Newcastle-based Moving Art Management, a dance producing company providing bespoke services for dance artists and companies, is bringing an international dance and photography project, Moving Cities, to the North East.
Photographer Jevan Chowdhury created the Moving Cities project in 2014 to observe a day in the life of 15 international cities through dance. The project has attracted international choreographers and dancers interested in new audience development and non-traditional dance spaces. One of its core aims is to engender opportunities for the dance community to showcase their work outside of traditional formats.
Shooting in the middle of winter over three days, Chowdhury worked with North East professional dancers from different dance genres and with an age range spanning over five decades to capture photographs in 25 locations.
The Dance Artists involved are Alex Rowland, Rosie Macari, Tim Rubidge, Nicole Watson, Rob Anderson, Caroline Reece, Patrick Ngabonziza, Katherine Whale, Dora Frankel, John Kendall, Alicia Meehan, Lizzie J Klotz, Angela Reay and the locations included the High Level Bridge, the Castle Keep, Tynemouth Metro Station, North Shields Fish Quay, Tynemouth beach, the Angel of the North, Sunderland city centre and Sunderland railway station.
The series of images will be exhibited at Dance City from April to June (opening on 6 April), at Alnwick Playhouse (July and August) and in Sunderland Bridges Shopping Centre (October). A programme of themed dance workshops will also be offered to the public and local groups near each venue.
After the exhibition's regional tour, the photographs will become a permanent feature at Dance City.
Chowdhury has been commissioned to produce artistic responses to culture, people and place for over 15 years. Recent clients include Dance UK, TfL, British Council and East London Dance. He started Moving Cities to develop his interest in dance choreography language and its ability to communicate with people in a magical way.
He has produced Moving Cities films in London, Paris, Brussels, Yerevan and Prague with 773 dancers, five National Ballets, screenings at 23 international film festivals, winning seven awards and engaging 2 million people via social media.