positively promote the activities of TIN Arts at all times.

Carry out all duties with due regard to the Health & Safety at Work Public Health Act.

Be available to work flexible hours including evenings and weekends.

Participate in monitoring and feedback relating to the delivery of all of our activities

Be an effective and proactive member of the TIN Arts core practitioners team

Be willing to undertake other duties as negotiated with the Directors.

About the Role You will deliver as part of the core Arts Practitioners’ team. You will be a dance-based practitioner with a strong knowledge of contemporary dance. From Monday – Friday you will plan, lead and deliver dance-based workshops for people of all ages and abilities both in our own dance space and in school and community settings across County Durham. There will be occasional work that takes place on weekends but this is not part of normal pattern of work. You will be required to tailor your delivery to a range of participants and will have a particular specialist interest and knowledge in engaging children and young people as well as vulnerable people with a learning disability. A lot of your delivery will occur as a team of two, co-leading workshops with another member of our core practitioners’ team. Predominantly this will be a dance-based activity but there will be some requirement to also deliver cross-arts activity with a drama or music practitioner. Across any given year you will (on average) deliver for 40 weeks with the remaining weeks of the year set aside for planning and preparation. You will have the ability and desire to choreograph and create new work with the groups you lead that will be shared and performed in our annual platforms and performances that take place throughout the year. You will often be required to create more than one new piece at a time working with a number of groups across a range of abilities. Drawing upon your own personal and career experience as well as the training and mentoring we offer, you will embrace, advocate and be able to articulate our guiding principles. All TIN Arts Inclusive Dance Practitioners are:

Engaging - They are flexible, responsive and share their enthusiasm to create enjoyable, relevant and well-paced sessions.

Supportive - They respect group members, value effort, celebrate achievements and encourage reflection.

Inclusive - They enable all group members to participate, by taking different abilities into account and respecting everyone’s contribution.

Prepared - They always prepare and plan all sessions including writing lesson / session plans that are part of a wider scheme of work.

Supportive of progression - They are willing to try a range of approaches that help people improve, highlighting opportunities for development.

Effective communicators - They employ appropriate verbal and non-verbal methods of communication enabling all group members to understand and learn to the best of their abilities.

Creative - They encourage experimentation and invention, using a range of different approaches and ideas.

Committed to Learning - They are open-minded and eager to learn and take responsibility for their own continuing professional development.

Dancers - They are committed to developing their own movement skills; they embrace a diverse range of dance, are able to challenge a group appropriately and find ways to explore different forms of physical expression.

Caring about the body - They understand good physical health, and care for the bodies of others as well as their own

APPENDIX 1 - About TIN Arts TIN Arts are a participatory arts organisation located in Durham and reaching out across the North East of England. We have our own space in Durham and throughout the week run movement-based activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. The not-for-profit organisation was formed in 1999 by Martin Wilson and Tess Chaytor who still lead the company today. We are part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio delivering an inclusive dance programme across County Durham with a particular focus on engaging children, young people and adults with a learning disability in dance-led activity. Our offer includes a dance touring company of artists with a learning disability with a growing national reputation as well as one of England’s largest inclusive dance programmes for children and young people aged 0 – 24yrs. We are a contemporary dance company at heart. Graham technique is at the core of all of our work providing a strong base from which to encourage creativity. We also embrace other dance styles as and when appropriate. TIN Arts operates as two intertwined yet distinct teams: a Delivery team and an Operations Team. Lead by the Artistic Director, the delivery team is a core of 6 Arts Practitioners who work closely with our Delivery Support Workers to deliver all of our activities. Across any given week we engage with over 150 participants and run close to 20 workshops. We take great pride in our inclusive approach and passionately believe that the arts should be accessible to all regardless of background, gender, age or ability.