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Dancers coming together, holding hands.

Resolution 2023

This year, Resolution 2023 returns to The Place between 18 May and 16 June. Across 19 nights, 57 artists and companies from London and beyond will showcase new contemporary choreographies on the stage. We are incredibly proud to have a great many alumni and students taking part in Resolution 2023.

 

Sunniva Moen Rørvik’s choreography of Red Lick featuring a mixtape of movement fuelled by hairspray, sour candy, and Pepsi Max. The dancers (Bel Eade, Sula CastleYu-Chien ChengRoseann DendyLöe D’ArcyAndrea Callaghan) will be creating comedic mayhem on stage, with lip-syncing to Trønderrock, honouring mother Gaga and costume changes on costume changes on costume changes. (Thu 18 May)

The 12th Floor duo (TL alum Charis Crudgington and Mette Nilsen) will be performing their choreography, I’m sorry to disappoint you all, an ode to perceived failure. Their intertwining eclectic movement and film projection is set to an original sound score by Phoebe Coco. The two friends, housemates as well as colleagues/collaborators, share a closed-knit dynamic which will be showcased in their work. (Fri 19 May)

TL alumni Agnieszka Mencel, Charis Crudgington, Federica Bertani, Venia Baltadorou and Kristýna Kocianová are part of Annelise Bucher’s choreography, Relay. Relay is an emotional chain reaction created through melodies mixing and layering as dancers meet and interact. (Fri 19 May)

Loren McKay presents Lesbian Dance Theory, a seriously humorous lecture and multimedia performance which centres around dialogues, practices, histories and futures of those who identify as, with or adjacent to the term Lesbian (Thu 25 May).

Nadine Élise Muncey’s choreography, soft surge is a contemporary dance work that aims to explore the understanding and complexities of tenderness. This word that is loaded with information and energy, towards the self, to others and to pain. TL alumni Petronella Wiehahn and Shannon Oleson are dancers in Nadine’s choreography. (Fri 26 May)

Kennedy Junior Muntaga, artistic director of TL Youth Dance Company and director of KMDT, has choreographed Grown Men Keep Breaking My Heart in collaboration with Joey Barton. The duo portray complex societal issues with dance through a medium of storytelling by extracting scenarios from their own lives, and influence from their environment.  (Sat 27 May)

Maya Yoncali and Nadine Elise Muncey are performing in Petronella Wiehahn’s piece, Gathering Clouds. The dance work explores our immersion in a world that is continuously shaped by weather as dancers move as water and storms alongside striking lighting design and pulsing electronic rhythms. (Sat 27 May)

Mandy Tan and Malachi Briant (pictured) will be presenting While Remembering, a piece that physicalises the feeling of nostalgia and memory and invites the audience to dive into their memories and notice the questions and emotions that arise. The two young emerging artists connected over their shared passion for contact improvisation whilst studying at TL and have since choreographed and performed together. A work-in-progress showing of While Remembering was presented at Blue Elephant Theatre earlier in February. (Tue 30 May)

First commissioned by Dancin’ Oxford and created as a response to marginalised and underrepresented invisible disabled bodies in the arts, That Thing, will be performed by Lucy Clark from Fuse Collective. Combining large-scale projection, contemporary dance, live music, and spoken word, That Thing exposes the unseen reality of what it’s like living with hidden disability, an uncensored performance of truthfulness and vulnerability (Wed 31 May).

Find Your Lines by MA Creative Practice graduate, Maya Takeda, starts with a game of cat’s cradle and the book LINES written by Tim Ingold (2016). Expect to see patterns made with one long piece of thread as Maya proceeds to using her entire body to form the shapes of the cat’s cradle while applying her work using objects within LINES (Tue 6 June).

Chewed Pink, a queer led dance theatre collective composed of TL alumni Lauren Ainley, Ruby De Ville Morel, Catriona O’Connor and Jasmine Springall who have been collaborating since 2022, will present their piece I Can’t Take My Body Off. Examining femininity through a queer lens, their piece delves into female relationships; to others, to the world and to ourselves (Thu 8 June).

TL Fulbright Scholar, Oluwaseun Olayiwola, will be presenting HoleHead at Resolution 2023. Three queer male dancers attract, repulse, and diffract in a part dream, part poem, meditation on masculinity, jealousy, and the limits of contemporary intimacy (Thu 8 June).

