Discover Top Posts Tagged with #dance base

WhirlyGig is back!!!

I'm delighted that WhirlyGig is happening in Edinburgh this August.

Part of the Made In Scotland showcase, we are performing at Dance Base from the 11th to 21st August. More details soon!

#whirlygig #children's theatre #catherine wheels #made in scotland #dance base

Launch footage and events in Edinburgh this week!

Just a quick post to make you aware of some exciting public events happening in Edinburgh this week!

(photo by Darragh Kane)

On Thursday afternoon I’ll be at St. Leonard’s Land Dance Studio for the second open development sharing of “The Art of Treepling,” a new solo step dance work-in-progress. Taking its name from the final chapter of Joan & Tom Flett’s 1964 text Traditional Dancing in Scotland, the piece engages with the Flett’s research to re-imagine treepling, “the art of beating out the rhythm of the music with the feet,” as a creative locus for the interpretation of traditional music and dance, in Scotland and beyond. (1) The showing is free and open to the public.

“The Art of Treepling” development showing 2

Thursday, April 4, 4-4:30 pm, FREE!

Dance Studio, St. Leonard’s Land, Holyrood Road, University of Edinburgh

On Saturday I’ll be giving a very special workshop for traditional musicians at the Scottish Storytelling Centre called Playing With Dance. Designed for intermediate to advanced musicians, Playing with Dance explores the relationships between moving and sounding bodies in the context of traditional music and dance. After trying out a little foot music, participants will have the opportunity to play with a dancer one-on-one, fostering conversations around collaboration, listening, and creative connection. Participants should be able to play a tune at moderate speed. The class will allow musicians to practice collaborating in a safe, non-competitive environment. Participants should also come ready to move wear smooth-soled supportive shoes with a low heel.

Playing with Dance: A Workshop for Traditional Musicians

Saturday, April 6, 10-1 pm, £15, £12 for Forum Members

Scottish Storytelling Centre, High Street, Edinburgh

Finally, on Sunday I’ll be hosting a Percussive Dance Lab at Dance Base. This masterclass for dancers with percussive dance experience (tap, flamenco, step dance, clogging, etc.) is designed to hone dancers’ practice and give us tools to improve articulation, phrasing, and technique. Using an intersectional approach, participants will be guided through a series of exercises drawing on a myriad of rhythm-making dance styles and their symbiotic relationship with, and as, music, enriching our percussive relationship with the floor through creativity and improvisation.

Percussive Dance Lab

Sunday, April 7, 11-12:30 pm, £12.50 (£10.50)

Dance Base, Grassmarket, Edinburgh

In anticipation of these events, I wanted to share some recently-edited footage from the launch concert in December at St. Cecilia’s Hall with special guests Caleb Teicher, Seumas Campbell, and Mairi Campbell! It was such an incredible night and I think the video really captures that! Enjoy!!

First Footing is a collaboration between dancer and dance researcher Nic Gareiss, the Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland, University of Edinburgh Moray House School of Education, and the School of Scottish Studies with support from Creative Scotland. For engagement opportunities check out the First Footing website.

(1) Traditional Dancing in Scotland. Joan and Tom Flett, 1964, p. 260

#Scottish Storytelling Centre #the art of treepling #university of edinburgh #St. Leonard's Land #dance base #percussive dance #tap #flamenco #Irish step dance #Irish dance #Mairi Campbell #Seumas Campbell #Caleb Teicher #Moray House School of Education #School of Scottish Studies #Traditional Dance Forum

Without a Hitch by Room 2 Manoeuvre

‘Hip hop, ya don’t stop’ – but all good things must come to an end...

Without a Hitch follows the downward spiral of a four-man b-boy crew as ambition, jealousy and frustration manifest in a group struggling to move in the same direction. Featuring an international cast from Finland, Sweden and the UK, expect plenty of dark comedy, powerful breakdancing and slick production from Room 2 Manoeuvre’s new hip-hop dance theatre show.

Fri 3 Nov, 7.30pm BOOK NOW

#Without a Hitch #Room 2 Manoeuvre #Dance #Dance Base #Traverse Theatre #Edinburgh

10 Questions – Tony Mills, Without a Hitch

This week, we welcome Room 2 Manoeuvre’s hip-hop dance theatre show Without a Hitch, which follows the downward spiral of a four-man breakdancing crew as ambition, jealousy and frustration manifest in a group struggling to move in the same direction.

Presented as part of a weekend of dance from 3 – 4 November by Dance Base and Traverse Theatre, Without a Hitch, features an international cast from Finland, Sweden and the UK. Ahead of the performance, we speak to Room 2 Manoeuvre’s Artistic Director Tony Mills about the performance...

(Photo: Tony Mills by Jorg Letz)

Tony Mills is Artistic Director of Room 2 Manoeuvre, and founding member of Edinburgh based dance companies Random Aspekts B-Boy crew and Cypher Dance. He is a keen ambassador for the breakdance scene in Scotland and, alongside an extensive portfolio that includes working with organisations such as Scottish Ballet, Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre and The Arches, has been involved in hosting dance events and touring work internationally.

(Image: Without a Hitch. Simon Beyer-Pederesen)

1) Starting with the obvious thing to ask, can you tell us a little bit about Without A Hitch?

Without a Hitch is the story of a fictional breakdance crew called the Rhythm Rascals. They are on the brink of winning a major competition, which could take things to the next level, but not everyone is happy with the direction they are taking. The show examines relationships and differing agendas with hip-hop dance, physical theatre and a funky soundtrack. It's the largest production we have done to date working with a bigger team of creatives including dramaturg Candice Edmunds, set designer Karen Tennent, Composer Danny Krass, lighting designer Grant Anderson and costume designer Megan Baker.

