Autumn at The Place

Published: 7 October 2012
Reporter: Vera Liber

Richard Alston Dance Company

This autumn sees 15 dance performances, seminars, youth dance works and multi-media dance projects at The Place, the centre for contemporary dance, opening with Richard Alston Dance Company’s At Home season (Wed 3 to Sat 6 October).

Contemporary hip hop dance theatre company Avant Garde Dance present The Black Album (Fri 12 & Sat 13 October), a triple bill of music-inspired works packaged as a concept album directed by choreographer and Work Place artist Tony Adigun. The Black Album delves into the dancers’ responses to different styles of music.

Israeli choreographer Itamar Serussi premières his first full-length work Mono in the UK (Wed 17 October), before Dance United presents A Holding Space (Sat 20 and Mon 22 October), a mixed bill bringing together artists from across the UK and Ethiopia: Kwesi Johnson, Carly Annable-Coop, Helen Linsell, and new associate artist Dam Van Huynh.

Theatre director Judith Roberts and performer Eddie Ladd have joined forces to create a provocative piece of dance theatre: Gaza / Blaenannerch (Wed 24 October). Using the Welsh nation’s struggle to assert its national identity as a framework, Gaza / Blaenannerch considers the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, using as a source of inspiration the first-hand experience of two people, curiously connected to Wales, who have witnessed life at the front line.

Lost Dog presents a double bill (Fri 26 & Sat 27 October), including The Place Prize 2011 winning duet It Needs Horses, in which a couple of down-at-heel circus performers try everything to win the favours of the crowds. The piece is followed by a new sequel, Home for Broken Turns, in which choreographer Ben Duke unveils mysteries and sheds light on the characters and their relationship, following them as they leave the circus ring for the last time.

The Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD) presents Re:Generation (Thu 1 & Fri 2 November), the UK’s largest gathering of dance artists, researchers, choreographers, teachers and students interested in taking dance from Africa, and its diaspora, to future generations. Featured international guests include Germaine Acogny, the ‘mother’ of contemporary African dance, Kariamu Welsh-Asante, Professor of Dance at Temple University, Philadelphia, and Chris Walker, dancer and choreographer with the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica.

Vincent Dance Theatre’s ensemble of 11 men, women and children present Motherland (Thu 8 to Sat 10 November), a show reflecting on the stereotypical gender division in archetypical roles, blending dance, text and live music, before Rosemary Butcher (Thu 15–Sat 17 November) takes the stage with After Kaprow, a double bill comprising two individual, but related works: The Silent Room and Book of Journey, shifting between past, present and future, to be followed by a post performance discussion.

20 to 27 November The Place presents a new programme of international dance, Currency, designed as a showcase of works from outside the UK. Each night features a double bill of international dance premières, dinner and a pre-show discussion between international and Work Place artists.

Participating artists include Jan Martens (Belgium) and Jefta van Dinther (The Netherlands / Sweden) Tues 20 November; Mor Shani (The Netherlands) and Alessandro Sciarroni (Italy) Fri 23 November; and Tabea Martin (Switzerland) and Alma Soderberg (Sweden) Tues 27 November.

Next on stage (Sat 1 December) is Fresh, the annual night of dance with and for young people, a popular event featuring Shift, London Youth Circus, and A&R Dance Company, works by James Cousins, Simone Riccio (No Fit State Circus) and Boy Blue.

The Autumn season rounds off with Collaborations (Fri 7 & Sat 8 December—Music; Thu 13 & Fri 14 December—Design), a series of performances showcasing projects by third year London Contemporary Dance School’s choreography students in collaboration with design and music students from Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Wimbledon School of Art and Design. Mixing ideas and media, these projects challenge the roles of the dancers, musicians and designers in new and creative outfits.

Tickets and information: 020 7121 1100 / www.theplace.org.uk / @theplacelondonRichard

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