About the TIP + BEACON Collaboration
If you weren’t with us for Iteration 17 or are not familiar with BEACON, it’s an annual performance series co-produced by Helen Hansen French and Lauren Slone in partnership with The Palladium theater in St. Petersburg, Florida. As Slone says, “Helen and I created BEACON with the idea that St. Petersburg (our hometown) was the impetus for our artistic careers. We both trained and developed a passion for dance here because of outstanding mentors. We both left to pursue professional work nationally and internationally. This series grew out of our strong desire to provide more opportunities for professional dancers and multi-disciplinary artists to create and share their highest-quality work with the local community. “

The BEACON series is building local opportunities for artists so they can continue to live and work in St. Pete. Can you see why we’re so excited to be a part of this?

While The Iteration Project doesn’t have an official mission statement, we have been driven by some very clear principles since the beginning. The two biggest,

  • To connect isolated arts communities and,

  • Support and amplify the voices of artists working outside of major cities.

are perfectly aligned with our involvement in BEACON and all that French and Slone are doing in St. Pete.

We are honored to work with these two incredible women, to support the local artists of St. Petersburg, and to share all of the work you are doing with a new community. I hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity and welcome the dancers and makers of St. Petersburg into our community with open arms.

The Project
Remember that exciting project on the horizon that I mentioned last week? Well, here it is. TIP has been invited by Helen Hansen French and Lauren Slone to be a part of BEACON18, a performance series for and by the professional dancers of St. Petersburg, Florida. The project? A film that involves your work alongside the work of St. Pete dancers developed from prompts by French, Slone, and other local artists.

Beginning today and continuing for the next 5 weeks we’ll be posting prompts specifically geared towards generating material for BEACON18. As material is generated and shared I’ll be compiling it in a single film to be shown at the performance in January 2018. See why we’re so excited?

If you would like to be involved, continue to explore the prompts and post your work by tagging us on Instagram (@theiterationproject) and using the hashtags #theiterationproject, #BEACON18, and #TIPmeetsBEACON. If you’re new to The Iteration Project or have friends in mind that would like to participate, now is a great time to get involved! You don’t have to be dancer to get involved either. Want to compose, write text, or or illustrate? We want you to be a part of this no matter what your chosen medium is. 

The Nitty Gritty
All artists that participate will be credited in the video and in the program. We will always ask your permission before using any of your work in the project. You have every right to say no at any given point. So if you want to participate in prompts for the next six weeks but don’t want to include your work in the final video, please do!

For now, the only scheduled presentation of the video will be at BEACON18 in January 2018 at The Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida. Should that change, any future presentation of the work must be approved by all participating artists (you!).

Questions? Email me at harper@theiterationproject.org

Photography: Lauren Slone

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