"LA BOMBA!" - SALLY HILTON'S EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH SHEBA ARTS

As our third talent development artist, Sally worked closely with Sheba Arts to produce her show, La Nagualita. The culmination of this work was shared in the closing event of Sheba Festival 2023 at Instituto Cervantes.

Whilst the dust has settled and the jaguar mask has been put away, Sally’s work is by no means over… we caught up with her to hear about how she found La Nagualita and discover what her next steps might be. 

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How was your experience of working with the Sheba Arts team? 
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I learnt so much from this experience working with a bigger team. I learnt about leadership, team management and project planning. I realised how important it is to have someone in the team who is dedicated to these tasks. For example: ACE funding application and process; timeline making with deadlines and tasks; contract writing and management; how to use google drive folders and documents; elements on budget management like receipts keeping & invoices process; accounts management.

How was your experience of working with other artists to create your own work – would you do it again?
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I really enjoyed working with the other artists and sharing my culture with them. We shared skills and knowledge with each other. I felt there was a great connection between all the dancers and myself, and the working environment was really good and safe.  Everyone felt like they could contribute with artistic ideas and suggestions. I feel we all had different approaches and could learn a lot from each other; for example, I learned lots of new dance styles from Miss Fuego, and lots of recording and editing skills from Jova. Johnny and Su were also great, as they contributed lots of ideas and knowledge of movement and dance for the show. 

This is the first time you’ve worked with a bigger team; did you learn anything, and did you feel supported?

I learned so much from working with a bigger team, especially surrounding leadership and project planning. I realised how important it is to have someone in the team who is dedicated to tasks such as funding applications, timeline making, and administrative support.   This project has contributed a lot to my artistic skills. It was the first time I worked collaboratively with artists from refugee and migrant LGBTQ+ communities, and I gained confidence and skills in costume design and choreography. 

Do you feel this project helped to grow your network and connections in the local LGBTQ+ community?
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Yes, absolutely. I learned a lot from the artists themselves as they belong to the LGBTQ+ community and their experiences in Manchester, and I also connected with other groups. For example, Miss Fuego introduced me to a vogue dancing group in Manchester, where I attended a couple of workshops with them and learnt about vogue culture, dance and catwalk moves.

What would you like to focus your career development on next? Which areas are you most interested in?

I would love to continue exploring the 3 areas: dance, storytelling and costume design as I see my work is a combination of them all. I particularly think I need more support and learning to improve my dance skills (dance lessons, theatrical dance, choreography mentoring) and costume design and making. I’d love to learn about pattern cutting and making.

Any other comments?

My experience with Sheba Arts was   LA BOMBA!*

*the bomb, i.e. very good. 

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Watch the interview highlights below!