Joss Arnott Dance To Premiere New Work 24 at Resolution! 2012

We saw Joss Arnott Dance perform 'threshold' last year and have been waiting to see what Arnott's next creation is going to be ever since!

This year the company showcased their debut work threshold on an International level receiving high acclaim from audiences. 24 echoes Arnott’s interests in movement vocabulary and stylistic qualities as an artist, including a more subtle approach.

Commissioned by South East Dance, 24 was created at the new South East Dance Studios site in Hextable. Inspired by the work of Alexander McQueen, 24 portrays a metamorphic aesthetic within a primitive and surreal world performed by a company of female dancers, focusing on the physical and emotional states of fragility and severity through intense physicality.

In 2012 the company will be showcasing work within the UK and Internationally, as well as embarking on many commissions already confirmed throughout the year. There are plans for a Triple Bill programme to be toured in the Autumn including a solo created and performed by Joss Arnott. The company has recently been selected to be part of Dep Arts Ltd’s Incubate programme and will continue their close partnership with South East Dance whilst also continuing to be on their Creative Business and Development programme.

JossArnott Dance will be premiering 24 as part of Resolution! 2012 at The Place: Robin Howard Dance Theatre on Saturday 14th January, 20:00hrs.

Tickets can be bought

Via The Place Box Office: 0207 121 1100

(Mon - Sat 12-7pm, 6pm on non-performance days)

Online: www.theplace.org.uk/theatre

Or in Person at The Place, 17 Duke's Road, London WC1H 9PY

For more information please visit www.jossarnottdance.co.uk

Follow Joss Arnott Dance on Facebook and Twitter @jossarnottdance

Photo: Copyright Francois Verbeek 

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(why wait for what, for wait for when) by Toby Fitzgibbons & Matthew Robinson

(why wait for what, for wait for when) is a new piece created and performed by Scottish Dance Theatre's Matthew Robinson & Toby Fitzgibbons.

This will be shown at The Place on 7th January as part of Resolution! 2012 -  a massive collection of works put on throughout the start of the new year showcasing fresh talent in contemporary dance.

We asked Matthew a few questions about his past, present and future and here's what he had to share with us.

Your new work (why wait for what, for wait for when) is to be performed at The Place in January- What inspired you to create this piece? We are again really privileged to be part of The Place's Resolution! season, and are really thankful to The Place for their continued support. The work came about through a desire for us to continue our artistic collaboration, and an ambition to push our collaborative methods further. The work, more than our last work, formed itself as it went along, we discovered what we wanted to say as we played with ideas, images and narratives.

'Why Wait' follows two men waiting, in some ways for life to happen, and delves into what possesses their minds along the way. What can take us over in moments of solitude, boredom and loneliness? Where can paranoia, delusion or longing take an unoccupied mind?

We've also worked more closely this year with the SDT technical team to realise some more ambitious lighting plans, and with photographer Viktoria Begg to provide the work with what I think is a rather beautiful backdrop. 

Since the premiere of the work in July the work has been through some revisions, and for Resolution! will be in its third incarnation. 

The title's a bit of a tongue twister - how did it come about?The title is a combination of ideas we collaboratively came up with. It mirrors some of the moments in the work, the more you look at it, the more you read it, the more it kind of doesn't make sense, and yet at the same time makes more sense. It could be a question, a rhetorical question or a statement. We placed it in brackets as a kind of subtitle to what you see, rather than saying this is what this piece is, it is an invitation to question and consider as you watch.

One thing we love about Scottish Dance Theatre is the family vibe. How are you all coping with the recent departure of Artistic Director Janet Smith? Scottish Dance Theatre is a family, and like families once you are part of one you are kind of always part of it. Janet may be leaving us in Dundee, but she is always part of the family. The students are so lucky to have her at NSCD, and as much as we will miss her very much it is such an exciting step for her to make. Her vision has shaped SDT into what it exists as today, and through that has shaped me into the dancer I am at this point. I am, and always will be so very grateful to her for the chances she has offered me, her guidance and support. It is all being handled very smoothly and a new director should be in place later in the year, we will just have to wait and see what the future holds. 

