A Gathering Place

"You are not the first,
not the second, third…
you will not be the last.
Over thousands of years
Generations of people came to this place." (Anna Selby)

A Gathering Place is a new project in progress, exploring ways of responding choreographically to archaeology (particularly prehistoric archaeology) and engaging with the question of what archaeology can tell us about human’s changing relationship with the land beneath our feet. How have people shaped the land, and how has the land shaped them? How can we piece together stories in response to archaeological discoveries that can tell us more about what it means to be human and the ways we’ve responded to the world around us over time?

We are working towards being able to offer a range of ways that people can explore this project, find out more about the fascinating world of archaeology and have the opportunity to meet and chat with others through:

  • Workshops and talks from archaeologists
  • Live performance walks
  • Audio guides linked with beautifully illustrated maps to help people experience heritage landscapes independently
  • Interacting with sites and archaeological source materials on a project website that will bring together performance films alongside documentary content

In June and July 2023, we piloted this project working in Dorset (with Bournemouth University’s Big Dig Field School/Durotriges Project) and in Surrey (with colleagues from Surrey Hills Arts and Surrey Archaeological Society) and created 3 films to begin to show what A Gathering Place could look, feel and sound like. 

Please visit our blog here to read more about the research and watch our first 3 test films.

Project credits

Direction Katie Green
Film direction and editing by Daniel Martin
Choreography and performance for 'A Place of Not Forgetting' by Alice Shepperson and Deepraj Singh
Choreography and performance for 'A Gathering Place' by Ella Fleetwood and Lucy Starkey
Additional choreography from Megan Griffiths and Emily Yong
Writing by Anna Selby
Additional writing by Katie Green responding to extracts from Judie English
Original music composed and performed by Max Perryment and Lou Vilstrup
Dramaturg: Tom Six

Special thanks to:
Landowner Rebecca Hill and family in Dorset
The Durotriges Big Dig Team, especially Co-Directors Miles Russell and Paul Cheetham and Megan Russell
Documentary contributors Kerry Barrass, Keir Broughton, Georgia Buckland, Andrea Frankham-Hughes, Will Odling, Lorraine Pither, Megan Russell, Miles Russell, Shelly Sell
The Durotriges project is funded and resourced by Bournemouth University.
Alison Clarke, Anne Sassin, Judie English and Janet Kingsley in Surrey
Mark Beaumont, Hurtwood Ranger.

Our research for A Gathering Place in 2023 was funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England (as part of the Developing Your Creative Practice programme). We hope there’s more to share about development of A Gathering Place very soon!

A Gathering Place, Holmbury Hill, photo by Annalees Lim; performer Lucy Starkey
Two dancers perform in a crop field in Dorset, the site of a buried Iron Age settlement. They are filmed by a single film director with a camera, Dan Martin.
Two dancers perform on a wooded path in Dorset, near the site of a buried Iron Age settlement. They are filmed by a single film director with a camera, Dan Martin.
Two dancers perform at the summit of Holmbury Hill in Surrey, the site of an Iron Age hillfort.
Two dancers perform in a crop field in Dorset, the site of a buried Iron Age settlement. They are filmed by a single film director with a camera, Dan Martin.

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