Month: May 2014

Ghost Peloton At The Yorkshire Festival

Ghost PelotonGhost Peloton is a ground-breaking collaboration between Glasgow-based public arts organisation NVA (they of the light suits and 2012 event Speed of Light) and Leeds based dance company Phoenix Dance Theatre.

As night falls on the Friday 16 and Saturday 17 May an audience of over 3,000 people in Leeds will watch a ghost peloton of 30 synchronised cyclists dressed in LED light suits. The company will commit to mass choreographed movement in a live performance that fuses endurance sport, dance and public art.

The work will unite the live action of the cyclists with film projection of the 10 illuminated dancers interacting with a nationally reputed ‘flatline’ BMX stunt cyclist. This film also includes the Ghost Peloton blazing a trail through iconic locations drawn from the Tour de France route through Yorkshire as spectators pedal along three national cycle network routes across Leeds.

This stunning event of movement patterns is also made up of volunteer cyclists taking part in the performance, lead by Phoenix Dance Theatre Artistic Director Sharon Watson and NVA Creative Director Angus Farquhar. Ghost Peloton is a central part of the Yorkshire Festival 2014, the first cultural festival in the Tour de France’s 111 year history. The piece draws on talented and diverse artists to provide the audience with creating something unique and engaging on many levels.

Directed by Farquhar and choreographed by Watson, Ghost Peloton is inspired by the wheel in motion. The work fuses performance cycling with choreography performed by the Phoenix Dance Theatre dancers on film with the varied landscapes of Yorkshire. Each ghost rider, bike and performer will be lit by a fantastic lighting design by Phil Supple, using bespoke LED suits which can instantaneously change colour, flash rate and luminosity. The lights are set to a stunning electronic score.

Learning To Dance

Learnuing to DanceFor most young children, dance class is a time to don the pinkest tights in town and join their friends in becoming fairies, soldiers and various other characters at the command of their teacher. It is only when children become a little older that ballet and dancing becomes a little more disciplined and structured. Instead of bouncing, bending and clapping there are pliés, tendus and lots of skipping. The focus may still be on having fun, but now works to encourage the ballet basics.

Ballet has been shown to have many positive effects for children, such as confidence, strength, flexibility and focus, love of music and rhythm promoted in classes. The class must also suit the child and their needs, with many not taking students before the age of three in order for them – and the others in the class – to have a fulfilling experience that is worthwhile.

Children need to be able to concentrate on the simple tasks of the class alongside the others. It is important the class is structured and secure, later translating into identifiable sections of warm up, barre work, centre practice, travelling and sequence. Their concentration will improve as they learn, forming a cycle of positive reinforcement. Ballet also provides much discipline, requiring children to focus whilst balancing rules with fun.

The physical development caused by ballet goes without saying: children need to be at least three before their range of movement and balance is sufficient to take on such a physical and mentally demanding activity. Following this they can then work on the co-ordination, strength, flexibility, grace, range of motion and endurance that is required. From there comes emotional development. Little dance students can become very independent quickly, moving alone and growing their confidence for this, as well as feeling comfortable as part of a group.

Punchdrunk And The National Theatre

Punchdrunk - The Drowned Man: A Hollywood FablePunchdrunk’s The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, presented with the National Theatre, is set to close on 6 July after a full year of performances. It is the longest running show in London in Punchdrunk’s history and has already played to over 170,000 people in over 340 performances. This number is thought to increase to well in excess of 200,000 by the end of the run.

Punchdrunk has transformed a vast building next door to Paddington Station into the forgotten world of Temple Studios, a legendary film powerhouse. Audiences are asked to step into a world where the Hollywood studio system meets a forgotten land filled with dreamers who exist at the fringes of the movie industry. Celluloid fantasy clings to desperate realism and certainty dissolves into a hallucinatory world. This theatrical journey follows its protagonists between illusion and reality in a jaw-dropping phenomenon.

The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable is inspired by Büchner’s fractured masterpiece Woyzeck and set in a seedy Hollywood underworld. Led by Felix Barrett, Punchdrunk – formed in 2000 – is the internationally acclaimed theatre company whose previous award-winning productions include Faust, The Masque of the Red Death, Tunnel 228, It Felt Like A Kiss, The Duchess of Malfi, Sleep No More and The Crash of the Elysium. Their current New York show Sleep No More won a 2011 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and a Special Citation For Design And Choreography at the 2010-11 Obie Awards.

In 2008, the company formed its education and outreach department, Punchdrunk Enrichment, which works with schools and community groups across London to deliver innovative participatory projects. As well as producing theatrical productions, Punchdrunk occasionally works with corporate partners in the execution of unusual experiential projects and events. The company is currently presenting its New York debut, a new version of the critically acclaimed Sleep No More at the legendary McKittrick Hotel in the Chelsea district.

