Transitions goes on tour - fresh and sophisticated contemporary dance from the UK’s leading graduate dance company
08 February 2012
Transitions Dance Company, the student touring company based in
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, has announced its
2012 UK and European touring dates.
"Performances by this enterprising and annually
reconstituted company are always an eye-opener" - The Guardian
Guide
Eleven of the best young dancers from across
the world perform a mixed bill of choreography by three
international artists: Shang Chi Sun, who has his own dance company
Shang Chi Move in Berlin, Hubert Essakow, a former soloist with The
Royal Ballet and Martin Nachbar, a choreographer whose 2011 work
The Other/s had a successful debut with last year's
company.
For two decades Transitions Dance Company has
entertained and delighted audiences from Aberdeen to Austria,
Jersey to Japan and Manchester to Malaysia with a programme of
short dance pieces - and 2012 will be no exception.
''World-class contemporary dance" - Dr Miles Gregory,
CEO & Artistic Director, The Maltings Theatre
Artistic director David Waring said:
"Transitions is the original Conservatoire dance company, created
to help emerging artists bridge formal training and their entry to
the professional world. The Company has gained an international
reputation for the technical excellence of its dancers and the
originality of the work it performs.
"The individuality and enthusiasm of the
dancers and the artistry of these renowned choreographers gives the
audience a wonderful glimpse of the future stars of contemporary
dance. This year we also have compositions by Trinity Laban
music students Helen Whitcher and Mike MacLennan for Martin Nachbar
and Hubert Essakow's dance works respectively, celebrating the joy
of collaborative work between our music and dance programmes."
Ross Cameron, Trinity Laban's Head of Taught
Postgraduate Programmes, said: "Transitions Dance Company is unique
- no other graduate company commissions so many new dance works on
an annual basis.
"By commissioning new work from outstanding
choreographers and recruiting dancers emerging onto the
international dance scene, Transitions Dance Company continues to
lead the way in contemporary dance with this explosive and exciting
repertoire programme."
UK and European Performance Dates
28 February: Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury
2 March: Rich Mix, London
7 March: Arts Educational School, London
14 March: Brewery Arts Centre, Cumbria
17 March: The Maltings, Berwick-Upon-Tweed
21 March: The Lights, Andover
26 April: Roehampton University, London
2 May: Skolen for Moderne Danse, Copenhagen,
Denmark
9 May: Courtyard Arts, Herefordshire
19, 20 May: ResExtensa Danza Teatro Danza,
Puglia, Italy
30 May: East Bridgwater Community School,
Somerset
7, 8, 9 June: Laban Theatre, London
The 2012 company - Megan Armishaw, Tom Bowes,
Zoe Georgallis, Chris Goodwin, Ashley Hind, Tennealle Johnson-Roll,
Lisa Kobdish, Carla Piscitelli, Charlotte Pook, Jenny Reeves and Ed
Warner
Artistic Director - David Waring
David Waring has performed, choreographed and taught both in the
UK and internationally with a range of artists including Ricochet
Dance Company, Walker Dance, Adventures in Motion Pictures, The
Featherstonehaughs and his group fishpool (co-directed with Gaynor
Coward).
From 2000-2002 David was a participant and assistant director at
PAL (Performing Arts Lab). Performance work in 2008 - 2010 includes
Kate Brown's and yet..., Athina Vahla's Listening
Post at the London Science Museum and his own solo
hustler at the Capital Nights festival in Liverpool,
supported by Merseyside Dance Initiative and Homotopia. He also
choreographed for the launch of the new Fiat 500 in 2008.
Continuing the series, hustler #2 (a guerrilla dance
performance in an urban environment, choreographed by and performed
with Mélodie Gonzales and 21 other couples) premiered in Big Dance
2010, supported by Greenwich Dance and was also part of Greenwich
and Docklands International Festival 2011. David is also currently
developing a short film entitled he's the greatest dancer,
has recently mentored Mélodie Gonzales in her Poupée
Post-it creation and will be premiering hustler #4.5
at the Homotopia festival 2012. He graduated from Laban in
1987.
2012 Choreographers
Martin Nachbar
A winner of the Choreography Award
Ludwigshafen, Martin has trained all over the world, studying Dance
and Choreography at the School for New Dance Development (SNDO) in
Amsterdam and at P.A.R.T.S and AMCh. Co-founder of Gruppe B.D.C
along with Thomas Plischke and Alice Chauchat, he has collaborated
with recognised visual artists and composers. He returns in 2012
following last year's highly successful work with Transitions,
The Other/s. A much loved British family and its domestic
environment is the subject of this year's piece. Wittily observed,
with finely honed, quirky movement, the piece is both absurd and
mysterious. This just might be a sneaky peak into the real lives of
a special clan!
Hubert Essakow
Born in Johannesburg, Hubert joined The Royal
Ballet as a First Artist in 1993. As Soloist, he performed many
roles in works by leading choreographers such as Ashton, Macmillan,
Balanchine and Tharp. On leaving The Royal Ballet in 2003 to pursue
a freelance career he appeared with K-Ballet and George Piper
Dances in London. Inspired by the life and work of US graffiti
artist Keith Haring, Hubert's full company work is characterised by
an articulate pure dance vocabulary, and is underpinned by his
classical training and an incisive musicality.
Shang Chi Sun
Shang Chi trained at Taipei's National Academy
of Arts and Ernst Busch University in Berlin. He has worked with
Sasha Waltz & Guests, Staatstheater Nürnberg and Balletto
Teatro. Shang Chi Move co. has performed internationally, most
recently Genus and je.sans.paroles (2011). His
work often focuses on deeply felt aspects of human nature, and is
wonderfully connected to the German Tanztheater tradition. Set to
an hypnotically insistent electronic musical score, Shang Chi's
piece offers a simmering group intensity and energy. His awards
include First Choreography Prize at the 12th international Solo
Tanz Festival Stuttgart.
Background to Transitions Dance Company
Transitions Dance Company was founded in 1982
by Bonnie Bird (1914 - 1995) who was Artistic Director until her
death in 1995. Transitions was formed to bridge the gap between
training and a professional performance career for graduate
dancers. The dancers gain invaluable performance experience working
with professional artists and choreographers whilst remaining as
students gaining a recognised qualification.
Each year the best graduate dancers from across
the world audition to become members of Transitions Dance Company
and normally up to twelve are selected. The dancers gain a
Postgraduate Diploma in Performance from Trinity Laban's Faculty of
Dance and have the opportunity to complete an MA in Dance
Performance.
A glance at past choreographers reads like a
who's who of contemporary dance and includes: Richard Alston
(Richard Alston Dance Company / Rambert Dance Company), Lea
Anderson (The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs), Rosemary
Lee, Mark Murphy (V-Tol Dance Company), Henri Oguike (Henri Oguike
Dance Company), Jasmin Vardimon, Maresa von Stockert, Fin Walker
(Walker Dance Park Music), Ashley Page (Royal Ballet and Scottish
Ballet), Luca Silvestrini (Protein Dance) and Rafael Bonachela
(Sydney Dance Company), Aszure Barton, Miguel Pereira, Cristian
Duarte, Ben Wright (b-group), Lucy Guerin, Pablo Ventura, Colin
Poole, Angela Woodhouse, Daniel Larrieu, Cheng-Tsung Lung, Crystal
Pite.
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