Young creatives invited to hang out with Molly
Two of Skye’s leading cultural organisations have teamed up to provide a weekly safe space for teenagers to hang out and be creative together.
Atlas Arts and SEALL have secured funding to provide an art and dance club for the island’s 14-17-year-olds, led by Molly Scott Danter, a dancer, artist and storyteller, originally from Edinbane.
The cash injection is part of a targeted fund from Creative Scotland’s Youth Arts Fund, organised by Dingwall-based Fèis Rois. This ambitious project will work across the nine Highland Council Community Planning Partnership areas to support the recovery of youth arts provision in the region as Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift.
In line with the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 guidance and legislation, the hang-outs will take place after school from Tuesday March 23 online and, when permissible, in a range of venues in Portree: outdoors, at the Oyster Table in Bayfield, under canvas, on walks and in large indoor spaces.
Molly will lead the weekly hang-out where teenagers can get together safely to create, make and converse.
Molly said: ‘You don’t need to have an interest in art, dance or music to take part.
‘This is a creative space to hang out and chat. We’ll be meeting first online and then, when possible and safe to do so, meeting together in person in and around Portree in the weeks and months ahead.
‘This club is a space to experiment, to make things up, to pretend and reinvent. We might use movement, writing, collage, dance parties, drawing and bookmaking, but it’s up to you. You decide what you’re interested in making, doing and talking about and, together, we’ll try and make it happen.’
Sessions take place every Tuesday after school and the first meeting is online via Zoom at 5pm. Anyone living on Skye or Raasay from the age group is invited to attend and find out more. During this initial meet-up, participants will be able to decide together on times and content of future hang-outs.
Molly, who is 25, found her love for dance when she joined SkyeDance while she was a pupil at Portree High School. After leaving school, she studied dance at London Contemporary Dance School, including a semester at Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. After graduating she worked with Scottish Dance Theatre, first as an apprentice dancer then for a short time as guest dancer. Since then, she has worked as a freelance dancer, maker and teacher in the UK and Europe.
As well as dance, Molly also works with text and film and often collaborates with other artists of these and other media.
Especially interested in the relationship of self and others, empathy plays a large role in how Molly approaches making, leading and performing work.
The club will run for 21 weeks initially with the possibility of a further extension.
Membership is free and includes an activity pack which will be sent out to participants after sign-up.
To register or for an informal chat with Molly to find out more, email molly.thespace@gmail.com by Friday March 12.