Sandrine Monin At the Yorkshire Festival

Sandrine MoninSandrine Monin, who will be performing in Ghost Peloton with NVA & Phoenix Dance Theatre, is a professional dancer anticipating the upcoming performance of the Yorkshire Festival.

When did you begin dancing, where and why?

I started dancing when I was about 3 years old in France. I think it was kind of a love at first sight with dancing. My Mum and I went to pick up a friend at a dance school and apparently I started twirling around and imitating them. Then I just told her that I wanted to dance.

What were your early years of dancing like?

I began dancing so young that my early years dancing were mostly for fun, enjoying moving, learning routines. I started with modern dance and when I was about 7 I went to ballet classes, but then I was just having a blast dancing, regardless of any technique.

But slowly, deep inside, I kind of knew that I wanted to become a dancer, even though it seemed more like a little girl’s dream back then. But the idea stuck on and I knew I needed to start focusing on my technique.

How long have you been performing? Did you start young?

It seems like I’ve always been performing. As kid we would have a dance school show every year, then I had performances within my training and it went on until I started performing professionally five years ago.

Where did you train and what was a typical day like?

At 16, I started my vocational training in the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon in France where I trained in mostly ballet, but also repertoire, partnering work and contemporary dance as well as theoretical subjects (history of dance, anatomy, music) from 9am until 6pm. Meanwhile I carried on with my academic studies at home through a distance learning organisation.

After I graduated at 19 I wished to extend my skills in contemporary dance. I moved to Germany and entered the Dance Apprentice Network aCross Europe where I worked with choreographers such as William Forsythe and Wayne McGregor. There I kept working on my contemporary and ballet training and was opened up to theatre and new technologies used.

What is a typical day like now?

Now as part of a company, my day officially starts at 10am with an hour and fifteen minute class, but I would always be in the studio at least half an hour earlier to warm up. Then we have rehearsals until 5.30pm, with one hour lunch break. In rehearsals we learn and create new pieces or work on existing ones, getting ready for the next performance to come.

How do you keep on top of your technique?

I take class every working day, contemporary or ballet according to which teacher we have. In the company we consider classes an integral part of the training and not just warm up. So everyday class is a way to improve your technique. In rehearsals, we are pushed to never be comfortable in a piece and to always challenge our own limits. We are also encouraged to try and use other techniques (yoga, pilates, gyrokinesis) and we go to the gym to build strength and stamina.

What would you say was your greatest achievement to date?

I’m just thankful to be able to live of my passion. And at the risk of being cheesy I’m glad I realised that little girl’s dream.

Which part of dance do you enjoy most?

My favorite part is definitely being on stage. It’s such an exquisite feeling to get into a character, abstract or not, and show its story to an audience. I also love how any new piece forces you to rise to a new challenge.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to be part of the dance industry?

I think first of all you have got to love it. It’s a hard and competitive world and sometimes it feels unreachable but don’t give up.

Then, just be curious, make your own research, watch as many shows or videos as you can, surround yourself with all kind of arts. Stay open to anything, any style, don’t make preferences because you never know when it can be useful.

What’s next for you?

We are – at the moment – on tour with our new programme, but preparing the “Ghost Peloton” on the side, a performance for the departure of the Tour de France in Leeds. Then we are going to start creating a new programme very soon, so just a lot of dancing for now!

Events of the Yorkshire Festival run across Yorkshire between 28 March and 5 July 2014.

Photo Credit: Richard Moran.

O Snap at the Unicorn Theatre

O Snap at the Unicorn TheatreO Snap, a co-production of Het Lab Utrecht, tanzhaus NRW and supported by Take-Off: Junger Tanz Dusseldorf and Grand Theatre/Jonge Harten Theaterfestival Groningen is set to run from 22-23 May at the Unicorn Theatre in London. Aimed at participants aged 13 and above, O Snap is a dance performance about finding your own identity in an overloaded world.

The performance brings together three young dancers to explore friendship, loyalty and what matters most when you’re young, something which is incredibly identifiable during the teen years. Presented for just two days during May, O Snap is definitely not something to pass up.

The work has been created by Erik Kaiel, a choreographer who has been making dances for over 20 years, having started his career in New York where he stayed for a decade before moving to the Netherlands where he is currently based. Kaiel brings a multitude of experience to the Unicorn Theatre: he now dances, choreographs and teaches across Europe. He also tours extensively with arch8 productions with whom he has been making performances with young dancers in public spaces, in locations such as Benin, Senegal, Egypt, Frankfurt, Utrecht and the Hague. In 2010 Kaiel won the No Ballet Competition in Germany and the Dutch national prize for choreographic potential.

As well as the performances of O Snap, there will be free pre-show practical workshops to get involved in that will explore the themes of cooperation and self-expression – the workshops will take place an hour before each show and are suitable for all experience levels in order to enhance the O Snap performances.

