In March 2005, the Siobhan Davies Dance Company undertook a nine-day residency at The Place, home of London Contemporary Dance School. Students from London Contemporary Dance School, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Central School of Ballet participated.
The residency comprised classes, workshops and rehearsals, focused on the Company’s preparation of Bird Song (Siobhan Davies, 2004) for production. Mixed groups of students from the different schools took classes with one of five company members in the morning. During the afternoon session, staff and students were able to watch the company members rehearse the piece, culminating in a performance of Bird Song on the final day of the residency.
Other residencies have included Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company. To date these have consisted of sustained visits by the respective dance companies, bringing together students from two or more Conservatoire schools to work with company members and each other for a week or longer. Students take classes together and often work on material currently being created or re-staged by the choreographer.