UP, ACROSS AND ALONG MENTORING PROGRAMME
UP, ACROSS AND ALONG MENTORING PROGRAMME
OVERVIEW
A mentoring programme for artists and creatives*,
in any discipline, whose work engages in some way with ideas and practices
of movement, connection and place, prioritising bodily knowing
Inspiration. Strategies. Solidarity.
Four individual and four group sessions across April, May & June 2026, plus prompts and resources to support self-led practice and learning, at a pace you decide
You will be supported, challenged and encouraged to reimagine and renew your commitment to your individual practice, in a way that works for you
You will also become part of a vibrant, generous community of creative practice, centred around process-led, heartfelt, ethically-driven making and doing: a unique collaborative learning environment, facilitated by me, Kyra Norman
WHO IS THIS FOR?
*In using UP, ACROSS AND ALONG as a framework for this mentoring programme, I’ll be focusing on ideas and images of lines and flow, in a broad sense, as a focus: if that speaks to you, and what you do, you're very welcome to get involved
My hope is to gather a good gang of folk working with lines and flow in diverse ways, so that we can revel in difference, as well as common ground. So, this programme is as much for people keen to deepen their experience of working creatively with yoga, gardening, communication or carpentry, for example, as it is about those working with art forms such as painting/ drawing, ceramics, choreography, music/ sound, film or poetry/ literature
Photo: a diagram from Tim Ingold, Lines: A Brief History. Routledge. London & New York. 2007. p98.
WHY A KNOTWORK?
I'm calling this a knotwork, rather than a network, based on my reading of anthropologist Tim Ingold's writing on lines, people and places, and to invite reflection, for myself and participants, on what it might mean to live our lives, not as isolated nodes in an already mapped-out grid, but as ongoing lines that meet, form places, and then continue onward, along routes we can't yet know...
ABOUT UP, ACROSS AND ALONG
UP, ACROSS AND ALONG is an ongoing practice and performance research process, which I began in 2018. It looks at how we experience the flow of movement, time, ideas and resources in creating and experiencing dance work. A key source of inspiration is anthropologist Tim Ingold’s book, Lines: A Brief History. Past iterations have taken place at CAST (2019), Auction House (2025) and most recently as part of Metabolizer, conceived and curated by Julia Pond at 37 Looe Street (2026). Find out more about UP, ACROSS AND ALONG here
Note: Whilst UP, ACROSS AND ALONG provides a framework for this programme, as a mentor I will also be drawing on my ongoing community movement work DISTANT DANCES and long-term interdisciplinary collaboration DEEP TIME MOVING, as well as 20+ years professional arts practice and impromptu creative life choices, and current obsessions from Shiatsu (I'm partway through my training) to the roots of disco as a political movement. It's all going to come in handy I'm sure!
FEES
£500/ £ 400/ £300 total**
Fees can be paid in full at the start of the course, or monthly, as follows:
£170 (£140/ £100) by Friday 10th April;
£165 (£130/ £100) by Friday 1st May;
£165 (£130/ £100) by Monday 29th May 2026.
**My aim is for this course to be affordable:
£500 is the standard price; £400 option is for those on a low income;
I can also part-subsidise 2x places at £300, for those on a very low income
- let me know if you would like to apply for this option
If you feel strongly that this programme is for you, but your current financial situation makes it feel impossible to participate, I am open to discussing barter/ exchange possibilities
PROVISIONAL DATES
4 x 2 hour GROUP SESSIONS
Tuesday 14th April, 6-8pm
Tuesday 5th May, 6-8pm
Tuesday 2nd June, 6-8pm
Tuesday 23rd June, 6-8pm
(UK time)
4 x 1 hour INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS
On a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, at a mutually convenient time, over the 3 months
The Group Sessions provide a regular rhythm - with flexibility on scheduling Individual Sessions, for example to fit around holidays, intensive periods of work or other commitments
Group sessions will take place online. Individual sessions will also take place online, or can be held in person in Penzance, Cornwall, if you live locally/ plan to visit during this time
QUESTIONS?
Oh good! I genuinely love questions, and I love hearing from people who care about these things
Email me: kyra.norman@gmail.com