Fabio Pronestì will be collaborating with Lorenzo Tombesi and visual artist Denise Aimar, in his work I wonder if this may be held. Fabio shares a reflection about what holds the encounter together as a series of glimpses from the past emerge in a walk, tracing countless paths and encouraging their becoming (Tue 13 June).

Second year MFA Choreography student, Attila Andrasi will be presenting a playful solo titled Once Upon a Time. The piece draws on the emotional contrasts between adulthood and childhood. It examines the puzzling separation and disconnection of life stages, creating an appreciation for growing up and life’s journey (Wed 14 June).

B brain(s) by TL alum Sanya Malnar and Marianne Raynal, is a hybrid, hyper-visual contemporary dance piece. It presents itself as an eerie, introspective experience which invites audiences to reflect on existential perception. With bodies moving in expressive garments and merging into the scenography, B brain(s) showcases concepts such as synæsthesia, the subconscious, clownery, and social justice (Thu 15 June).

Tough Boys Dance Collective (Donna Smith, Andrea Callaghan, Naissa Bjørn, Charlotte Bennett, Yu-Chien Cheng) will be presenting Dog Meat. Drawing movement from contemporary physicality and hip hop theatre, Dog Meat involves a cyclical structure which showcases the group’s reaction to the burning hot summer of 2022 (Fri 16 June).

 

To see the full programme and book tickets, visit The Place website.

Photo credit: Isaac Hutchings

Laughing puppeteer

Innovation Award winner goes to Glastonbury

Since 2019, Trinity Laban has run the Innovation Award, which forms part of the conservatoire’s strategy to help emerging artists develop their voice and innovate in the cultural industries.

 

The award provides final-year students with a platform to grow as creators, offering significant support in the form of professional development and seed funding so awardees can realise their artistic and business ideas.

One of the 2022 Award winners, BA (Hons) Musical Theatre graduate Phoebe Noble and 13 Months Theatre Ltd, went on to use the funding and support for their first ever summer season.

Grumble Cat, their children’s puppet production (pictured), was co-created by Phoebe Noble and fellow alum Jessie Hadley, and first performed at the Little Angel Theatre, Islington as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. It heads to the Kidzfield for Glastonbury 2023.

Phoebe reflects back on the opportunity given to her by Trinity Laban: ‘The Innovation Award was such an important launching point for us and our show. We were able to perform our show and continue to develop it and push for further opportunities. I was incredibly encouraged by my Innovation Mentor – the most valuable part of the award for me – Lucy Drever. Lucy was the perfect person to meet with throughout the year and talk through my ideas and the challenges I was facing.’

The soundtrack to Grumble Cat is in the process of having a cast recording, and the hope of the imaginative collective is that the production goes on to be a children’s book!

 

Full list of 2022 winners:

  • Phoebe NobleNatasha Spencer LevyEllie Drayton and Holly McConville (Musical Theatre) for 13 Months Theatre
  • Shaye Poulton Richards (Music) for Upon A Mother’s Death
  • Iolla Grace (Music) for InsideSound
  • The Grounding ProjectRuby De Ville MorelMila Fernandez and Melissa Heywood (Dance) for The Water Series
  • Ashley Lim and Isabelle Long (Dance) for Transcendance
  • Ebony Robinson (Dance) for Diversity in space and styles

 

To find out more, visit our Innovation Award webpage.

Photo credit: Alex Platt

Celebrating students throwing graduate hats in air

Alumni Round Up April 2023

On 3 April, a number of alumni (Daniela Magni, Lucy Murphy, Eileen Newnham, Maria Nikitidou, Jack McSweeney, Gemma Storr, Trudy Kerr, Clare Hirst) had the chance to attend two talks on Music Education given by Dr Andrea Schiavio from the University of York.

 

In April, our dance alumni have been involved in a range of performances and events.

Watch Matthew Bourne presents the Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer to Matt Cole for Disney’s Newsies at The Olivier Awards 2023.

Choreological studies lecturer and TL alumni, Alison Curtis-Jones presented her artistic work and research “Re-Imagining Laban: Dynamic Transformations in Contemporary Dance” at the World Arts & Embodiment Forum that was held between 11 April to 13 April.

Read about balletLORENT’s reimagining of Rapunzel, the Theatre Review: Rapunzel at The Leeds Playhouse, by choreographer and artistic director Liv Lorent.

A Back On The Map Event: Dancing Together, an interactive art festival exploring African diasporic dance history was held at the Laban Building on 13 and 14 April. This project was led by TL Innovation Award winners, Sunniva Moen Rørvik and Emma Greene.

