Month: November 2015

Carlos Acosta’s A Classical Selection will play at the London Coliseum from 8-13 December 2015, presenting highlights from Acosta’s career in celebration of twenty four years as a dancer, on the London stage. Carlos Acosta is named by some as the great male ballet dancer of his generation, having thrilled audiences throughout the world with his breathtaking performances, including principal roles in many ballets in the classical repertoire.

In devising A Classical Selection, the programme follows the format of his 2006 show Carlos Acosta with Guests of The Royal Ballet, for which he won an Olivier Award; this time it features a new selection of classical works. He will present some of his favourite pieces from classical repertoire with the help of Marianela Nuñez, Zenaida Yanowsky, Yuhui Choe, Tierney Heap, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Thiago Soares, Valeri Hristov and Nehemiah Kish.

The performance will include a number of the most famous pas de deux from the classical and neo-classical canon: extracts to be performed will include Kenneth MacMillan’s Winter Dreams, George Balanchine’s Agon, August Bournonville’s La Sylphide and Diana & Acteon by Agrippina Vaganova. Full programme details are yet to be announced however at this stage the new production looks set to delight fans and audience members alike.

Acosta trained at the National Ballet School of Cuba and joined The Royal Ballet in 1998, becoming a Principal Guest Artist in 2003. Acosta has since turned his hand to producing, directing and choreographing, and his past productions have played to sell-out audiences. He was awarded the CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in 2014 for his services to ballet and is passionate about nurturing and inspiring the next generation of dancers through the Carlos Acosta International Dance Foundation. At the National Dance Awards 2015 Acosta was awarded the De Valois Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In partnership with Gateway Studios, the internationally acclaimed Phoenix Dance Theatre is set to launch a brand new high-quality training programme for talented young dancers aged 14 to 18 from across the North East, based on the hugely successful Phoenix Youth Academy in Leeds. The high quality tuition that Phoenix provides aims to transform local young people into the contemporary dancers of the future.

Phoenix Dance Theatre is one of the UK’s leading contemporary dance companies, and for over three decades the Company has performed, educated and inspired audiences both in the UK and across the globe. Phoenix Youth Academy in Leeds has been running since 2009 and many of its graduates have gone on to successfully audition for numerous conservatoires, including London Contemporary Dance School, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

It is hoped there will be a similar situation with the new programme: Phoenix Academy North East students will meet twice a week, developing their contemporary dance technique through working with recognised choreographers and Phoenix Dance Theatre’s company dancers. Academy members will also participate in intensive courses during the school holidays, with regular performance opportunities at platforms across the UK. The satellite Youth Academy in Gateshead is part of the ongoing ambition to extend Phoenix’s reach outside of Leeds.

Young people will consequently have more access to dance opportunities, and the Academy is hoped to be a preparation for those considering a dance career. Phoenix is committed to providing quality training with its distinctive approach and high standards of contemporary dance tuition. Acceptance into the Academy is by audition only and spaces are limited. Auditions will take place in Gateshead on 5 December 2015. For further information, and to book a place at the audition, contact [email protected].

One of Britain’s best loved choreographers, for his innovative modern dance takes on classic stories, was honoured at the UK Theatre Awards with The Stage Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre. Matthew Bourne, who already has five Olivier Awards under his belt, has built on his theatrical success year after year. His company is now over 25 years old, and has transformed classic ballets to establish a firm following all over the world.

Bourne’s work has become a firm favourite on the international stage, with his stunning, modern takes on iconic, usually traditional tales, including Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and his all-male Swan Lake. These new takes are without considering his other theatrical successes, such as The Car Man (based on Carmen), Highland Fling (based on La Sylphide) and many other innovative productions including Play Without Words and earlier works such as Spitfire.

Bourne began his career as a dancer, founding Adventures In Motion Pictures in 1987 and later New Adventures, the company he is now famous for. He has also worked extensively with West End producer Cameron Mackintosh, with collaborations including Mary Poppins, Oliver! and My Fair Lady. In winning such a prestigious accolade, it is clear Bourne is a leading light of the UK theatre and dance scene, and has been for many years. He has thrilled audiences all over the UK and around the world with an incredible contribution to the arts industry.

Through Bourne’s work with Adventures in Motion Pictures and New Adventures, he has created an unrivalled and hugely successful repertoire and has helped to popularise contemporary dance and dance theatre internationally with new takes on old, sometimes worn out tales. Bourne’s award is part of the UK Theatre Awards,the only annual theatrical prize to celebrate achievement throughout the UK, both on and off the stage.

