University News Last updated 25 June
Birmingham City University (BCU) has announced dance artist Mary Savva as the recipient of the inaugural Research in Dance Award (RiDA), a pioneering programme that brings together dance, ecology and community at Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
Developed in partnership between BCU, Birmingham Botanical Gardens and dance organisation FABRIC, with funding from Dance Hub Birmingham, RiDA offers a dance artist an opportunity to explore research-led practice in a unique public setting.
As the programme's first artist in residence, Mary will use the Gardens as a living research environment, exploring the connections between people, place and the natural world through movement and creative practice.
From the tropical glasshouse to alpine collections, the Gardens will form the backdrop to a year-long programme of research, engagement and artistic development.
Mary explained what inspired her project, Intergenerational/Intercultural Botanical Embodiment: “I’m interested in what becomes possible when human and plants are approached as equal.
“Outside the walls of the Gardens, we live in a divided world. But inside, the presence of living ecosystems offers an orientation where co-existence is encountered at a biological level, linked to nourishment, safety and connection.”
“We can, if we want to, recognise ourselves as part of the same breathing system.”
Mary will be in residence at the Gardens until September 2026 to engage with visitors through events and workshops.
She is also launching a podcast called Rooted in Birmingham: Body and Bloom, a blog documenting the residency as it unfolds, and organising a community performance in July.
“What matters is that something remains a shift in understanding, a different way of sensing relationship and meaning that can be carried forward,” Mary added.
“Rather than a fixed outcome, I hope this work opens something that can continue to move, be shared, and take form beyond the research itself.”
The residency is rooted in an approach called EcoSomatics, which explores the relationship between body, mind and the natural environment.
“With the increased awareness of environmental issues, this important work can manifest in lots of different ways - through simple mindfulness and walking in nature, to thoughtful gardening,” said Dr Polly Hudson, Associate Professor in Dance at RBC and project lead.
“The Gardens will host professional dancers as well as RBC students, giving them a space to learn, connect and perform.
“This is a great opportunity for the public to get actively involved with local research by engaging in conversations at the Gardens and contributing to the development of work.
“I hope people will experience themselves and their relationship to nature in a different way through this award.”
This research project builds on a formal partnership between BCU and the Gardens, which also saw a recent event, Sketch & Stitch, involve over 750 people in sustainable arts and crafts this spring.
“Through our programmes we activate the Gardens as a site of cross-disciplinary artistic enquiry, supporting the development of new work and enabling new perspectives to emerge, both organically and by design,” said Jen Ridding, Head of Engagement & Learning, Birmingham Botanical Gardens.
“At the heart of this is a genuine commitment to support the creative ecology in the city and the region.
“The green spaces of the Gardens are an inspirational creative space, being a living archive of stories and a place of exchange- we can’t wait to see where Mary takes this residency.”
RiDA forms part of BCU's broader commitment to research that connects communities, places and creative practice, bringing the work of the Conservatoire beyond its walls and into the life of the city. Find out more about Mary's work and the RiDA residency here.
Image: Mary Savva at Birmingham Botanical Gardens