There will also be a Unicorn Late event after the show on 23 May, where the Unicorn’s bar will extend its hours and there will be live music to enjoy in the foyer.

Nicky McGinty: At The OM Yoga Show

OM Yoga Show 2014Nicky McGinty, professional dancer and choreographer, is the pinnacle of Ballet Yoga, set to be presented at the OM Yoga Show and MBS Experience in Manchester from 10-11 May. In a unique fusion of Contemporary Ballet and Vinyasa yoga, the techniques are combined to create enormous strength, flexibility, fat burning, co-ordination and great posture.

When did you begin dancing, where and why?

I began attending ballet classes aged 6 in Woking, Surrey. Why? Because my two older sisters went and I suppose my mum hoped I might enjoy it – little did she know what she started!

What were your early years of dancing like?

The years were strict at ballet school, and so much fun at the local theatre group, school and in my own garden dancing and prancing about. I was lucky to have some amazing teachers, and some harsh ones, that have taught me how and how not to teach! We performed many shows, musicals and pantomimes. I remember always getting lost in movement when I was young, always creating my own steps and dancing in the garden and bedroom mirror.

How long have you been performing and choreographing? Did you start young?

I have been performing since a young age – say 12 – but choreographing and performing professionally since the age of 21, so 19 years now.

Where did you train?

I did some very unconventional training but regardless it was very disciplined and demanding physically, emotionally and mentally – we were challenged, as is the nature of dance I think, up early and home late. No social life as we were too busy and often rather isolated on location or rehearsal studios!

I did a BA Hons Dance degree, and a Diploma in Circus Skills and Physical Theatre. I was lucky to get an Observership Award to shadow the wonderfully talented choreographer of feature films and theatre, Fran Janes, and I then did a PGCE in Dance. I trained as a Yoga Teacher in India and did my Pregnancy Yoga training about 2 years ago.

What is a typical day like now?

It is very different in some ways as I have a 1 year old son now. But similar in that I am up early and home late as I go to teach when he goes to bed. So a typical day is long, creative and incredibly physical as he is a very busy boy!

Do you still take classes?

I love to go to a contemporary, jazz or ballet class when I get the time, and I often take a yoga class at London’s Jivamukti Centre.

How do you keep on top of your technique?

I am lucky in that my yoga and ballet teaching now acts as a constant reminder of good technique to me. It’s a lifestyle I aspire to.

Do you prefer choreographing to performing?

Great question – I think when I was younger I loved the stage – performing was and is magical! But, I was a nervous performer so choreographing was always safer and where I could often express myself fully.

What would you say was your greatest achievement to date?

That’s a hard one for me because it was often the smaller jobs that were the more enjoyable, but its often the bigger jobs that I learnt most from and often the ones most respected by others.

I think dancing on a few feature films – ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in particular was a great achievement. Also, dancing and co-choreographing in a world record was pretty awesome. It was the biggest amount of different dance styles and performers – (800) all in one simultaneously choreographed piece for Big Dance and BBC1 in Trafalgar Square in preparation for the Olympics. That was a huge accomplishment!

Which part of dance do you enjoy most?

I was always a big fan of the creative process: those amazing improvisations where some incredible movement would surface! I love site-specific work that juxtaposed its natural setting; like ballet dancing throughout Selfridges for Christmas! I also love the moment when I can see the rehearsal process and hard graft come together, often in conjunction with the costume and staging departments. That’s often an exciting and very gratifying feeling.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to be part of the dance industry?

Think BIG – go for it – live your dreams! Try not to narrow your vision by saying ‘I can’t’ or ‘I don’t want to do that’, those are often the best jobs! Never let auditions take away your self worth! Be bigger than your biggest critic, eat well and look after yourself.

What’s next for you?

I’m working towards teaching retreats abroad and I’m about to release my third DVD in a box set trilogy: Ballet Fitness, Ballet Yoga and Beginners’ Yoga.

Relaxed Matilda

Matilda the MusicalWest End musical Matilda will hold a relaxed performance of its hit production in the summer. It will be aimed at audiences with autism and learning difficulties, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, which produces the show, has been working with the National Autistic Society. The performance will be held on 15 June.

The show has so far been a huge hit amongst children and adults. For the relaxed performance, therefore, stage elements will be adapted to reduce anxiety or stress often experienced in a theatrical environment by those suffering with autism and learning difficulties. Lighting and sound will be adjusted to reduce their impact and there will be a relaxed attitude to noise and moving around during the performance. This will make the performance more appealing and enjoyable for both children and their parents, as it may be difficult to envisage events like West End performances as trips out, enabling them both to experience the production in an environment which is sensitive to their needs.

