"Autistic is Artistic" The Cause

The National Autistic Society:

'We aim to provide individuals with autism and their families with help, support and services that they can access, trust and rely upon which can make a positive difference to their lives. We are a charity, and we rely on the support of people like you to help us improve the lives of people living with autism’’

Find more information on autism: www.autism.org.uk

The Sybil Elgar School:
A Specialist School for children and young people with Autism - run by the National Autistic Society.

The Sybil Elgar School was opened in 1965. Sybil was a Montessori teacher persuaded by the parents who'd agitated and organized to create the school to turn their ideas into practice. At first it was for just nine autistic students in a converted house in Ealing. Now the school consists of three sites in West London which offer secondary school provision for ages 11 to 16, further education provision for ages 16 to 19, and weekly boarding and short break provision for ages 11 to 19.

Sybil Elgar School is a caring and progressive school, which gives students every opportunity to learn and achieve. We hold our students in high esteem and know that our strengths come from the real partnership we have with our students, families and professionals. We offer secondary, further education and residential care for young people with autism. We accept students from across the UK.

Why Support us?

There are over half a million people in the UK with autism - that's around 1 in 100. If you include their families, autism touches the lives of over two million people every day.

We want a world where all people living with autism get to lead the life they choose. 

This means a world where everyone living with autism:

1. gets the support, education and training they need

2. lives with dignity and as independently as possible

3. feels part of their community and wider society

4. is understood by all professionals who support them

5. is respected for who they are by a knowledgeable public.

Donate now at www.justgiving.com/autistic-is-artistic

All proceeds will go towards much needed resources for the Sybil Elgar School. A specialist school for children and young people with autism, run by the NAS

‘’I think Sybil Elgar School is cool because it helps people that have autism. We can learn a lot. We have fun days out, trips with our friends - the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, The Horniman. We make our own food in Food Technology - cakes and cookies. We had Polish week and we went to the Polish Centre. We had Polish doughnuts! I like all the teachers. They teach me a lot. We learn a lot about hygiene, taking care of things, learning about other people. We have clubs now. I have Cycle Club on Friday and we have Maths Club, Yoga Club’’

Aniajah- Student at The Sybil Elgar School

"Autistic is Artistic" Funding

We are now looking for sponsors to help us fund the project. Please get in touch if you are interested in helping out for this cause and making our event a successful one. We need all the help to fund this project, from sponsorships to even donating prizes for our raffle. All proceeds from tickets and sponsors will go directly into providing resources used by specialist schools that are funded by the NAS. In turn we can credit your company name on the event brochures, display a banner and reserve one ticket for you or your representative to attend the evening show.

We need financial support for the following:

• Printing: up to £500
• Auditorium hire & Exhibition room: up to £1,200
• Technical costs: up to £100 
• Additional raffle prizes

Cheques can be made payable to Encee Academy of Performing Arts  

OR
online donations at: www.justgiving.com/autistic-is-artistic

Should you have any queries or would like to donate by alternative means please contact Seema Patel on encee@patidars.org or on 0208 795 1648

 

"Autistic is Artistic" Project concepts

For this performance, we are aiming to explore several themes, which define some of the characteristics of autism and use Kathak to portray these in a dance and theatrical way.

Sensory themes
Sight – some individuals with autism react differently to various forms and colours of light. The dance stage will be divided into using different forms of light; one half using dim lighting and second half using flashing colours and using dance in both of these lights to display reactivity to these.

Sound – some individuals with autism do not like loud noises, while others prefer specific sounds. Using live musical compositions, we will experiment with loud and quiet sounds and some prominent elements of Kathak such as footwork and exaggerate the sounds our bells on ankles to portray this.

Touch - some individuals with autism are fond of very close interactions, while others opt to stray away from social interaction. Here, we will use a group of dancers to portray close social interactions while an individual solo dancer will display how they like to be alone and display repetitive behaviours.

Obsessions & routines theme
Some children with autism tend to get ‘stuck’ on a topic of interest having it become an obsessive or all absorbing interest. We can use dance and music to show a repetition of a particular movement and footwork pattern and progressively this becomes a pattern amongst a few dancers.

The symbol for autism is the jigsaw puzzle. We aim to use this notion of the jigsaw puzzle to demonstrate some of the complexities of autism. ‘The puzzle piece itself represents the complexity and mysteriousness of the disorder. The different colors represent the different colors and backgrounds of people affected.’

We propose to have 8 dance pieces through out the show, with each dance piece demonstrating a characteristic of autism based around the themes mentioned above.

To use the concept of puzzle pieces, we hope to incorporate the use of symbols that are placed somewhere within the stage decor to tie all the performances and something to bring it all together.

Exhibition:

We aim to hold the exhibition throughout the day and after the show for members of the audience to see. Display – art work created by children with autism Photographs of individuals with autism, inc. both children, adults and families of these individuals. Display educational videos on autism & slide shows. House stalls for NAS, BOAT and perhaps other mental health organizations.

"Autistic is Artistic" Phase 1: Planning

I. Summary

ANKH is the senior kathak group that is based under Encee Arts, Patidar House, Wembley. The philosophy behind ANKH is to explore new boundaries to express ideas and concepts that are relevant to the youth today. We create different dance concepts that are not only influenced by the Indian culture but also our upbringing in a British society.

By the end of this project, we hope to have raised an awareness of autism and show that it is something that should be openly talked about. We hope to provide more information of the help and support that families can get that are affected by autism. We want to raise money for the National Autistic Society (NAS) and exhibit the great work that they are doing.

We will run an exhibition that will run all day and finish with a dance performance. In the exhibition we hope to have organizations that are related to Autism and metal health issues to exhibit their organizations and offer information to the community. In the performance section we will use slides and resources relating to the autism to reflect the complexities of living with autism, along with dance pieces that will be choreographed to express the life through their eyes.

II. Introduction

Kathak is a classical dance form, which originated in Northern India. It shares many common features to Flamenco. Kathak weaves together intricate hand gestures and facial expressions, with rapid spins and rhythmic footwork as the foundation of the dance form.

ANKH is the senior kathak group that is based under Encee Arts, Patidar House, Wembley. Having learned Kathak from Gauri Sharma Tripathi for over 15 years, ANKH has become the resident dance group at Encee. The group consists of 10 girls that act as role models for the younger dancers also based at Encee. We put on projects such as Kathak Collective to provide a platform for all students to collaborate and perform.

The aim of ANKH is to disseminate the classical danced form of Kathak, while incorporating traditional and contemporary themes, theatrical elements, & innovative music and movements. Although we adhere to the traditional style of Kathak, we also build upon this platform by combining it with our creative energy to present a unique dance experience. It is our endeavor to continue to make strides forward in both areas of original expression and the preservation of an ancient art form.

It is based on this philosophy that we try to explore new boundaries to express ideas and concepts that are relevant to the youth today. We create different dance concepts that are not only influenced by the Indian culture but also our upbringing in a British society.

III. Goals/Objectives

• Raise awareness of Autism within Asian communities 
• Raise money for the NAS and exhibit the work they do
• Educate people of help and information that is available to them
• To use the classical Indian dance form of Kathak as a medium to portray the complexities and intricacies of living with Autism
  

IV. Procedures/Scope of Work

• Performance around the concept of Autism
• To have an exhibition within the same venue. We would like this exhibition to consist of photographs of children, adults and families who live with the condition, as well advertisements of several groups who provide information and educate individuals with autism. This will include groups such as the National Autistic Society (NAS) and Brent Outreach Autistic Team (BOAT).
• Have organizations exhibiting information
• To have a panel of talkers to talk about autism