A rural touring initiative has been set up for contemporary dance, involving eight companies which will tour their shows to rural venues in 2016-17. Contemporary dance companies will join forces with the National Rural Touring Forum in an initiative to take the art form to new audiences, with further companies already shortlisted for the following year’s programme of The Rural Touring Dance Initiative.

For 2016-17, Phoenix Dance, Panta Rei, Spilt Milk and Sonia Sabri Company are among the first round of companies which will tour contemporary dance productions as part of the scheme, alongside Lost Dog, Protein, Joan Cleville Dance and Lîla Dance. In an exciting and new project, the scheme will see the companies visit new venues and play to audiences who may not see much contemporary dance. Five further companies – James Wilton Dance, Sarah Blanc’s Moxie Brawl, Tom Dale Company, Greg Wohead and Ben Wright’s Bgroup – have been shortlisted for a commission of £45,000 to create a new show for 2017-18.

The companies will tour existing shows in partnership with the National Rural Touring Forum, which represents rural touring schemes and arts development agencies including venues and festivals. Four of the the companies selected for the 2016-17 scheme, in addition to those shortlisted for creations for 2017-18, were chosen from an open call after which 155 companies applied to be part of the scheme. In terms of opportunity, the rural touring programme is a fantastic initiative in taking performance to new audiences and extending companies’ reach.

On the whole, mainstream contemporary dance is perhaps more associated with the bolder dance scenes of cities, rather than being something one would normally associate with rural locations. It is therefore particularly encouraging that so many people working within this area of the arts have been enthusiastic about exploring the concept and taking part.

Young Creatives 2016 will showcase the work of up to ten young choreographers at the high profile Rambert headquarters on London’s South Bank, as part of Youth Dance England’s well-known project. Selected choreographers will take part in two weekends of workshops, talks and sharings with professional choreographers and dance artists, at the Royal Opera House and Rambert, in a fantastic opportunity to share their own dance work.

Youth Dance England is working in partnership with the Royal Opera House and Rambert to deliver Young Creatives 2016, open to young people who are making dance work with between one and five dancers, in any dance style. The deadline for budding choreographers’ applications and film footage of the work is 15 December 2015; successful applicants will be invited to a selection day on 24 January at the Royal Opera House, London.

Those selected will become one of ten Young Creatives for 2016, have the chance to develop choreographic skills and deepen their knowledge of choreography as well as present a dance piece at Rambert, giving young people a platform to present their own work. The Young Creatives experience will include classes and workshops led by high profile professional artists and choreographers, including from the Royal Ballet, Rambert and Trailblazer Artists from ADAD, and the opportunity to have feedback on work from professional choreographers and peers.

The project is for young people aged 15 to 19 (or up to 25 if disabled) who are making a dance piece with a small number of dancers. The ten young choreographers will spend a weekend at the Royal Opera House with professional dance artists, choreographers and a costume specialist. This will be followed by two days at Rambert to present the dance works. Young Creatives is looking for young people who show creative flare and who have the potential to inspire and move audiences.

English National Ballet has recently announced its latest project – The Dance Within Us – as a new residency at Tate Liverpool. To coincide with performances of its award-winning production Le Corsaire at Liverpool Empire from 18–21 November, English National Ballet announced The Dance Within Us, taking place on 20 November as a programme of ambitious projects, including live performance work.

The company will move beyond the stage in Liverpool, with the company’s residency at Tate Liverpool inspired by the exhibition An Imagined Museum: works from the Centre Pompidou, Tate and MMK collections. It will see a new work from choreographer Morgann Runacre-Temple, performed in the exhibition space by English National Ballet dancers, and the residency will also see Tate Liverpool host The Unstoppable Life of Artworks debate. The panel, chaired by Professor Nigel Weatherill, Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, and including Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, will question if masterpieces such as Swan Lake can be preserved without losing impact and relevance.

An additional part of the residency will see English National Ballet hold an exclusive live drawing event at the Liverpool Empire that focuses on capturing the body in motion. The class will start with a discussion led by visual artist Heidi Wigmore on the different skills required to capture the moving body. Participants will then draw as company dancers take their daily ballet class, followed by a unique opportunity to draw the dancers’ performance at Tate Liverpool’s An Imagined Museum exhibition.

The Dance Within Us is part of English National Ballet’s Engagement programme, which promotes wider and deeper public engagement with the company and the art form, and enables English National Ballet to have a more sustainable presence around the country.