Giulia James - Creative Performance Laboratory, London

Dear all at CPR,

I am a professional artist and artistic director of Creative Performance Laboratory. I heard about you when I was an MA student of Performance Studies, at Central School of Speech and Drama, in 2001. My sincere thanks for enriching my life and that of the many people, (from children to adults), with whom I have had the privilege to work with since I begun taking part in your Summer courses in 2002. Your Professional Development Programme is always unique and the standards are very high indeed.

A lone parent, I travelled from an inner London council estate to study at CPR in Aberystwyth, because your reputation, resources and training were the best. My family situation prevented me from travelling abroad, and you made it possible for me as an artist and educator, to train with some of the most successful relevant and accomplished international artists. I have worked in collaboration with Pupil Referral Units, with YOT's and ISSP; the skills I developed from training and researching thanks to you, were invaluable. I was able to use the knowledge in Performing Arts for education in different settings, including as a means of diverting young people from crime and helping them to access further education and training. Recently I was asked to lead a workshop for inner London council tenants and leaseholders: the cultural mix was broad, with a participant who was a wheelchair user. Thanks to the skills I was taught at CPR, it proved to be vary successful. Thanks to you, I am able to undertake work with a broad plethora of people and organizations, amateur or professional, in a productive way, and continue learning from diverse range of cultural traditions and artistic standpoints.I will always value your teachings and the inspiration and motivation that enables me to put them into action.I truly hope you will succeed in gaining recognition for the worthiness, high calibre and progressiveness, that your Centre for Performance Research achieves.

Yours Sincerely
Giulia James
CREATIVE PERFORMANCE LABORATORY, London