Rudi’s lockdown Arts Award journey

Meet Rudi

Rudi is 15 and he lives in Southampton. He’s a member of FuzzyClear, our youth company for boys and young men aged 8-25 with Autism and other sensory differences.

In January 2020, with support from Rudi’s school and family, we began working through his Silver Arts Award.

Our aim was to complete the award by July 2020 through one-to-one sessions as part of Rudi’s year 10 school timetable.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened.

A young dancer rehearsing with arms reaching up into the air

Rudi’s lockdown Arts Award journey

Lockdown restrictions in 2020 meant lots of changes and disruption to school life everywhere. So we decided to find a way to keep working with Rudi outside of school, to keep his Arts Award journey moving and provide some structure and creativity throughout the pandemic.

Over the course of a year, our Head of Engagement Lizanne worked with Rudi on a one-to-one basis – both online and in person when it was safe to do so (thank you to D@rt Centre at Wildern School and St Deny’s Boat Club for creating Covid-secure spaces for us!).

To achieve his Arts Award, Rudi created a solo dance piece and made a film of it. Rudi has been working hard developing self confidence in his dancing, exploring choreographic techniques, and learning new skills in filming and editing dance.

He also researched arts organisations, reviewed online arts events and developed his leadership skills by teaching others at his school drama club and FuzzyClear sessions.

Lizanne and Rudi met for 24 sessions during this time, and Rudi completed many hours of his own creative studies independently to achieve his Arts Award.

What impact did Rudi’s Arts Award journey have?

“I loved the fact that the one to one teaching was so personal, productive and humorous (to say the least!). I’ve had to make a piece for performance. I’ve learnt about myself, about dance and about getting alternative qualifications that are really fun, easy to achieve and creative.”

– Rudi

“Rudi feels both relief and a great sense of achievement that he has already gained a fantastic qualification that will support his burning passion for dance and performance for life.”

– Fiona, Rudi’s Mum

“The Arts Award experience has really given Rudi an insight into the world of theatre and dance from different perspectives – it’s also been valuable one-to-one time where I have seen his physical dance skills improve greatly.”

– Lizanne Smith Head, Head of Engagement at ZoieLogic and Rudi’s Arts Award facilitator
Rudi’s final film – The Dilemma

What’s next for Rudi and his Arts Award journey?

Rudi’s going for gold! We are aiming to move on to the Gold Arts Award later in 2021, which will compliment Rudi’s ongoing education.

Rudi will also continue to be a regular member with FuzzyClear to develop his creativity, communication and dance skills.

Watch this space for further updates!

If you or someone you know is interested in finding out more about FuzzyClear, please get in touch with Lizanne Smith-Head lizanne@zoielogic.co.uk

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