A SPECTACULAR SEASON OF DANCE AT THE LOWRY
A SPECTACULAR SEASON OF DANCE AT THE LOWRY
The Lowry, Salford Quays, Greater Manchester
May-July 2005
In the past five years The Lowry has provided an outstanding dance programme, but this season sees a quality, quantity and variety of dance like never before. The Lowry is extremely proud to host the very first North West visit by the internationally-renowned Nederlands Dans Theater 1, following the success of Nederlands Dans Theater 2 last year. Gravity and Levity present an entirely unique experience with Taking Flight – a performance bursting from The Lowry’s Quays Theatre and into the heights of The Lowry building itself, inviting the audience on a unique and thrilling journey of ariel dance.
Walker Dance Park Music fuse dance, opera and the poetry of W B Yeats in Essence, while Motionhouse Dance Theatre will cover the stage with 750kgs of sand, representing the sands of time, while they perform suspended above the stage, on a specially-constructed steel frame in Perfect; and Maresa Von Stockert examines some very modern themes through the visualisation of five well-known European fairy tales in More Grim(m) Desires. Add to that some unique and exciting South Asian contributions from our partners Milapfest and the return of the ever-popular Ballet Boyz and DV8, and find a unique and satisfying season with the very best of dance from across the globe.
· The China National Beijing Opera Company - Wed 11-Sat 14 May
· Essence - Thu 12 May
· Monalisha Ghosh - Sun 22 May
· Motionhouse Dance Theatre - Tue 24 May
· Verve 2005 - Wed 25 May
· Maresa von Stockert - Sat 28 May
· Gravity & Levity - Wed 8 & Thu 9 June
· DV8 Physical Theatre - Thu 9 June
· Alma Flamenco - Sat 11 June
· Nederlands Dans Theater 1 - Mon 20 & Tue 21 June
· George Piper Dances - Mon 4 & Tues 5 July
· Anand Yatra - Sat 16 July
First time in the UK
The Lowry proudly presents the UK premiere of
The China National Beijing Opera Company
Wed 11 – Sat 14 May
Featuring spectacular settings and costumes and representing a unique centuries-old cultural tradition, the China National Beijing Opera Company arrives at The Lowry as part of their very first UK visit. Founded in 1955 – but the inheritor of a tradition going back to the 13th century – China National is the most respected opera troupe in China.
For their Lowry visit, the company is led by the outstanding male and female stars of the day, Yu Kuizhi and Li Shengsu. Beijing Opera is one of the most fascinating of art forms - a blend of stylised dance, drama, music, mime and acrobatics, here performed by the world’s best interpreters of this unique entertainment.
The works on the programme are specially chosen to illustrate the dazzling range and athleticism of the company, and include Forest of the Wild Boars, Suicide with a Golden Brick, At The Crossroads and the famous Chinese epic The Legend of the White Snake. Magnificent traditional costumes, elegant and brilliant, hand-crafted and heavily embroidered, help add spectacle to an unmissable experience.
Sung in Mandarin with English surtitles.
Times 7.30pm Tickets £15 - £35. Concessions £3 off.
Book for two or more performances and receive £4 off selected seats.
Walker Dance Park Music
Essence
Thu 12 May
Choreographer Fin Walker
Composer Ben Park
This unique dance opera, inspired by the poetry of W B Yeats, explores how we disguise ourselves to present a false self to the world, and how this inevitably creates chaos.
Walker and Park’s recent commissions for Rambert, CandoCo and Phoenix illustrate that this is a duo in demand. Focusing now on their own company, this exciting new piece enhances their reputation for physically and emotionally rewarding work with dancers and musicians of the highest cailbre.
Walker Dance Park Music is an Associate Company of the Royal Opera House and is funded by Arts Council England.
Co-produced with ROH2 at the Royal Opera House.
