Only twelve months after last autumn’s spectacular sell-out season, DanceEast, under the artistic directorship of Brendan Keaney, continues to make a major contribution to the thriving cultural scene in Ipswich, presenting three new co-commissioned world premieres.
From September some of the world’s leading dance artists will visit, create and perform in the purpose-built performance space, Jerwood DanceHouse on Ipswich Waterfront.
Addressing the ongoing debate regarding female choreographers, DanceEast is hosting the first performance of THE BENCH project with RUN; a beacon initiative by 2Faced Dance Company to develop 18 of the UK’s most promising female choreographers. Featuring works by Tamsin Fitzgerald, Lenka Vagnerova and Rebecca Evans, RUN is a gritty and explosive brand new triple bill, exploring the darker side of humanity, through movement, theatre and design. Performances on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th October.
Award-winning Director and Choreographer, Arthur Pita, in collaboration with HeadSpaceDance, presents the world premiere on Friday 28th October of Stepmother/Stepfather, a wickedly gruesome and darkly surreal double bill for the Halloween season. Arthur Pita reimagines two earlier works from his extensive repertoire; Stepmother is based on Snow White in Black, originally commissioned by Phoenix Dance, which won Pita the Critic’s Circle National Dance Award 2006 for Modern Repertoire; and his 2007 piece The Stepfather, originally commissioned by CandoCo, is reworked, inspired by the folk punk ‘Country Death Song’ from cult American band Violent Femmes.
The third and final premiere of the season is by internationally renowned dance artist Didy Veldman, a recipient of DanceEast’s Choreographic Development Fund, who launches her own company Umanoove with The Happiness Project. A choreographic investigation of western society’s endless search for fulfilment, this physical and theatrical full length work has been made in collaboration with Alexander Balanescu who will be performing live at the Jerwood DanceHouse on Friday 4th November.
Other highlights include an audio described double bill performance on 30th September by Candoco Dance Company, celebrating their 25th anniversary year. Featuring bold and exciting full company works: Trisha Brown’s contemporary dance classic Set and Reset is restaged and performed to multimedia artist Laurie Anderson’s contagious score; and Thomas Hauert’s Notturnino takes inspiration from Tosca’s Kiss, a documentary about retired opera singers.
James Wilton Dance performs Leviathan, a reimagining of Herman Melville’s seminal novel Moby Dick, on Friday 14th October. Featuring a cast of seven, Wilton’s trademark blend of athletic dance, martial arts, capoeira and partner-work is accompanied by a powerful electro-rock soundtrack by Lunatic Soul.
On Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd October a collaborative weekend with Aldeburgh Music celebrates the work of Benjamin Britten with performances by Richard Alston Dance Company at Snape Maltings Concert Hall. The programme includes the world premiere of Alston’s choreography to Britten’s string orchestra arrangement of his beloved Henry Purcell’s Chacony. Britten Sinfonia with director Pekka Kuusisto, tenor Mark Padmore and mezzo soprano Allison Cook perform alongside the dancers.
Also on Saturday 22nd October, Joseph Toonga, another recipient of DanceEast’s Choreographic Development Fund, presents a ground-breaking afternoon of dance and live music in the spectacular Orford Church. To Be Felt features Toonga’s award-winning contemporary and Hip Hop fusion style choreography performed alongside charismatic rising star cellist Leonard Elschenbroich.
As part of this year’s SPILL Festival of Performance, DanceEast presents Lone Twin’s Beastie, from Thursday 27th to Saturday 29th October, a playful, active and engaging, participatory performance for children aged 6-10 years. The children share a jaw-dropping secret and take charge as they create their own stories and explore their surroundings with a special friend.
Award-winning choreographer Yael Flexer and digital artist Nic Sandiland are right at the forefront of dance and digital work, creating upfront and witty movement-driven works for the stage, galleries and public spaces. On Friday 25th November they present Disappearing Acts, an immersive live work accompanied by Weighting, a new digital installation which will be in situ at the Jerwood DanceHouse the week leading up to the performance.
To round up the season and for DanceEast’s Christmas show, Jasmin Vardimon Company returns with a new adaptation of the classic tale Pinocchio. Showcasing Vardimon’s uniquely theatrical choreographic and directorial style, Pinocchio combines physical theatre, quirky characterisation, innovative technologies, humour, drama, text and dance to examine the idea of what it means to be human. Performances Wednesday 14th to Sunday 18th December.
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General booking opens on Friday 8th July. For more information or to book call the Box Office on 01473 295230 or visit danceeast.co.uk.
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