Entrepreneur dances to a different tune with debut film

OWNER and founder of Leeds-based Thompson Brand Partners is trying his hand at filmmaking with his debut film, Northern Souls set to feature at a festival in London this weekend.

Ian Thompson’s 25-minute documentary which explores the history of men dancing and what it means to be a man today, will be shown numerous times at the Being a Man festival at Southbank Centre in London.

The festival is a counterpart to the popular Women of the world and was created by Grayson Perry and Jude Kelly who also produced the televised series, All Man which explores how contemporary masculinity shapes men’s lives.  

Having studied at Central Film School, London in 2014, Ian had been waiting for an opportunity to produce his first film.

“I was asked to make a film about any subject I wanted as long as it was men. I felt that there was something that needed to be said about men dancing because these days’ young men don’t dance.” Ian said.

As a keen dancer himself, Ian had been searching for a place to go dancing with his wife three years ago and was captivated by the expressive and soulful nature of Northern Soul dancing.

The music and solo dance movement which emerged in the late 1960s in Northern England is a combination of high kicks, shuffling and stomps and had the couple hooked from the first workshop.

“When I walked in and I saw real men dancing I said ‘this is great, real men do dance and it’s not unmasculine to do that’ – I thought it was just me!

“What I discovered through making the film was that men do have a need to express themselves physically and that’s what dancing does – they become more open individuals and it actually has quite a dramatic effect on their lives.

“Especially working class men, when you go to northern soul club you’re never far from a plumber or a fitter or a builder and these are proper big northern blokes all dancing and all very open and expressive in a soulful way.”

Ian has ambitions to send Northern Souls out to a wider audience, with more showings planned to take place at festivals across the country. Having used BBC technicians to film the documentary, Ian also hopes to create a longer version that will be broadcast by the BBC itself.

He added: “One of the reasons I wanted to work in film was I think its important for any creative individual to be working outside the discipline that they know, truth is whatever you do creatively you need to have influences from outside the world that you’re in. You also need to challenge yourself creatively at all times.”