Every Tuesday a group of young girls come together to dance. Nothing new there, right? Except this new youth dance company is made up of young people who would never have had the opportunity to dance otherwise – it’s the fruit of a new project across the region which aims to link up dance networks [...]
The physical theatre company will be performing Scattered at Solihull Arts Complex on 16 March 2010. The show has the ‘wow-factor’ set against at ceiling-high half-pipe which the dancers slide up and down on a visualised background. The show blurb tells us:
Scattered uses projection technology, daring dancing plus aerial harnesses and bungees to create and extraordinary world in which the dancers move seamlessly in, on and through the image.
What’s more, the company will be holding a workshop prior to the performance on 15 March 2010. Two dancers from the company can come to your school or venue and deliver a workshop based on the show. To book your slot on 15 March, contact Hayley Duffield on hduffield@solihull.gov.uk or phone 0121 704 6309.
Tickets for Scattered are £8 per student, and when booking as a group 1 in 10 tickets is free. To book tickets contact Solihull Arts Complex box office on 0121 704 6962.
Stoke-on-Trent will play host to a number of youth dance companies from across the region in the New Year. Raw Energy 2010 will see new raw talent battle it out on stage to get to the national heat of U.Dance. The performance will take place on Saturday 16 January at 7pm at The Victoria Hall, Cultural Quarter, Stoke-on-Trent.
This will be the U.Dance regional platform for youth dance companies to perform in to make it through to the UK round at Birmingham Hippodrome on 4 July 2010.
Raw Energy 2010 will feature 13 selected dance acts which have sprouted up across the West Midlands as part of U.Dance, including Dance Nuvo, Making Choreographers, Fidget Dance Company, WIRE, JECL, Flexus Dance Company, Being Frank YDE, ACE Youth, TRC, Telford Youth Dance Company, Livingstone Academy, Reflex, and Two Fold Dance Company.
Tickets are £8 (£6 concs) and can be booked by calling 0844871 7649.
This Friday photo we have picked from a selection from last week’s Clothes Show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. This picture captures the thrill of dancing with a friend or partner – the laughs it can bring being thrown around a stage and may just get you excited about having a boogie on the dance floor at up and coming work Christmas do’s.
Mercurial Dance – the Coventry-based dance company have just launched their new website – www.mercurialdance.co.uk. Forming in September 2008, Mercurial Dance deliver a number of workshops and classes for young people as well as performances and projects.
Artistic Director of the company, Oliver Scott, trained at Coventry Centre for Performing Arts and has previously worked with Earthfall and Motionhouse. Mercurial Dance has an inclusive outlook – aiming to involve young people in dance where possible and develop their skills and abilities while having fun.
The website has links to information about their touring works, and a great video on the frontpage which gives you a taster of what they do. Oliver said:
There is loads of info about the company, our work and what Mercurial Dance has to offer on the wesbite. Plus there are some great images and lots of video content from our previous projects. We would love to get some feedback on the site from West Midlands Dance readers – to find out if it works, is visible in your browsers and what you all think of the new look.
Add your comments about the website in the box below.
Not only have we got an excellent season of ballet tv to look forward to, but Moira Shearer, belle of the 1940s cinema, will be returning to the big screen in the restoration of The Red Shoes – the classic film recorded as Martin Scorsese’s all time favourite.
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s masterpiece follows the life of ballet dancer (Shearer) who falls in love with a composer to tragic consequences.
Has anyone else noticed the steep increase in ballet programmes dominating mainstream television? Stepping up from the usual camera-switched-on broadcast from the Royal Opera house, the BBC and Channel 4 seem to have gone mad for ballet this Christmas – with an exciting line-up of ballet treats to get you salivating at the mouth. Here’s what I’m looking forward to watching this year while chomping mince pies:
BBC Four recently brought us Margot – a film about the turbulent love life of Margot Fonteyn as well as english National Ballet performing in For Art’s Sake: The story of the Ballet Russes (six days left to watch on iPlayer and next on Saturday at 01.30). Now comes an exciting new series of programmes celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Ballet Russes, featuring a range of new work, performances and choreographer interviews – starting with this week’s celebration of the celebrated choreographer Diaghilev. Another reason to stay in from the cold on a Friday – or watch on iPlayer if you find it clashes with the office Christmas party. [click to continue…]
Dave from Too Much Flavour - the dance.music.fashion website – has been in touch about a chance for readers to win a breakdance mat and some trainers from ACICS.
The trainers are the same ones B-Boy Mouse rocked at the B-Boy championships promo in October – and to win them you need to post a photo to the Too Much Flavour Facebook Page wall. Photographs need to have something of ‘flavour’ about them. There’s more about entering the competition on their website here, and a little video showing the trainers below.
The breakdance mat is designed to be placed anywhere and help teach newbies and onlookers the basic steps of B-Boying and B-Girling.
Waterworks Jazz Club in Birmingham has received £7, 010 grant from Lottery Awards for All to promote and provide new dance classes as a way to keep fit.
The jazz club, which celebrates its 40th birthday next year, has live jazz bands every two weeks and in the New Year will offer a dance class once a month before the band, so people can choose to stay on to dance to live music after the class.
Anthea Jackson, Secretary and Project Manager, said: “It’s a great way to keep fit as well as being very sociable – we get quite a lot of single people coming who feel they can dance in a safe and welcoming environment. With new blood, it will be an intergenerational activity, with all the benefits that brings.”
The club holds its Christmas party on December 19 and is a great chance for newcomers to try it out before classes start in January.
In 2010 British Dance Edition is being held in Birmingham, hosted by DanceXchange. As well as showcasing work form West Midlands based artists, a number of limited support packages are available for dance industry workers in the region who wish to attend as delegates.
This package is available for those working professionally in dance in the West Midlands – including artists, managers, producers, and programmers, but you will need to show how attending British Dance Edition 2010 will help further your career. You cannot apply if you are a student, are performing in BDE or work for Arts Council England Regularly Funded Organisations.
Five places are available for a full delegate pass to all four days of the event which runs from 3-6 February 2010 and the deadline is the end of today – fill in the form below and return to mike.o’dwyer@dancexchange.org.uk or call 0121 689 3187.
