Citymoves in Conversation with Trustees, Ed Walton & Laura Pike

In March, following our annual Board Away Day, Citymoves Marketing Executive, Michelle Soto, sat down with two of our board members to talk about all things Citymoves, what it means to sit on a charity board, and share a few laughs.

The idea for this conversation popped up when Ed Walton, our longest-serving Board Member, met our newest trustee, Laura Pike, at the Away Day, and the natural excitement from a day of teamwork and collaboration rolled into a them both signing up to chat with Michelle for the ‘Board Member Blog’ when she’d asked for a volunteer to share their experiences as a Citymoves Trustee.

So read on to see what Ed and Laura had to say as their conversation with Michelle flowed from a chat about why they joined the board in the first place to Ed’s advice for Laura on what they think of when they think of Citymoves, and their thoughts on the year to come at Citymoves.

Michelle’s first question was a simple one: how had Ed and Laura come to be Trustees for Citymoves?

Meet Ed Walton, Citymoves Trustee since 2015.

Ed Walton [EW]:

I joined Citymoves’ Board [in 2015] as the institution was transitioning out of Aberdeen City Council and becoming independent. At the time, I was a participant in one of the adult contemporary dance classes and also part of the contemporary dance company that was based out of Citymoves, called Elements.

I think one [reason for joining] is that I had a lot of interest and care for the institution, both as a participant and as a teacher who'd seen my students get involved with Citymoves through the performing arts.

I also recognised it as an anchor institution within Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire in the arts. It was a real heavyweight in terms of what it represented, and the potential risks for it transitioning were high.

And so, I wanted to be involved in doing what I could to help it as it transitioned, but also as a participant and so on, I wanted to make sure that it was continuing to deliver on all of its wonderful outcomes that it was doing. So that was one side.

The other side of it was very selfish… At the time, I was a middle leader in a secondary school, and I really wanted to develop my leadership capacity and my awareness of institutions. I also wanted to learn through governance, working alongside CEOs and working with them from a governance perspective, seeing how they operate, and observing the leadership capacity that different CEOs and directors could offer.

It has been phenomenal.

So, 10 years later, here I am, and I'm now a deputy head teacher and looking to become a head teacher, and that [Board] experience has been invaluable.

Meet Laura, our newest Trustee.

Laura Pike [LP], as a brand-new board member, had this to say,

[LP] I've always had awareness of Citymoves, I was brought up in the centre of Aberdeen, always involved in dance, drama and music… I have always been aware of the institution that is Citymoves.

Just for me seeing it in a different way, it seemed a freer way of expressing [yourself], you know, children and adults expressing themselves and with a bit more experimentation in dance rather than something that was kind of prescriptive, which we kind of do … through school and also through regular dance, going through grades, etcetera.

So, that kind of always fascinated me, but I never had a chance to experience it. I was the director of music and head of drama at Albyn years ago when I decided to completely come away from teaching and head down the route of financial advice, and I feel that I've kind of not just lost touch with my creative side, so to speak.

I just want to kind of get back to see what there is … And I just feel now that I see what Citymoves offers, as well as the people that come through the building, is just incredible, especially around the rehabilitation side. Which really fascinates me as somebody who just had a hip replacement, and I'll be using [dance] to kind of get back to normal.

Over 20 years ago, I had a stroke, and if I wasn't involved in drama, dance and music, I don't believe that my, you know, just me ever getting back to where I was could have ever happened if I wasn't aware of how the brain works. And I just think it's such a powerful message that you're sending through what you're offering people.

That led the conversation to discuss the work that Citymoves leading positive impacts, through Dance.

[EW] There is only one Citymoves, with regards to its mission and its purpose, from the from the very get go when it became an SCIO, Citymoves has very much tried to place itself in a complementary position to other institutions… and very much tries to make sure that it supports and nurtures new grassroots talent, and also at the same time is developing the professional dance community in the North East and enabling dance artists to take their practice to the next level.

There's always been that side of grassroots and stretch at the other end.

But the key piece of what they do is around widening access, enhancing lives, unlocking mobility, and unlocking communities, whether socioeconomic communities, disability communities, or older-age communities.

[MS] That’s a broad list of everything we do Ed, which makes me wonder what comes to your mind when you think of Citymoves?

[LP] Citymoves always kind of gives me the picture of the centre. It's like the centre, in that yes, we have been located in the centre, but it's at the centre of everything else.

[EW] There is this question of what does it mean to be at the centre? And I think, what I quite like is when I think of Citymoves, I don't think of a fixed place or a fixed point, but rather something dynamic.

So moving, always on the move, whether it's Bring it Boys on the streets or whether it's on the cobbles doing parkour, or with its Fusion at the Lemon Tree or, a group at the His Majesty's or the beach ballroom, it moves about, you know.

I remember as a participant doing a sponsored dance event on the beach that was like 48 hours and non-stop dance with different people dancing at different times.[…] But when I think of Citymoves, I think often, of the people over the years that have been and continue to be in different ways, Citymoves.

I think the institution is its people, and that's its superpower.

And whether it's the participants of all ages and stages and body shapes and some without different parts of their bodies, some with extra parts that are mechanical, you know, whether it's the staff and the team, the board, you know, Citymoves is the people, not a place.

And that's what keeps it Evergreen.

[MS] As one of those people, thank you for those kind words, but really, you are two of those people as well… what are you hoping to bring to Citymoves in the year to come as we face new opportunities and experiences?

[LP] I believe I'm still learning as far as the whole organisation goes. So, as a new board member, hopefully, I bring out a new set of eyes.

But I am so excited to be part of this and to actually get you at this time when things are changing, because then we can all go through that change together. I think change is a great thing, and I think the unknown can make it a fantastic thing.

I think change is something that keeps driving you.

[EW] I perhaps have the boring answer, I'm afraid. For me is probably stability in a time of change, in a time of flux.

When you've got energetic, enthusiastic and creative individuals and a team that is made up by those individuals, they create a team that is greater than the sum of its parts.

From a board perspective, what I'll be bringing is that stability and consistency, not only safeguarding governance for the decision making for Hayley and the rest of the team, but also helping make sure that, as with any period of change and rejuvenation, some of the DNA is retained.

Ensuring that the best of what Citymoves has been and currently is, is retained whilst the organisation keeps evolving into its new entity.

The DNA of Citymoves, is really about the people and about its activity.

Citymoves is a verb, not a noun… City moves, you know what I mean?

Citymoves will keep going, it will keep moving, it is going to keep changing, and helping to contribute to that definition for this next phase will be my role, helping make sure that the decision-makers and the operators are taking care of the legacy, taking care not to throw out the baby as well as the bathwater, and keeping the flame going.

So that's going to be my role, stability and safeguarding the DNA, and governance.

I want to be that reassurance, that Hayley and the team need to know that they're not doing this on their own.

They've got us, you know, we've got some memory, cultural memory as well in the institution.

We’re here and we’re in it with them.