The Guardian reviews Say Something, Sarah Golding and Yukiko Masui’s choreography at The Place, London.

Malik Nashad Sharpe’s new choreography of Goner returned to the Now Festival at The Yard between 18 April and 22 April.

Rosalind Holgate Smith, dance artist and performer, performed Vibration, an immersive dance theatre performance at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, on 27 April.

Recent contemporary dance graduate, Malachi Briant performed his solo, Stuck, as part of the Forge Festival 2023 on 30 April. Click here to watch a snippet of his dress run.

 

On the other hand, our music alumni have also been busy with performances and new song releases.

Watch Produce Like A Pro, Warren Huart’s YouTube video of TL composition alum Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds – Albums That Changed Music. Here’s an interview about the musical.

Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones has joined forces with Maxwell Owin on a new album ‘Archetype’ to be released in June.

Peckham-born, British-Bengali singer, Tara Lily shares about “blending genre, breaking out of boxes, and no longer caring about what people think” on gal-dem.

Nubya Garcia speaks about her experience experimenting for songs for the massive 2LP London Brew project in an article by Glide Magazine.

Read a Live Review: Ezra Collective @Albert Hall, Manchester where Ezra Collective’s (Joe Armon-Jones, Femi Koleoso) “choice of venue to perform in Manchester juxtaposes an interesting range of emotions.” Drummer Femi Koleoso also discusses inclusivity in jazz in an article titled “A Jazz Club Is Whatever You Want It To Be”: Three Days at the Blue Note With Ezra Collective.

The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra announced their broadened repertory for the 2023-2024 season. John Butt, Dunedin Consort’s music director, will conduct the operas with Nardus Williams as Belinda.

Between 14 April to 16 April, Reuben James performed at the Brick Lane Jazz Festival across seven venues.

Dai Fujikura performed Love Excerpt at the Modern Notebook on 16 April.

Former TL staff and Junior Trinity alumni, Karl Lutchmayer, talks about his current endeavors in music in an article by Herald Publications.

John Savournin performed as Judas and the disciples in Martin Emslie’s Omega and Alpha Oratorio on 16 April.

Aldo Lopez-Gavilan, TL piano alum, performed Viernes de Cuidad for the Bright Lights and Rising Stars | Memphis Chamber Music Society on 16 April.

Eminent composer, Cecilia McDowell’s work was performed at St Mary’s Church for the Henley Choral Society’s 50th anniversary concert.

14-time Grammy Award Nominee, Terry Barber, sang all ranges covering “songs written for voices from baritone and tenor all the way to soprano” when he performed at a one stellar evening Andrew Lloyd Webber concert.

Sheila Maurice-Grey plays the horns in Jessie Ware’s new single, ‘That! Feels Good!’ which came out on 28 April. Watch the music video here.

 

Coming Up:

Limón Dance Company

Artistic director of Limón Dance Company, Dante Puleio announced that the company will be featuring three programmes at three new venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn this Spring Season. Book your tickets here.

 

SAVING FACE by Kakilang

Yukiko Masui is one of the dancers that will be performing in a new comedy dance theatre, SAVING FACE by Kakilang. Below are the dates of the performances, book your tickets here:

Curve, Leicester – 26 & 27 May

The Place – 23 & 24 June

 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Musical

Molly Osborne will be playing the leading role of Elowen Keene in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Musical in London between 22 May and 1 July. Get your tickets here.

 

The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

Oscar Jerome will be performing as part of the free shows at The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal this summer. Have a look at the festival’s lineup here.

Summer season 2023 infographic

Summer Season Announcement

Our upcoming summer season features a diverse and exciting range of performances showcasing the creativity of our students across music, dance and musical theatre. 

Dance  

In Dance, the season kicks off on Thur 4 & Fri 5 May with a programme of new choreography from our second year undergraduate contemporary dance students, who then go on to perform in Dance Legends: Repertory Project, on Weds 28 & Thurs 29 June, recreating works by significant choreographers in contemporary dance. This year the project features Sir Richard Alston’s Roughcut, Protima Chatterjee’s Unfettered Mind (a reimagining of Uday Shankar’s Man and Machine), Daniel Squire’s restaging of Rune by Merce Cunningham and Sasha Waltz’ In C.  

