Early Stage Commission – You Can Take Me Home Toni

Lorraine Smith is a North East artist and former artistic director/choreographer of Silversmith Dance Theatre (2006–2014). She devises dance theatre and costume performance to draw audiences from all walks of life into intimate connectivity with intriguing characters and stories. Lorraine uses her arts practice to inform research into the impact of costume on the performing body, costume as somatic tool, performance pedagogy, identity and ‘otherness’.

You Can Take Me Home Toni will be an interactive auto-biographical solo, exploring the themes of Identity and Feminism through 80s pop artist Toni Basil.

The work will combine personal stories, music video recreations, innovative costumes, and eclectic choreography to explore the importance of having a flawed role model when growing up. This piece will be outrageously honest, comedic, and visually dynamic, and will invite the audience to participate in a discovery of identity play and empowerment.

Lorraine said “I am delighted to be awarded this Early Stage Commission, which will support me to develop an original interdisciplinary project that combines my dance theatre and costume performance practice into something performatively unique!”