Rhiannon Faith Company - Lay Down Your Burdens. Foteini Christofilopou.
Rhiannon Faith Company (RFC) is a Parents in Performing Arts (PiPA) Charter Partner and has practised family friendly touring since 2017.
RFC’s most recent touring show, Lay Down Your Burdens, is a semi-autobiographical dance-theatre show co-commissioned by the Barbican, London and Harlow Playhouse. The work premiered in November 2023 at the Barbican, London and was nominated for a 2024 Oliver Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. The show then toured the UK in Spring 2025.
During the preparation for the UK tour, two dancers, Shelley Eva Haden and Finetta (Fin) Sidgwick, became pregnant. Shelley was pregnant with her first baby during the final development and premiere of the show in 2023 and RFC began developing their approach to working with pregnant dancers at this stage and learnings from that period were brought forward onto the tour.
Both Shelley and Fin wanted to work through their pregnancies and so RFC made arrangements for them to work the tour whilst pregnant. Plans were already in place for Shelley to tour with her first baby. What followed was a careful and iterative process of supporting both dancers; every step of the way they were the ones making the decisions and RFC were led by their needs. The main challenges were supporting their health and wellbeing, creative choices, and budget.