2) Can you tell us about how you got into break dancing? I studied at Edinburgh University and during my time there I started taking breakdance classes at Dance Base when it was at the Assembly Rooms under the tutelage of Allan Irvine. I got hooked immediately and ended forming a crew in 2001 called Random Aspekts.

3) Who had the greatest impact on your decision to become a dancer/choreographer? I think I can attribute it to a guy called Edward Kendall. I grew up in Orkney and had to stay in a hostel in Kirkwall when I started doing standard grades. We lived in dorms and the guy next to me was Edward. He was the first dude I saw do the running man at a school disco. I was like...’What's that?’ I started copying him and we ended up having this silent competition over a while where we would keep trying to come up with different variations of the move. We ended up getting circles going at school discos and that was really when the seed was planted. After I graduated from University, I was offered a job with a company called Freshmess and I began to see that you could earn a living from dance.

(Image: Without a Hitch. Brian Hartley)

4) Would you say your performances have a house style? If so, is that important for the storytelling? I would say that most of my work, so far, has been of the tragic comedy type. There is generally always a journey that the dancers/characters undergo. There is a feeling that they are somehow different at the end than at the beginning. This idea of journey is important to the storytelling. I like the audience to feel that they have gone somewhere or been through something also.

5) Do you let people have a lot of freedom in interpreting roles? To a degree, yes. As long as the motives of the character or point of the scene come across without too much delay, indulgence or anything that’s not really essential. I do try to encourage the performers to put a something of themselves into the role. If a performer is somehow invested and has some ownership of the role, it can create a stronger performance.

6) What’s been the most useful piece of dancing advice you’ve been given? The first is to have persistence. Whether you're trying to get a move down or sell a show, this is one of the most important traits to have. A lot of great artists have given up far too early and a lot of mediocre artists have gone on to achieve great things because they stuck at it. You gain experience, you get better and opportunities do eventually come your way but you have to keep doing it. The second is where is the joy? You can only stick at something if you enjoy it or if you think the rewards are going to be big enough. For me, the reward is the act of creating it, doing it, promoting it, touring it and giving people an experience. Every now and then you've got to ask yourself ‘where's the joy?’

(Image: Without a Hitch. Brian Hartley)

7) Do you have a favourite Edinburgh haunt?

When I'm not busy with a project, these days I can mostly be found training at Cross Combat gym in Tollcross. Like breaking, I've become hooked on jiujitsu and it's nice to find something new that is physically and mentally challenging. Under The Stairs is a favourite spot for meeting up for drinks and Spoon Cafe is my choice for working out of the home or office.

8) What’s been your most memorable dance or theatre experience?

When I was touring my first solo Watch iT! There was a scene where I did a duet with a TV (aye). The TV was set behind a cupboard on stage and I would disappear behind the cupboard. When we did a show at the Arches the technician misplaced setting the TV behind the cupboard, so the moment arrived where I’d use it in my piece and I was fiddling around behind the cupboard in the darkness trying to find this TV that isn't there. There was nothing to it but to improvise a 6/7 min solo that would have normally culminated in a very iconic image for the show. For that whole time, I felt like I was skating on thin ice, but nobody in the audience was any the wiser. This taught me a couple of things. If you don't look like you're having a problem on stage, then nobody really knows you're having a problem. Secondly, always check your own props no matter how many folk you have working for you. On the flipside, performing sold out shows at the Sydney Opera House was also pretty cool.

(Image: Without a Hitch. Brian Hartley)

9) What does your choreographic process look like?

Most projects will have a research phase developing broad strokes for the piece. This helps with direction when we get into the final creation phase. I always start a project with some improvisation and partnering work in the studio. This lets me get to know how the dancers move, what they like to do and allow them to get familiar with each other. After that, it will depend entirely on the project. I do have my toolbox of choreographic ideas that I’ve picked up and developed over the years. I'll either teach material or developed it through tasks and improvisation. This will lead to developing scenes or sections of movement. I'll then try to knit the sections together in a linear way that has a flow or follows a narrative structure. For Without A Hitch, I tried to incorporate the other creative aspects (set, sound, light, costume) much earlier in the process so they would feed into and influence the development of the work. A new project I’m working on, The Death of a Leaf, is about trying to break creative habits where I’m starting from zero with little to no plan and relying on instinct.

10) Finally, can you describe Without a Hitch in three words?

Worth watching twice.

Without a Hitch Fri 3 Nov, 7.30pm BOOK NOW

#Without a Hitch #Room 2 Manouevre #Dance Base #Traverse Theatre #Dance #hip-hop

"What is being revealed are the nerve-ends of our shared humanity, and sometimes it’s clearly painful and even tragic and sometimes it’s hilariously funny and sometimes it can be both at once. Like the incredible mess in Bill Coleman’s Dollhouse (Canada) where everything is just falling apart." - Herald Scotland Dollhouse August 15-20, 22-17, 2017 Dance Base | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

#Bill Coleman #gordon monahan #dollhouse #edinburgh festival fringe 2017 #Dance Base

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL TO ROLL OUT GREEN CARPET WITH SUMMER OUTDOOR CINEMA

Three days of free outdoor screenings at St Andrew Square Garden, Edinburgh Three friends in exterior cinema Edinburgh International Film Festival’s hugely popular open-air cinema, Film Fest in the City, is set to return to St Andrew Square Garden this summer, with the Festival announcing a jam-packed line-up of free screenings from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 June. Hosted by Edinburgh…

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#Dance Base #Dirty Dancing #EDINBURGH #Hunt for the Wilderpeople #Kubo and the Two Strings #Mamma Mia #Rogue One: A Stars Wars Story #Scotland’s National Centre for Dance