Russell Maliphant Dance Company has announced a tour of new work Vortex, playing at Sadler’s Wells 3–5 May and then touring through July 2023. A BBC TV production to capture the show at Sadler's Wells is in development.
Inspired and influenced by the works and processes of Jackson Pollock and Abstract Expressionism, Maliphant paints his own interpretation with movement, light, and shadow. Collaborators include Ryan Stafford (lighting design), Katya Richardson (composer) and Stevie Stewart (costume design).
Maliphant said, “the work of Jackson Pollock had made a lasting impression on me since the first time I encountered it many years ago. I saw certain similarities in the approach to painting and energy that might sometimes be experienced in dance and movement tasks for improvisation and instantaneous composition in performance.
“As a choreographer, I have generally created abstract, non-narrative work since I started RMDC, but I have made a couple of pieces that used another artist work and processes as inspiration—namely Afterlight (2009) which used the great Russian dancer Nijinsky as inspiration and The Rodin Project (2012) which used the sculptures and watercolours of the genius French sculptor Auguste Rodin.”
With the Victoria Wood Foundation and The Foyle Foundation, RMDC has established the Dance Encounter Fund, offering 1,000 free tickets to young people aged 14–25, and has also partnered with Tickets For Good to provide free tickets to NHS workers and local charities.