News

Our monthly roundup of some of the successes for Trinity Laban alumni.

This month saw several new and revisited works presented by dance alumni.

Alumnus Sylvia Ferreira’s dance company Hawiyya presented Safar during Refugee Week at the Victoria and Albert Museum and at Shakespeare’s Globe. The project brings refugee women and those who support them together creating a safe and secure space, offering an opportunity to learn dances, feel empowered, socialise and have fun. The group of women, accompanied by musicians from Music with Refugees on stage, performed dances that are a celebration of resilience and resistance, exploring movement as a tool of expression for both individual and cultural identity, while reflecting on the concepts of journey and womanhood.

Following the premier at TROIS C-L Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourg in April, dance alumni Tania Soubry and Catherine Elsen presented Soul-scapes at Tripspace in June.

At the end of June, dance alumnus Rosemary Lee presented new commission Passage for Par on Par Beach as part of Groundwork, a festival of international contemporary art in Cornwall. Why not have a look at photos in Dawn French’s tweet about the ‘mesmerising’ event.

Helga Deasy presented her new choreographic work Helica at the 40th anniversary of performing arts event ECOPOETIC in New York earlier this month. Helga is a Uillinn Dancer in Residence.

Scapino Ballet Rotterdam premiered Maciej Kuźmiński’s new work about identity in a world that is becoming ever smaller and never stops as part of TWOOLS, an annual platform for six emerging choreographers.

Matthias Sperling presented Now That We Know as part of the inaugural Fest en Fest in Deptford. The dance festival partners with Trinity Laban, The Albany and Goldsmiths University. Premiered at Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis Studio in September 2017 the work returns to Sadler’s Wells this November.

Gemma Coldicott’s company SLiDE Dance performed Insert Title Here at Crystal Palace Festival. The integrational work was in partnership with the London Mozart Players and featured dancer and alumnus Takeshi Matsumoto.

Choreographer and dance alumnus Jean Abreu spoke to The Stage about how his new dance piece, Solo for Two, explores the concept for national identity. The work is performed with dancer Rita Carpinteiro and a small robot named Macheba.

In further dance news, Sir Matthew Bourne received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Oxford for his outstanding contribution to the creative arts, while Veronica Jobbins, Head of Dance Learning and Participation and alumnus, was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Following an apprenticeship with National Dance Company Wales (NDCWales), recent graduate Marine Tournet will join the company to perform at international festival DanceFirst in July.

Dance Umbrella celebrated their 40th year by announcing ‘Four by Four’. The new initiative sees Artistic Directors Val Bourne CBE, Betsy Gregory and alumnus Emma Gladstone invite an established artist from their respective times at the organisation’s helm to nominate a ‘choreographer of the future’.

In music news this month, June saw a new round of CD releases by alumni including pianist Harry Bolt and his quartet’s debut CD Piece by Piece, launched at 606 Club on 26 June.

Composition alumnus John Powell has released his debut classical album Hubris. The Solo: A Star Wars Story and How to Train Your Dragon film composer was interviewed by Billboard about the album’s conception and production.

Martin Speake released new album Intention that received a great review from London Jazz.

It was wonderful to see two new entries in the Official Top 20 Classical Chart this month from TL alumni: Maria Marchant’s Bantock Rediscovered came in at 15 while tenor Sam Boden’s latest CD Charpentier: Leçons de ténèbres came in at number 8.

In June we welcomed alumnus Maria Marchant back to King Charles Court to perform excerpts from her new ground-breaking SOMM CD that features first recordings of piano music by Sir Granville Bantock in his 150th anniversary year.

Pixie & the Gypsies – a band featuring alumni Taylor Notcutt, Connie Chatwin and Twm Dylan – launched their debut album Honey Trap at the Spice of Life Jazz Club in Soho. Officially released on 10^th August, the album is available to pre-order now.

There was also two BBC Radio 3 broadcasts this month featuring alumni. Mezzo soprano Katarina Karnéus was interviewed live on BBC Radio 3 In Tune about performing with the Ulster Orchestra and new YCAT artist Tabea Debus in Belfast, while cellist Laura Moody ventured into the woods at dead of night to duet with an avian accomplice in a magical slow radio experience for Radio 3 entitled Nightingales. She explains, ‘the music of the nightingales is like electronica. It’s loud, not a delicate twittering. It’s really robust music.’

June also saw a new collaboration between music and dance alumni as composer-performer collective Bastard Assignments (Timothy Cape, Edward Henderson, Caitlin Rowley and Josh Spear) joined choreographer-performer duo Thick and Tight (Eleanor Perry and Daniel Hay-Gordon) to perform at Block 336.

Pianist Leon Michener performed an improvised evening with Noh musicians Yukihiro Isso (flute) and Mitsuhiro Kakihar (drums) at Kings Place on 29 June. Known as the architect of the Klavikon system (a combination of amplification, feedback and analogue processing), Michener sculpts feedback from amplified soundboard.

Concert pianist and alumnus Christopher Atkinson performed Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto this month with the Boston Sinfonia.

Pianist Matthieu Esnult performed works by Johannes Brahms, Camille Saint- Saëns and Jean Hubay at Carnegie Hall with violinist KeHan Zhang.

Vocal alumnus John Savournin performed as a mobster alongside Joseph Shovelton in Opera North’s Kiss Me Kate at The London Coliseum. The Stage commented, “their screwball double act is perfect”.

Congratulations to alumni duo Emily Gray (mezzo-soprano) and Nicole Johnson (pianist) who won Second Prize and Accompanist Prize respectively at the Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition 2018.

In Musical Theatre news, alumnus Morgan Wilcox began a run as Wendy in Immersion Theatre Company’s summer 2018 tour of Peter Pan. The UK tour continues until 2nd September.

Becky Brass is currently playing drums in the band for musical Heathers at The Other Palace, whilst alumnus Catriona Cooper played the viola for the Cockpit’s re-imagined production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods. The show received a brilliant review in The Stage.

 

Don’t miss

• Catch Georgi Mottram performing as part of pop-opera group Ida at The Other Palace on 11 July. More info & book
• Per Bach Nissen making his Bregenzer Festspiele debut with The Vienna Symphonics in Bertholdt Goldschmidt’s opera Beatrice Cenci 18 July. More info
• 2CELLOS’s ‘crazy rock show’ at Audley End House and Gardens on 25 July. More info
• Zoë Robertson and Jesse Life launching their novel Insatiable Machine at The Kino, Vancouver on 8th July. More info