The start of the new year is just around the corner. How would you sum up 2011 and what have you got lined up for 2012? 2011 has been a long year, a year of hard work, surprises and a bit more hard work, but I think that is a feeling mirrored in many other peoples lives. The world beyond the dance world (and the dance world itself) is getting tougher, finances are being squeezed and news is rarely good, and I think people have really felt the pressure this year. It is such a time of uncertainty. I look at this government and am so sad at so much of what they are pushing through, and how they are painting our nation abroad. It was a year of so many parts, and so many emotions. 

Personally Resolution! last year was such an exciting venture for me, and returning this year is such a pleasure and great way to begin the year. With the company we will be premiering a new work by Rachel Lopez de la Nieta, which I think is really going to challenge us and our audiences, the process is already proving provocative and exciting. I (and Toby also) will also be teaching professional class at The Place, something I am really excited to be doing. But right now it is hard to see beyond January 7^th, there is still so much to do. We really hope people enjoy what we have been up to since last year, it is a work full or surprises, and a work I hope proves to be a welcome post-christmas warm up for 2012.

New work (why wait for what, for wait for when) by Toby Fitzgibbons and Matthew Robinson, features photography by Viktoria Begg, a specially designed lighting rig and a varied musical score featuring the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tom Waits and The Killers'.

Performing in a triple bill alongside Daniel Walters and Shelly Maxwell (The MDP) on January 7th at The Place in London.

See Link for further details.

Click here for facebook event page.

You can also follow Matthew & Toby at their website http://tlbproductions.posterous.com/

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See Hip-Hop Dance Theatre Company Scope at Resolution! 2012

Scope Dance Theatre will be presenting a blend of hip hop and contemporary dance with 'Velocity' at The Place this January 26th.

Scope is made up of dancers who come from the UK, the USA, Japan and Cyprus. Their work is incorporated with a variety of music, from classical to human beatbox.

Dancer Nefeli Tsiouti created Velocity in 2010, alongside her mentors Christina Kostoula and Jonzi D, for her Masters thesis. The piece is exploring the physics of movement combined with the physics of sound. It uses vocal percussion in the form of beatboxing as its soundtrack. The choreography is generated from the music, which was created with the idea of the bullet in mind; thus the two elements interact and form an organic and inseparable whole. There is no plot or story behind the dance; it is a hip-hop dance theatre based piece in which experimenting and improvising played an important role.

2010 promo

Choreographer: Nefeli Tsiouti

Company: Scope Dance Theatre www.scopedancetheatre.com 

Title: Velocity 

Music: Beatbox by R-tizt - edited by Ian Simpson 

Dancers: Deann Frost, Fumi Tomioka, Monica Nicolaides, Nefeli Tsiouti, Patrice Cotter

 Date: 26 January 2012

Time: 8:00 pm

Venue: Robin Howard Dance Theatre

Price: £14 (£11 conc)

Two other dance companies will also be performing on this night. Details are as follows:

Erik Nevin
From The Forest

Nutshell Dance
Mari Frogner
People in Transit

See Link for more info.

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DanceXchange hosts world premiere from rising dance star

Aakash Odedra, an upcoming star of British South Asian Dance, will be helping DanceXchange (dx) celebrate ten years at Birmingham Hippodrome with the world premiere of his latest work.

Rising is an evening of dance performed by Odedra which explores different processes and aesthetics to create a new personal language. The evening will showcase pieces created by renowned international choreographers Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui as well as a piece of Odedra’s own creation. All of the works call on his background in the classical Indian dance disciplines of Kathak and Bharatanatyam.

David Massingham, DanceXchange Artistic Director says: “We’re delighted dx is able to present Aakash’s world premiere. He has been working with some of the UK’s top choreographers, so I’m excited to see what they’ve created”

The evening represents the final chapter in dx’s special tenth anniversary season celebrating a successful decade based at Birmingham Hippodrome. Over the last decade dx has supported the production of over 50 major touring works including Akram Khan, Jasmin Vardimon and Rafael Bonachela as well as hosting a large number of performances in its studio theatre. The expanded 2011 season has showcased some of the best new names in the dance world and also featured performances by some of the artists who have worked alongside dx in the last ten years.

To find out more information about dx or to purchase tickets for performances please visit www.dancexchange.org.uk.

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