Festival of Contemporary Dance
9 – 20 October 2015
DanceLive is back, with an innovative and adventurous programme to celebrate its 10th birthday, which is bound to provide an unforgettable festival experience.
With dance, talks, film and workshops on offer, there is truly something for everyone.
Ian Abbott, Director of Citymoves Dance Agency, said:
“It’s an honour to be launching DanceLive’s 10th anniversary programme, my first DanceLive as Director of Citymoves.
“Since it began in 2006 the festival has grown and taken root in the heart of Aberdeen. Scotland is helping shape a number of distinctive choreographic voices and I’m delighted to present a flock of the finest here in the North-East of Scotland. With interactive work for children, cinematic and conversational feasts alongside performances in unusual spaces, come and take shelter under the canopy of DanceLive and see the world a little differently.”
DanceLive15 will see 61 performances and 24 events in venues across Aberdeen and in Banchory’s Woodend Barn, including three unique new venues in the Granite City.
Adventure in Authorship
A stand out theme of this year’s festival is Adventures in Authorship, where audience members are invited to have a hand in the evolution of the performance.
Commissioned by Citymoves, for the 10th anniversary of DanceLive, Choreospondance is a project that invites you to write a letter describing a dance performance. Casson and Friends will then create four brand new short dance pieces in locations across Aberdeen using as many of the letters as possible. Also commissioned for the 2015 festival is the Quadruple Bill by Tamsyn Russell and Cultured Mongrel Dance Theatre which sees each artist, re-author and choreograph each other’s work.
Joe Wild Sex Tapes is a 15 minute performance where the audience members get to choose the soundtrack and costume. #TheSoloFilter by Cultured Mongrel Dance Theatre invites you to remake the work of choreographer Emma Jayne Park into a new piece. Collaboration & Theft presented by Zena Edwards is an exclusive improvised performance lecture, including dance and spoken word.
Made in Scotland
DanceLive and Citymoves are at the forefront of Scottish dance and as such works created in Scotland play a pivotal role in the festival.
Works made in Scotland include: In Her Shadows by A Blank Canvas and Jabuti Theatre. Aberdeen’s very own dance company KaSt will present a Triple Bill at Woodend Barn. Aerial Dance Company All or Nothing present Three’s A Crowd. Indepen-dance 4 A Collection of Works also featuring Citymoves’ Step Forward. Dancer by Ian Johnston, Gary Gardiner and Adrian Howells. Tarn, Word Unspoken and Rebel Girl by PRIME, Scottish Ballet Elders Company and Quicksilver. Falling in Love with Frida by Caroline Bowditch.
Vulnerability
A number of performances at the 2015 event explore human vulnerability from a variety of angles. In Her Shadows by A Blank Canvas and Jabuti Theatre look at a young girl’s relationship with depression whilst challenging the stigmas that surround it. Indepen-dance 4 puts dancers with and without disabilities together to offer a portrait of the beauty and vulnerability of the human body. Dancer by Ian Johnston, Gary Gardiner and Adrian Howells takes a humorous look at the individuals, sometimes uncomfortable, experience of dancing in public. A truly unique performance HUG takes the audience out of their comfort zone, whilst performers hug and sing to the blindfolded audience, giving them an opportunity to face their own barriers.
Unique Events
Priding itself in offering unusual and unique events DanceLive15 will not disappoint.
Commissioned especially for DanceLive15 Choreospondance is a project that invites you to write a letter describing a dance performance you would like to see. Casson and Friends will then create four brand new short dance pieces in locations across Aberdeen using as many of the letters as possible. Steam is a fast paced blend of parkour, dance and theatre set on a steam engine that takes place at the front of Aberdeen’s famous Marischal College. HUG is an immersive choral sound bath that is as unique as the venue, The Anatomy Rooms, where it will be performed, audience members are blindfolded and individually hugged by a singer.
Family Fun
Windibops by Moxie Brawl is a 50 minute rib-tickling, inclusive and fun dance theatre piece investigating the science of flatulence (yes we mean farts) for children and families. We Dance wee groove by Stillmotion is a very special interactive dance event where little ones can move and groove.
Film Programme
DanceLive has teamed up with Belmont Filmhouse to offer a cinematic programme that includes: Happy Feet, Dance-a-Long Step Up, Desert Dancer, All This Can Happen and Hip Hop-eration.
Venues
As DanceLive grows and evolves, so does the diversity of venues. Alongside the traditional performance spaces, three new venues have been introduced for 2015. The Anatomy Rooms, at the rear of the iconic Marischal College, will be open for the first time for DanceLive’s HUG, before becoming an art and design studio in the heart of Aberdeen. Cultured Mongrel Dance Theatre will perform at The Suttie Arts Space in Aberdeen’s Royal Infirmary is a contemporary arts venue run by Grampian Hospital Arts Trust and open 24 hours a day. Finally the Newave Gallery, an art gallery and studio on Castlegate will host Joe Wild Sex Tapes.
Pay it Forward & Ticketing
This year DanceLive has introduced a new Pay It Forward ticket, based entirely on trust, it is up to the audience to pay £5, £10 or £15 for a performance, with the Pay It Forward £15 ticket it is helping others to sample a greater diversity of work for just £5.
DanceLive is working with Aberdeen Performing Arts to enable tickets to be purchased for all performances, workshops and free events from Aberdeen Box Office at the Music Hall and HMT, over the phone on 01224 641122 and online at www.aberdeenperformingarts.com.
Woodend Barn, 01330 825431, www.woodendbarn.com
Belmont Filmhouse, 01224 343500, www.belmontfilmhouse.com.