Our final year dance students take to the stage with a site-specific showcase of new work In Situ on Sat 17 June, and then perform newly Commissioned Works by choreographers including Jean Abreau, Alice Sara & Clare Baker and Rahel Vonmoos on Thur 6 and Fri 7 July. 

We also welcome Emergence: The postgraduate dance company of Joss Arnott Dance and the University of Salford to Laban Theatre on Tues 13 June with a Triple Bill of new works by this young dance company.

The Faculty of Dance Graduate Showcase starts on 10 July and runs across three weeks, showcasing the creativity of our postgraduate students as they share the culmination of their Masters degrees. Expect a wide range of intelligent, experimental and thought-provoking pieces in a range of spaces, that incorporate live performance, film and video, installation, and documentary processes. 

Musical Theatre & Vocal Productions  

Summer at Trinity Laban is a feast for Musical Theatre fans. Our final year BA (Hons) Musical Theatre students perform two shows at The Albany, Deptford: Amour (Fri 19 & Sat 20 May) and Our House (Fri 26 & Sat 27 May).  

At Blackheath Halls, the second year BA students present the musical romantic comedy Loserville from Tues 20 – Sat 24 June. 

Two productions showcase the skills of our Vocal Studies department. Try Me, Good King sets the song cycle by Libby Larsen at the centre of a newly devised, staged production by Head of Vocal Studies Jennifer Hamilton. The production is based on the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII who confront him in Purgatory. Presented at The Queen’s House, Royal Museums Greenwich, the performance draws on our location at King Charles Court, site of Henry VIII’s palace and a major centre of Tudor music and life.  

Frankenstein, Or The Modern Prometheus is the UK premiere of an opera in three acts by Libby Larsen. Intellectual ambition, technological arrogance and the deep human need for companionship combine in this opera adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel. Trinity Laban students bring Victor Frankenstein and his Creation to life at Blackheath Halls Thu 6 – Sat 8 July. 

Festivals  

Changemaker Festival at Blackheath Halls (Tues 6 – Fri 9 June) celebrates the diverse and rich work of our BA (Hons) Music Performance and Industry students. Watch this space for more details and running orders as plans develop.   

Curated by Douglas Finch, the New Lights Contemporary Festival 2023 returns to our King Charles Court campus for a riot of experimental music making (Mon 19 – Weds 21 Jun). The festival has earned a reputation for showcasing a diverse range of composed and improvised contemporary music for keyboard, electronic and multi-media performance. Two highlights of this year’s festival will be a talk by film and stage director Tony Palmer and an evening celebrating the music and culture of Iran, curated by alumni Roxanna Albayati and Mahsa Salali. 

Nic Pendlebury and Trinity Laban musicians go Beyond Our World at the Festival of Chichester on Sat 10 June and at First Light, Lowestoft on Sat 17 & Sun 18 June. The programme features George Morton’s stunning chamber arrangement of Holst’s iconic work The Planets and also includes Nic Pendlebury’s own transcription of Terry Riley’s Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector, arranged for solo electric viola and sonic delay. Eliana Echeverry’s new work The Lost Planet for electric viola and ensemble completes the astrological journey, with the work imagining the sounds and atmosphere of our once ninth planet, Pluto.    

Concerts and competitions  

On Mon 26 June Trinity Laban Jazz Orchestra perform at Blackheath Halls. Continuing our Black Culture 365 programme, composer and recitalist Althea Talbot-Howard and Trinity Laban saxophones perform original music, paired with Althea’s arrangements of scores by Coleridge-Taylor and Ignatius Sancho at St Alfege on Thu 29 Jun.  

Join Trinity Laban Symphony Orchestra  at Cadogan Hall on Thur 29 June, as they play under the direction of award-winning conductor Jessica Cottis.The evening will feature a newly commissioned work by a Trinity Laban student, alongside Debussy’s Printemps, Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite and Ayanna Witter-Johnson’s Blush 

For South East London schools, Trinity Laban Symphony Orchestra perform Fairy Tales and a Firebird, a school-friendly concert of the Cadogan Hall billing at Catford Broadway on Fri 30 June.  

To mark the end of another successful academic year, our junior departments will mount shows and presentations in July. Junior Trinity takes to the stage at Cadogan Hall for a concert and prizegiving ceremony on Sat 8 Jul, while Laban Theatre hosts the Centre for Advanced Training End of Year Show (Sat 8 & Sun 9 Jul) and the annual summer show for participants from our Children’s Creative Dance Classes (Sat 1 Jul). 

See all our summer events in our what’s on listings