Studio now open!
Join us for our weekly programme of Iyengar yoga classes, workshops and art events here:
Salamanda Tandem: Soundwalk Into Wellbeing
……an ongoing project for Seldom Heard Carers and loved ones in Nottinghamshire ……
The Soundwalk Into Wellbeing is a live immersive sensory experience, guided by wellbeing practitioners, sound artists, and seldom heard carers, using innovative sound technology to address challenges of isolation, stress, disability and poor health. Taking place in local parks, canal sides, gardens and unexpected local havens for nature, the soundwalks are designed to lift energies, through cultivating a sense of curiosity, as seldom heard carers, loved ones and friends, tune into the sound, movement and touch of nature, through the healing power of the breath.
Central to the recent Beeston Lock sound score transmitted via radio headphones, we hear stories of wellbeing and resilience collected from seldom heard carers and canalside people who have drawn on challenging lived experience to let nature, breathe space into their daily lives.
Embedded into all the Soundwalks are The 5 Ways To Wellbeing, Connect, Keep Learning, Be Active, Take Notice, and Give, so all are welcome to stay on after the soundwalks for a friendly gathering, to reflect on shared wellbeing experiences and build peer support.
Creators / Performers Soundwalk Into Wellbeing Canalside:
Isabel Jones: Composer / Singer / Soundwalk Into Wellbeing Guide,
Biant Singh: Tabla Player / Soundwalk Into Wellbeing Guide
Advocacy and Technical Support: Caroline Robinson: Evaluation & Movement Facilitation, Derek Grant: Technical Support and Advocacy, Sue Ansel: Artist Advocate, and Geoffrey Fielding: Photographer and Technical Support
Partners and Funders: Soundwalk Into Wellbeing was developed by Salamanda Tandem, in partnership with Better Carers and Co-Production Team Nottinghamshire County Council, Canalside Heritage Centre Beeston Lock, the Carers’ Council, Beeston Carers, Rushcliffe Carers.
For a wellbeing report and images on our first of our 4 walks for 4 seasons for West Bridgford Park read here:
Salamanda Tandem Sound Walk Into Wellbeing Background Feb 2018
Look out for our next Soundwalk Into Wellbeing on July 20th 2025 in Bridgford Park
Salamanda Tandem: White Cane
…a public art performance project based on the streets of major cities across the UK, about inner vision. Made by a team of visually impaired, blind and sighted artists……
“Audiences wearing wireless headphones are immersed in a sound world created by visually impaired performers exploring and navigating public space. As the long cane rolls across the surface of each space, we hear it’s sound, which is combined with live viola, and spoken and sung audio description to create a unique experience of ‘sonic vision’.
How did it happen
In 2012 Isabel’s inherited her father Lewis Jones’ braille books, braille games, perkins machine, braille watch, his stone, and his long cane which sat folded, next to our Salamanda Tandem printer. The cane stayed there silently until January 2013 while Isabel worked on Fragile? Ad Astra, Touchstone, and Gesture, a series of 4 performance projects, with visually impaired performers.
White Cane Salamanda Tandem Blog
Normally in dance workshops, and performances, the long cane is folded up, but Isabel’s idea was to change that, making the magic of the long cane central to the art work. Thus, Isabel wrote up the concept of ‘White Cane’ as a submission to Corby Cube, which embedded the idea of a visually impaired friend; performer Mickel Smithen (pictured above), leading an audience independently through a busy city centre street. Corby Cube weren’t interested in the idea, but the innovative Ludus Festival Leeds and Professor Mick Wallis were. Thus, WHITE CANE Salamanda Tandem was born, and premiered in Leeds for Ludus Festival in June 2014, after a 6 month process of audience and artistic development.
Audience comment: ” what was especially interesting was that we were being led by a blind person, which turned everything around for me”
“White Cane is a marvellous example of soundart and socially engaged performance at its best!”
White Cane National City Tour and Festivals
Click below for this Audio version of White Cane Information made for Huddersfield Platform 1 Station:
Salamanda Tandem White Cane Information for Promoters Dec 2017 screen view
In 2015, after the success of the premiere, Isabel and Duncan Chapman applied to Sound and Music to work together as co-curators of a national tour of White Cane and were Recipients of the national White Cane Composer Curator Award Thus a series of unique site-specific performances with national partners were developed, which helped attract further funding from the national lottery Grants for The arts through Arts Council England toured nationally in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Colchester Firstsite Gallery January 2016 and Oct 2016, Salamanda Tandem White Cane The Curve January 2017, Spitalfields Festival June 2016, Muse Company Tokyo June 2016 (Isabel Jones), Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival May 2016 and Nov 2016 White Cane Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival Bridgford Park and Salamanda Tandem Studio: Oct 2016, April 2017, Aug 2017, Feb 2018.Interfaces Conference DMU September 2018: White Cane at Interfaces New Music Conference DMU
White Cane People
Performers/creators:
Concept: Isabel Jones
Music & Performance: Isabel Jones, Duncan Chapman and Takashi Kikuchi
Dance Art & Performance: Mickel Smithen
Photographer: Geoffrey Fielding,
Dramaturg: Mick Wallis
Advocacy & Technical Support: Laura Mansford, Derek Grant and Stella Couloutbanis
Dance Artists: Indra Slavena (Huddersfield, Colchester, Leicester, Nottingham), Sam White (Huddersfield, Leicester), Polly Wiltshire (Leeds) Natalie Speake (Leeds)
Funders / commissioners of The Soundwalk Into Wellbeing and White Cane:
Substantial Participatory Projects
It is impossible to feature all our individual projects on the website, but every few years we produce a substantial in house publication which features a collective of projects conducted over 4 or 5 years under a specific theme, these contain beautiful photographs, and writing, giving a flavour of the participatory programme. With audience / participant’s comments, a list of partners and full credits