2017 saw the launch the Cohan Collective Development Week, a 7 day residency for which three of the four pairs of choreographers and composers, plus dancers and musicians, from the 2016 London residency were invited to participate. The brief was to spend a week focusing on a single collaboration initiated at last year’s Cohan Collective; using 1 idea that arose from last year’s tasks as a starting point.

The Development Week offers the collaborative teams time and space to steep themselves in one partnership, creating material as they work towards a single finished piece. All collaborators were mentored by Robert Cohan and Eleanor Alberga, this time with more intensity as the week focuses on a single project.

In addition to the professional artists, three student choreographers and two student videographers were invited to participate alongside the collaborating artists and mentors. The three choreography students took class and observed rehearsals as each of the collaborations unfolded, with each student shadowing one of the three choreographers throughout the week. The videographers, were chosen and mentored by YDPs resident videographer David McCormick.

At the end of the residency, the artists presented their work at an informal sharing for an invited audience at Rambert studios on the Southbank.