Co-commissioned by Opera North, Swindon Dance and ICIA (Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts) University of Bath, with support from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
Time 8pm
Tickets £10, £12. Concessions £1 off
Open class Wed 11 May, exploring the company’s dance style and improvisation techniques, most suitable for ages 13+
6pm – 9pm
£7
Monalisa Ghosh in
Trends of Odissi
Sun 22 May
An exquisite ancient dance form performed by an internationally renowned dancer. Odissi is the oldest Indian classical temple dance from eastern India and Monalisa Ghosh is one of its leading exponents. Experience the charm of this beautiful traditional dance, complete with live music.
Time 7pm
Tickets £8. Concessions £2 off
Motionhouse Dance Theatre
Perfect
Tue 24 May
With heart-stopping physicality and aerial work - that suspends belief as well as bodies - five performers fly in the face of time. Feel the gravitational pull of the clock. Every moment counts…spending time, striving for perfection – it’s what we all live for…isn’t it?
Perfect captures the emotional force of bodies in time. It’s about how we make our lives and take our time - while that perfect moment stays forever just out of reach.
Time 8pm
Tickets £10 Concessions £1 off
Verve 2005
Wed 25 May
Now in their tenth successful year of touring, Verve return with their stunning new show.
This year’s performance is the result of intensive collaborations between 3rd year degree and graduate diploma students and four professional choreographers, including Glenn Wilkinson (ex-Rambert Dance Company) and Vanessa Haska (London Contemporary Dance School). Featuring an eclectic mix of fresh and energetic contemporary dance, Verve is a great opportunity to experience the talents of the dance artists of the future.
Time 8pm
Tickets £6 - £8. Concessions £1 off
Maresa von Stockert & Tilted Co More
Grim[m] Desires
Sat 28 May
With wit and mischievous social comment, a dance theatre sextet explores the world of fairy tales. Revisiting those long forgotten places of our imaginations, More Grim[m] Desires visualises five well-known European fairy tales. Jealousy, fidelity, betrayal and envy are interpreted with this choreographer’s eye for the ironic and grotesque.
This is the stage version of von Stockert’s site-specific sell-out success Grim[m] Desires, created at The Wapping Project, London, for the Jerwood Commissions 2004.
Time 8pm
Tickets £10. Concessions £1 off
Gravity & Levity in association with CB Projects and Made in Brighton
Taking Flight - an aerial dance installation performance
Wed 8 & Thu 9 June
Curated and performed by Lindsey Butcher and ensemble. Installation and site direction by Kevin Finnan
Fusing live aerial dance with film shorts, this stunning and unique promenade piece surprises and intrigues, as audiences go on a journey through the performance space, where a dancer’s relationship with the floor is substantially altered!
Award-winning dancer and aerialist Lindsey Butcher, with six director/choreographers, plus aerialists and an outstanding team of film makers, composers and designers, have collaborated to take dance to new heights!
Winner Jerwood Circus Award 2003.
Winner Dance For The Camera Award, South East Dance 2004.
Taking Flight has been supported by Arts Council England, Made In Brighton, Brighton Dome/Corn Exchange, Brighton Festival, The Royal Opera House, South East Dance, Jerwood Circus Awards, The Circus Space, South East Touring Agency, Trinity Theatre Tunbridge Wells and Newbury Corn Exchange.
www.gravity-levity.net
Times 9pm
Tickets £12. Concessions £2 off
DV8 Physical Theatre
Just for Show
Thu 9 June
Founder Lloyd Newson directs this internationally-acclaimed company’s distinctive new production - a show about showing and showing off, in a world where looking good has become more essential than being good, where faking it has become synonymous with making it.
An outstanding international company of performers explore the importance of appearance and illusion in our lives. When reality has a different script to our dreams, who wouldn’t make up stories to fool themselves?
Co-produced by Romaeuropa Festival and Accademia Filarmonica, Rome; National Theatre, London; Théâtre de la Ville and the Festival d’Automne, Paris and spielzeiteuropa / Berliner Festspiele, Berlin. Commissioned by Brighton Festival.
