Student prize winner Emily Snow reflects on IBT17

In Between Time was a whirlwind. I tried time and time again to articulate how I felt about each performance I saw, but I was dumbfounded each time. I had to let the festival settle in my body before I could even begin to fathom the experience and what I had learnt. It has been nearly a week since I left Bristol and IBT17 to return to my student life in Leeds. But since then I have thought differently about how I make work, and how I see the world. I am currently creating a Contemporary Dance performance for my final year choreography and my mind is brimming with inspiration that I have been lucky enough to absorb from attending this festival. My perception of contemporary has changed and I now dare to be brave. I listened too, observed and was inspired by people from across the world. For 5 days, we were united from all corners, fighting for the same thing and coming together to unf**k the world. And we did. In our tiny corner of the world, by using our speech and our live art and our passion and love, we helped to unf**k the part of the world that we can touch. It might not have been a mass saving. But we saved each other and thought consciously about the world around us and how our creative minds and bodies could patch the cracks in the world.

I still can’t quite comprehend how In Between Time 2017 has helped to develop my practice. I don’t think I’ll see it yet. I think it’ll happen sometime away from now, as IBT continues 365 days. I think it will nestle in to the back of my brain and I will continue to make my work with the intricate whisper of IBT in my ear as it continuously reminds me to stand up. To stand out. I will be inspired by culture, by nations and by community. With these thoughts, I can only thank Helen Cole and the team at IBT for giving me the chance to experience this little pocket of the world, where we are brave and unafraid. This student prize has made me proud to be British but more importantly, made me realise that live art can connect us, despite the drastic decisions to try and tear us apart.