An organisation which paves the way for students to pursue careers in the arts world has been given a new home at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
DMU graduate Tara Lopez at Let's Dance International Frontiers last year
Serendipity is now based in the university’s Clephan Building, and the collaboration will allow the company to work closely with DMU students and graduates on projects such as Let’s Dance International Frontiers, which launches in April, and Black History Month in October.
It will mean students being offered opportunities to work on major arts events in the city, getting them vital hands-on experience which employers expect to see.
Pawlet Brookes, Artistic Director of Serendipity said: “We are extremely grateful to De Montfort University for kindly offering a space for Serendipity on campus. It is fantastic to be able to work even closer with the Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities on projects which we hope will benefit both students and the wider community.”
Amy Grain, Administrator of Serendipity, said: “Over the years, we’ve had a really strong volunteer team, and the majority of those are students from DMU.
“This year we are working more on the festivals in particular but also with the university’s dance department and we are looking to bring together academics and students to explore the history of hip hop dance theatre at the conference ‘Blurring Boundaries: Urban Street meets Contemporary Dance’.
“At the minute we have two graduate champions working with us and the dance department but we will also be gearing up to work with students more closely. Being here at DMU will be really good as we are here for the students to learn what happens behind the scenes.”
The organisation also has links with Leicester City Council to organise and oversee events in the city for Black History Month, one of which is where they showcase emerging Black artists throughout the country.
Serendipity also highlights the work of upcoming artists and final year Dance students and graduates in ‘Signatures’ and ‘Autograph’, both taking place during Let’s Dance International Frontiers.
Amy continued: “As part of our volunteer team we have a mixture of students across quite a big range of courses – we do have quite a lot of Events Management and Dance students, but we are a diverse organisation and so we are interested in students volunteering whatever course they study or interests they have.”
DMU graduate Ellen Booth at Let's Dance International Frontiers last year
Posted on Monday 2 February 2015