The Fallen - project reflections
Reflections and overview of our project THE FALLEN exploring the physical, emotional and metaphorical theme of falling with Third Bite Dance from April 2024 - September 2025
Photo credit Laura Page
Project Description:
THE FALLEN - a performance project where an older adult ensemble explores the physical, emotional, metaphorical & social themes of falling & ageing through the physicality of grounded bodies. Presented by Third Bite Dance (the performance company of 50+ Contemporary Dance Sheffield) and led by Artistic Director Lucy Haighton, this project brought together community consultation, academic research, studio development time, expert mentorship and preview performances.
Lucy Haighton
Clare McManus, Alison Lally
Liz Hall, Becky Parry, Jane Mellor, Steve Holmes
Jane Barrett, Frances Byrnes, Gill Crow, Judith Greenhall, Liz Hall, Steve Holmes, Neila Irwin, Mick Laughran, Alison Lally, Pam Marshall, Clare McManus, Jane Mellor, Nidhi Nanda
Liz Aggiss, Emilyn Claid, Magdalen Schamberger, Cai Tomos
Alex Fazakerley, Georgia Rowan
Dr Moshen Shafizadeh (Sheffield Hallam University)
Zebedee Budworth, Juliana Day, Oli Julian, Richard Smithson, Ruth Nicholson, Phoebe Niamh, Jo Veal, Lou Barnell
Team:
Artistic Director
Committee members
Friends of Committee
Third Bite Dance company
Guest Artists
Guest 50+CDS Teachers
Academic
Musicians
Photographers
Film Makers
Website Maintenance
David Lindsay / Laura Page
Zoe Kinross / Noemie Soula
Tom Robbins / Jane Mellor
Project Funders:
Project Partners / Supporters:
What We Achieved:
A new performance work, THE FALLEN - created with Sheffield’s only 50+ dance company, Third Bite Dance.
10 Preview Performances (the finale being an installation performance at Graves Art gallery - a collaboration with the gallery and six live musicians from Emergence Collective)
Employed 20 freelance artists across the project
Collaborated with guest artists Emilyn Claid, Magdalena Schamberger, Cai Tomos and Liz Aggiss, whose expertise shaped the piece
Worked with Dr Mohsen Shafizadeh (Sheffield Hallam), whose research provided more depth to the work as it evolved
Recruited new members (bringing the company to 15)
Created a company manifesto / expectations document
Produced 2 high-quality marketing films
Reached audiences from diverse contexts - from assisted living audiences to national festivals and conferences on ageing
AD Lucy Haighton developed practice by visiting & working with Cai Tomos and Liz Aggiss & attending the ‘What Dance Can Do’ conference on ageing at Chichester University
Performance Previews:
We performed THE FALLEN in the following settings, reaching a wide range of people across diverse communities:
Ageless Festival, Yorkshire Dance, Leeds (Festival celebrating ageing) - July 2024
Dance To Health, Sheffield (Falls prevention dance group) - Nov 2024
Stonelow Court, Dronfield (Assisted living care scheme) - Nov 2024
The Meadows, Sheffield (Assisted living care scheme) - Dec 2024
Conversation Club, Sheffield (Asylum seeker and Refugee group) - Dec 2024
Generate Festival, Fabric, Nottingham (Festival celebrating ageing) - Dec 2024
University Drama Studio sharing, Sheffield (Sharing at rehearsal base) - May 2025
Lichfield Day Of Dance, St Marys Hub, Lichfield (Festival celebrating ageing) - May 2025
Hold Your Own, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry (Festival celebrating ageing) - June 2025
Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield (Installation performance) - July 2025
asylum seekers and refugees
gallery visitors
general public
Audiences included:
older adults
industry peers
Professionals
At five of these events, Artistic Director Lucy Haighton led creative movement & writing workshops that celebrated ageing & invited deeper engagement with the themes of the work.
Total Audience numbers: 462
Total Workshop participant numbers: 94
50+ Contemporary Dance Sheffield - an introduction. A film by Zoe Kinross
THE FALLEN at Graves Arts Gallery. A film by Noemie Soula
Project Finances:
Arts Council England £26,908
South Yorkshire Community Foundation Grant £2,280
Sheffield Town Trust £1,250
Other / Earned Income £5,308
Total Project Cost £35,746
Project Advertisement / Marketing:
Flyer to advertise on social media that we were successful in receiving our funding from Arts Council England
Flyer to advertise a community preview and
workshop
Flyer to advertise performance installation at Graves Art Gallery
THE FALLEN | Graves Gallery | Installation Performance
July 2025 | Photo Credit: David Lindsay
“Dance live + music live = pure poetry”
”The performances all evoked a very child-like wonder for me. The music, the dancers, the expressions, all transported me away from my worries for a while”
”I found it very moving. You felt like you were part of it because you didn’t know where the dancers were going to go as they moved between audience members. The onlookers also became part of what seemed like performance art”
THE FALLEN | University Drama Studio | Preview
May 2025 | Photo Credit: David Lindsay
“Moving. Unexpected. Powerful”
”Insightful. Important. Inspiring”
”I loved the quality of the performers - how they had such a beautiful stage presence and how confident and proud they were in their own skin”
THE FALLEN | Dance To Health | Preview & Workshop
November 2024 | Photo Credit: Laura Page
“I’m always energised seeing my contemporaries express what I feel, in ways I find difficult. Thank you all!”
“Keep doing what you do, it’s great to see older people on stage moving and performing. We need more!”
”Falling and fear of falling is a big part of the life experience of many of us. I really enjoyed seeing this experience explored through dance”
THE FALLEN | Ageless Festival | Preview
July 2024 | Photo Credit: David Lindsay
“Nuanced and sophisticated, loved the range of strong emotions and that an obviously older cast aren’t ’doing’ old age or reminiscence”
”I felt so energised by the totally different atmosphere of the piece. It was sharp and you were funny in exactly the right way. Empowering. This was special”
50+ Contemporary Dance Sheffield classes & Third Bite Dance rehearsals
November 2024 | Photo Credit: Laura Page
“50+CDS has added a whole new dimension to my life, through activating a creative side of me that I had not had the opportunity to explore before”
“Dancing with 50+ has hugely impacted my confidence. Over time, I have been able to explore feeling confidence in a physical way, through dance. I feel able to be watched and even to lead in dance and it’s a powerful and restorative feeling”
“It is a space where our age is irrelevant. It’s about what we want to do (and what our bodies are capable of)”
“I feel much more confident in the power and indeed beauty of my ageing body”
“As an older woman I refuse to become invisible! When I’m on stage telling an audience who I am through movement I make myself seen”
“I feel there is a lot of discrimination against older people and that they have nothing to contribute. But this lively and diverse group of people have shown me how much older people have to offer”
“From darkness to light. Wonderful sessions and colleagues”
“The classes are life-affirming”