Tickets for the relaxed performance are priced at £20 and those who book will be sent visual aids to help them get to know the plot and characters before the show. This whole experience builds on The Royal Shakespeare Company commitment to offer the best environment and welcome for children, young people and families who might feel excluded from the work. Relaxed performances mean they have the chance to experience high quality theatre, as often many families of children with autism or a learning disability can be unwilling to attend theatre performances together.

The performance in June builds on a programme of relaxed performances the Royal Shakespeare Company has offered in Stratford-upon-Avon since 2013.

Get Scotland Dancing!

Get Scotland DancingMore than 250 arts organisations are taking part in Get Scotland Dancing, part of the four-year legacy culture programme for Glasgow 2014 aimed at getting more people of Scotland up on their feet and moving to music. As a country which has a high level of obesity, the Get Scotland Dancing campaign is a fantastic initiative to encourage more people to engage with dance through the various methods of the programme of activity.

Full details of the programme have been announced, with the majority of events designed to encourage participation, and many involve taster sessions for dance organisations. The programme is particularly geared towards mass, participatory events. This includes the Big Dance Pledge, a new dance created by Scottish Ballet which will be performed worldwide in mass-dances on 16 May. Participants will be able to learn the dances by watching videos online. Meanwhile, there will be a succession of ceilidhs around the world, all starting at 7.30pm on 21 June, forming the 24 Hour Commonwealth Ceilidh.

Performance events of the Get Scotland Dancing programme include a youth dance festival led by Scotland’s YDance involving 36 dance groups from commonwealth countries at the Glasgow Tramway from 10-12 July. Youth dance companies from all over the country will be participating, such as Quicksilver, the youth company of Britain’s oldest dance company, Rambert. The programme also includes a new interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons created by choreographers and community dance artists Royston Maldoom and Tamara McLorg, which will premiere in Aberdeen on 20 July. Lastly, Gathered Together, an international inclusive dance festival hosted by Indepen-dance at the Tramway, will run from 27-30 August.

Full details of Get Scotland Dancing and associated events are at www.getscotlanddancing.org

Darcey at the Royal Ballet School

Darcey Bussell

Ex-prima ballerina and Royal Academy of Dance President Darcey Bussell’s career will be displayed in the form of memorabilia at the Royal Ballet School’s museum in west London this summer. The free exhibition will feature photographs and costumes from Bussell’s personal collection, including her Princess Rose costume from Kenneth MacMillan’s 1989 production The Prince of the Pagodas: it was after this that she was made a Principal of the Royal Ballet at the young age of 20.

The exhibition, called ‘Darcey Bussell: from Student to Star of The Royal Ballet’, will run from 6 May to 30 October, and will mark the fifth anniversary of the Royal Ballet School’s White Lodge Museum and Ballet Resource Centre in Richmond. The museum has claimed to be the first dedicated ballet museum in the UK, offering much to its visitors.

In terms of memorabilia, the tunic Bussell wore for her final performance with the company in the 2007 production of MacMillan’s Song of the Earth will be on show as the last costume she wore, as will her tutu from the revival of Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia in 2004. These pieces are thought to attract lots attention, considering Bussell’s stature as such an iconic figure in dance. Also on display will be film footage and artefacts such as a plaster-cast of Bussell’s foot ‘en pointe’ used for a waxwork, and a sketch by artist Allen Jones as preparation for his 1994 portrait of the ballerina for the National Portrait Gallery.

These objects are also particularly meaningful for Bussell too, because each evokes memories of particular moments in her life as a dancer; from her first Royal Ballet School reports, to the costumes she wore in performances on stage at the Royal Opera House.

The Royal Ballet 2014/15 season

The Royal BalletThe Royal Ballet 2014/15 season has recently been announced. It will include three world premieres (with only one likely to be classical) including a new full length ballet by Wayne McGregor, a new one act ballet from Liam Scarlett in November, alongside Kim Brandstrup’s Ceremony of Innocence, and a work by Hofesh Shechter.

Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote will return to the stage, as will Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon in a 40th Anniversary revival. La Fille mal Gardée will then be presented in Spring 2015 and will be part of the live cinema relays programme (along with Manon, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Swan Lake).

Draft Works returns in February 2015, in which works in various stages of choreographic development will be performed without full sets and costume, giving audiences an insight into the graft of the process of choreographing.

Royal Ballet dancer (First Artist) Ludovic Ondiviela will present a new work in the smaller Linbury space with guest dancers, and the Company will tour to Washington, Chicago and New York.

The highlight of the upcoming season seems to be the return of Alessandra Ferri (former Royal Ballet Principal) in the summer of 2015 to dance Wayne McGregor’s new full length ballet, entitled Woolf Works. The piece will be based on the writings and life of Virginia Woolf, with a new score by Max Richter, with whom McGregor has previously collaborated on his critically-acclaimed work Infra.

Closing the season, alongside Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun and In the Night, will be MacMillan’s Song of the Earth as a third of the triple bill.