An Artsadmin associated project.
This project received support from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation towards initial practical research and development activity.
Warning: some scenes contain nudity and/or strong language
Time 7.30pm
Tickets £14 - £18. Concessions £2 off
Alma Flamenco Dance Company
Soul
Sat 11 June
The UK’s hottest flamenco dance and music ensemble. Marrying long-established traditions with modern-day style and panache, Alma’s compelling performances burst with life, rhythm and colour to convey the elemental fire and thrill of flamenco.
Soul balances infectious guitar riffs, percussion and vocals with passion, lightning fast footwork and grace, to produce an unforgettable performance of pure electricity, a luscious visual spectacle and an exhilarating journey through the core emotions and movements of body and soul.
Time 8pm
Tickets £12, £14. Concessions £1.50 off
First ever North West visit The Lowry proudly presents one of the world’s greatest contemporary dance companies
Nederlands Dans Theater 1
Mon 20 & Tue 21 June
Acclaimed around the world as one of the greatest of all modern dance companies, The Lowry is proud to bring this amazing ensemble to the North West for the very first time. The junior company – Nederlands Dans Theater 2 – made a huge impact when they performed here three years ago and ever since we have been striving to arrange a visit from the main ensemble – and now we have! Nederlands Dans Theater 1, 'the flagship', was founded in 1959, and is highly successful all over the world.
The 30 dancers are all soloists and are not divided into categories, all have equal status. Besides works of resident choreographer and artistic advisor Jirí Kylián and current resident choreographers Lightfoot León, the repertoire of Nederlands Dans Theater 1 comprises a large number of works by internationally renowned choreographers but young talented dancer/choreographers are also given opportunities to present their work to a large audience.
At the time of going to press, the full programme for The Lowry had not been decided but will include:
Signing Off
Choreography by Lightfoot León.
Music Philip Glass, Concerto for violin and orchestra [1987] part I & II.
Decor & costumes Paul Lightfoot & Sol León.
There is always a moment when time becomes a texture. Touching this texture is what makes one awake to the necessity of a change.
New Variation
Choreography by the Italian-born dancer-choreographer Jacopo Godani.
Premiered in The Hague, February 2005.
Another work to be confirmed.
Time 7.30pm
Tickets £16 - £27. Concessions £2 off
George Piper Dances
Naked
Mon 4 & Tue 5 July
Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt – TV’s Ballet Boyz – have built a brilliant reputation for presenting the highest quality dance, laced with their unique and original approach of incorporating behind-the-scenes film and popular music.
Now, with their Olivier award-winning company George Piper Dances, they explore a classic story of love, betrayal and revenge in their latest creation, Naked.
Set against an imposing cinematic backdrop, it features a specially commissioned score interwoven with both popular and classical music.
Time 7.30pm
Tickets £9 - £17. Concessions £2 off
Open workshops, inspired by martial arts and ideas of conflict.
Sat 2 July, most suitable for ages 7 – 15, 11am – 12.30pm.
Sat 2 July, most suitable for ages 15+, 2pm – 4pm.
Tickets £5 (£4 Salford residents).
Other workshops also available contact Fleur Derbyshire-Fox on 020 7367 5505
Anand Yatra
Sat 16 July
Dazzling colours, scintillating rhythms and breathtaking dances as Milapfest presents Anand Yatra – the South Asian Folk Dance Festival. Following on from the popular Dance Yatra festival at The Lowry in 2002, this event presents the finest young performers in a special preview show, followed by an evening with outstanding international artistes, including Bhangra, Garba and Kathak.
An event you won’t want to miss!
Time 6pm
Tickets £12. Concessions £2 off
Dance at The Lowry,
Salford Quays,
Greater Manchester
May-July 2005
Box office: 0870 7875793
Posted on Thursday, 21 April 2005 under Press Theatre Press