Colab 2019
Music & Dance
Musicians and dancers come together to celebrate the 12. Launching of the Painted Hall, culminating with a performance at its official relaunch. Students create interdisciplinary work informed by the everyday sounds and electromagnetic frequencies surrounding us through 59. Listen: Expanding the Sound Walk, and 37. Sensory Field. We welcome students from National Taiwan University of Arts to collaborate with participants in 58. Taiwan Journeys; ballet enthusiasts unite in 53. Water Study, creating a work inspired by the contrasting states of water intermingled with an exploration of the works of French impressionist composer Maurice Ravel. Recreate a fiercely energetic hip-hop music/dance battle in 23. Classical Clash; or for something a little more zen, students will reinvigorate their minds, bodies and artistic practice with 63. Musical ZhiNeng Qigong, creating a piece inspired by the ancient Chinese holistic medical practice.
Literature & Art
This year we present a number of projects exploring disciplines beyond music and dance, giving students the chance to extend their creative practice beyond day-to-day experience. Witness a creative reinterpretation of the wonderful world of M. Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita in 45. XX Century Mystery & Mayhem; an exploration of the life of Keats in 71. Written in Water, mentored by acclaimed poet, Andrew Mitchell; and the transformation of Benoît Gréan’s poetry into music and dance through 36. Poetry Harp Voice Dance. Students recreate an imaginary world inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien in 13. Fantasy in Music.
Musical/Physical Theatre
Students will portray a comical representation of love and relationships through 115. The U-Bend of Love, and create a new entertaining piece from scratch with 114. Two-week Original Cabaret. The role of female characters in musicals will be explored and re-presented through 116. The Truth of a Leading Lady and students will explore Physical Theatre skills to incorporate into their artistic practice through 82. Let’s Devise a Play. Collaborative pianist Marc Verter will work with students to reimagine the 18th-century musical soiree in 105. Welcome to the Salon, and singers from all departments will cross over to the ‘other’ side and become an instrument with 76. The Bare Voice Orchestra, presenting acapella vocal arrangements of orchestral repertoire in an operatic manner.
Jazz/ International
We welcome a host of exciting jazz/world mentors from across the globe to join us for CoLab 2019, including Tin Men & the Telephone, who will be in residency for week one of the CoLab period, working with a student group in 112. Tin Men. We are delighted to welcome back Dave Morecroft, founder of Match&Fuse Festival, who will oversee this year’s 107. Brexchange Ensemble project, welcoming visiting students from our partner European institutions to collaborate with Trinity Laban students; Award-winning vocalist Cleveland Watkiss will work with students to create innovative new work in 111. Jazz Opera Collective, while other project groups delve into the life and music of specific jazz artists through 108. Lines for Lennie, 78. Headhunters and 77. Pharaoh’s Impulse. Trinity Laban alumni, founders of the Kansas Smitty’s house band, support students to 95. Build your own sound, and hard-core practice junkies will pair up with a buddy and venture into 89. The Woodshed for a week of intensive practice.
Journeys
Along this year’s theme of journeys, a group of students take a physical journey along the Thames Estuary with Head of Composition, Dominic Murcott, in 102. Follow the Water Home; another group travels to the lands that inspired Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides in 87. The Voyage of the Scottish Trinity. We welcome students from National Taiwan University of the Arts to collaborate with participants in 58. Taiwan Journeys.
World/Folk
Cuban music/dance aficionados will 57. Rumba till Tomorrow with Cuban guitarist Ahmed Dickinson, whilst a group will spend their CoLab week immersed in folk music from across Europe in 113. FolkLab. Students broaden their range of classical/jazz repertoire and language skills in 73. French Jazz and Chanson, and allow themselves to be swept away in the melodies and grooves of 84. Music of South Africa.
Venus Blazing
In celebration of Trinity Laban’s 2018/19 Venus Blazing festival, students take part in projects exploring the work of female composers. These include an exploration of the hopes and fears of a young artist at the dawn of her career in 16. Cecile before Chaminade for piano trio and dance, with another group bringing to light the neglected musical gems of Janet Graham in 99. North East Hauntings.
CoLab in the community
Students share their creativity with members of the public and young people through this year’s range of outreach projects: 60. Portraits of Gender, an intergenerational project led by our L&P Department, will take place at the exquisite Queen’s House; this years 86. CoLab Music in Healthcare will be the third run of our hospital project in partnership with Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust and Pulse Arts CIC. In 81. A la Francaise, senior students lead a side-by-side project with advanced string and vocal students from Junior Trinity.
Chamber Twist
Our mini-chamber music festival returns with a bang this year! Experience chamber repertoire with fresh eyes through projects such as 104. The Polish Connection, 109. British String Quartet’s, 79. New Duos, 97. The Fantastical Journey of the Schumanns, 75. Travels and Music and 100. Schubert’s Gothic Journeys. Chamber repertoire will be reinterpreted through a cross-disciplinary lens with 11. Rediscovered Poulenc and 20. Dvořák’s American Journey. Music students will work with violin professor John Crawford in 108. Finding Flow, to gain a deeper understanding of the learning process and strategies to maximise their practice time.
Breaking Barriers
Students share their experiences or gain a deeper understanding, of learning difficulties/disabilities as an artist in a safe, constructive environment. 54. Beat Space Beat and 32. The Journey of the Eyes are inspired by personal experiences of dyslexia, whilst 70. Access-ability seeks to empower those with learning difficulties and disabilities within the context of an immersive musical theatre project.