Chennai
Scottish Dance Theatre, Scotland’s national contemporary dance company will tour India from September 24, 2014 – October 21, 2014 following sell out performances from a hugely successful 2012 tour. The Company will undertake a programme of performances, along with educational, skill-sharing and participation activities in Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Kolkata as part of British Council’s Impulse Season 2 in association with Indian presenting partner The Hindu.
Scottish Dance Theatre is part of Dundee Rep Theatre which collaborates with both international and UK-based choreographers of outstanding calibre to produce high quality dance that is thought provoking and holds resonance in people’s lives. Scottish Dance Theatre contribute to a wealth of work made in Scotland and is highly regarded as an arts ambassador on a local, national and international level.
“Scottish Dance Theatre’s strategic mission is to inspire Scotland and the world through the creation and presentation of world-class dance performance, and to pioneer a unique education model that harnesses the company as a research engine for dance, embracing our home in Dundee and our relationship with worldwide audiences.”
“We were overwhelmed with the responses of the Indian audiences when we first toured the country in 2012. We are thrilled to be back in India again, with great energy and excitement to promote artistic dialogue and cultural exchange between Scotland and India through our performances,” said Fleur Darkin, Artistic Director, Scottish Dance Theatre.
Scottish Dance Theatre, with a highly acclaimed repertoire is constantly evolving, pushing boundaries and challenging expectations. Scottish Dance Theatre works as an intense, expressive community, under the brilliant and inspirational artistic direction of Fleur Darkin to produce spectacular and daring work that is propelled by the rhythm of the dancing body. Discipline and commitment to passion reflect in the flawless, visually stunning and impeccable performances by the artists.
Rob Lynes, Director, British Council India says : “British Council is delighted to once again partner with Scottish Dance Theatre after their debut in India two years ago in our first Impulse contemporary dance season. This October, in Impulse Season 2, we look forward to witnessing their extraordinary and captivating work in the triple bill Forces of Nature, as are performing arts lovers across Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Kolkata. It is a privilege for us to collaborate with Scottish dance Theatre to take their work to new audiences, and to help build strong relationships with the contemporary dance fraternity across India through wraparound workshops and collaboratory programmes. We wish them every success”.
Scottish Dance Theatre’s performances in all four cities will feature work from three dynamic and talented choreographers from around the world in a compelling triple bill entitled Forces of Nature. Performances include In This Storm by Henri Oguike, Revelator by Ruth Janssen and Winter, Again by Jo Strømgren - all highlighting a range of different approaches to dance, offering audiences total immersion in the experience of live dance and an entertaining programme of the highest quality.
Scottish Dance Theatre's work will also include extensive workshop residency programmes to reach school audiences, non dance teachers, underprivileged children, children with additional support needs as well as working with new and established dance organisations.
The diverse programme of work highlights the versatility of dancers who are from Poland, Spain, Belgium, France, Italy, UK and are applauded for their phenomenal artistry, style and technical prowess. Scottish Dance Theatre dancers are captivating and highly personable individuals.
Scottish Dance Theatre is a Creative Scotland Foundation organisation and is funded by them to create and present high quality dance in Scotland, the UK and internationally. In addition to this regular support, they have supported this tour with an award from their International Fund.
Performances - Date, Time and Venue details:
- Chennai: October 1, 2014, 7pm at Sir Mutha Venkata Subba Rao and Lady Andal Concert Hall, Shenstone Park, # 13/1, 7, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Bangalore: October 5, 2014, 7pm at Chowdiah Memorial Hall,Gayathri Devi Park Extension, Near-Gayathri Devi Park, Vyalikaval, Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Delhi: October 8, 2014, 7pm at Siri Fort Auditorium, Asian Village Games Complex, Gautam Nagar, New Delhi
- Kolkata: October 11, 2014, 7pm at Kala Mandir, 48 Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road, Shakespeare Sarani, Kolkata, West Bengal
Details of the Performances:
Winter, Again
Choreographed by Jo Strømgren
Duration: 31 minutes
Radical Norwegian choreographer Jo Strømgren mixes beautifully poised dance with all means necessary to tell the story of a community struggling to hide their dark misdemeanours under winter’s snowy blanket. Punctuated with the devastatingly fragile songs of Schubert’s Eine Winterreise, Scottish Dance Theatre takes us on a journey through the cycle of the coldest, darkest season. A renowned choreographer, director and playwright, Jo’s work is sculpted by an attitude to dance that is wild and rigorous.
“Dramatic, grotesque, bleakly comic and delivered with theatrical and technical prowess.” (The Herald Scotland). ★★★★
Excerpt from Winter, Again
Watch here:
Revelator
Choreographed by Ruth Janssen
Duration: 9 minutes
Janssen’s powerfully intimate duet reveals the frailties and the absurdities of humans as they pursue enduring relationships through the seasons of life. Drawing on her extensive career as a dancer, Janssen presents delicate moments and subtle gestures that build to a graceful and effective emotional whole.
“Ruth Janssen’s dancing has the depth of poetry.” (The Stage)
Excerpt from Revelator
Watch here
In This Storm
Choreographed by Henri Oguike
Duration: 30 minutes
Edinburgh International Festival 2013 commissioned Henri Oguike to make the original, shorter version of this piece, which received great critical acclaim and was described by The Guardian as
“a turbulent clamour of bells, voices and drums, which Oguike translates into layers of urgently questioning gestures and roiling, combative moves.”
Oguike is ‘one of the brightest hopes of British Contemporary dance’ (The Daily Telegraph) Expect ‘’thrilling musicality’ (The Herald) and ‘fierce precision’(The Observer)
Exploring the meeting point between cultures, Henri Oguike creates a brand new work for Scottish Dance Theatre’s powerful dancers. In This Storm sees Oguike draw from his intense musicality to create a work of exquisite mystery that pushes the dancers to achieve a balance between speed, tenderness and an earthiness, almost tribal in nature.
Running order of the performances:-
Winter, Again commences at 7 pm followed by an interval and then Revelator, with In This Storm, after a brief pause.
For more details click on this link
Scottish Dance Theatre Workshop Residency Programmes 2014
Scottish Dance Theatre’s workshop residency programmes aim to increase appreciation of contemporary dance theatre and build collaborative links with Indian artists and arts organisations.
The company has collaborated with the British Council and other partners, Ranan, Kolkata Sanved, Adishakti and Attakkalari to deliver a significant bespoke programme of education and participation for a strong exchange of artistic expertise. These important partnerships with key organisations in India will enable the dancers to become fully immersed in artistic and cultural exchange. The opportunities to work alongside fellow artists during the residencies will undoubtedly give rich, memorable and resonant experiences. The workshop residency programmes will be held from September 26 – September 28 in Chennai, October 14 - October 20, 2014 in Kolkata and Pondicherry. Attakkalari Master Class will be held on September 27 and September 28, 2014 in Bengaluru.
Attakkalari Master Class
Under the direction of Fleur Darkin, Jori Kerremans and Matthew Robinson, Scottish Dance Theatre will conduct intensive improvisation workshops on September 27 and September 28, 2014 in Attakkalari, Bengaluru. Through improvisation, the dancers will explore movement vocabulary, performance communication and methods to create dance material and build up trust between performers. Participants will explore their own physical voices in an atmosphere of high quality play.
Ranan
Vikram Iyengar from Ranan is keen to build on the education participation work which Scottish Dance Theatre delivered in 2012 with a project that is designed to meet local and specific needs. The Sundarbans region, while quite close to Kolkata, is made remote by its location in a mangrove ecosystem dictated by daily tidal flows. Ranan has extensive knowledge of social issues there and has arranged for the dancers to work with pupils from Bijoynaga Adarsha Bidya Mandir school on Bali Island, a school and village classified as extremely deprived, about 4 hours from Calcutta (road and boat). Dance workshops will also take place there with an active local women’s group.
Kolkata Sanved
Kolkata Sanved improves the life of vulnerable people, especially children and young people who are the victims of trafficking, using the arts as the common language to engage with its target audience. Scottish Dance Theatre and Kolkata Sanved will share experiences and exchange skills in dance teaching practice from 14th to 20th October. Scottish Dance Theatre dancers will also accompany Kolkata Sanved’s therapy practitioners to shelter homes to participate in Dance Movement Therapy sessions. This exchange will conclude with a short presentation about the experiences of the company.
Adishakti
Scottish Dance Theatre’s India Tour 2014 will end with a week-long interdisciplinary Blinding Light Collaboratory for international artists bringing together predominantly Scottish and Indian artists from dance, visual arts, theatre and music. The Collaboratory enables the company and invited Indian and additional Scottish artists to come together to carry out artistic research, thereby beginning to develop a strong, shared artistic vision and allow for meaningful artistic exchange over a significant period of time.
Hosted by Adishakti in Pondicherry (Tamil Nadu), the ambition is that this will be the first stage in creating an international co-production which will tour India and Scotland in 2016/2017. Under the artistic direction of internationally recognised Veenapani Chawla, Adishakti is a locus for hybrid performing arts, involving disciplines such as drama, music, classical Indian dance, contemporary dance, and martial arts. The company’s facilities just outside Pondicherry provide an ideal residential environment in which to carry out the research and development phase of this project.