Triple treat for dance fans
The Lowry, Salford Quays, Greater Manchester
Richard Alston Dance Company: Tue 10 March 2009
The Blank Album: Wed 11 March 2009
Designer Body: Fri 13 – Sat 14 March 2009
Three of the UK’s leading dance companies will wow North West audiences at The Lowry next month.
Ballet Lorent present a unique celebration of the human body in Designer Body, a kaleidoscopic journey from couture design into nude sculptural form. The Richard Alston Dance Company returns with new work by Martin Lawrance and three pieces from the Artistic Director Richard Alston. The Blank Album is choreographed by Natasha Gilmore, dubbed the “Catherine Tate of Contemporary Dance”, and combines rock ‘n’ roll, comedy and dance that really rocks!
Choreographed and directed by Liv Lorent, Designer Body is sensuous and embraces the exceptional grace and strength of seven dancers as they balance on their own revolving turntables. Beginning dressed in full-length garments that accentuate and distort the stature and elegance of their bodies, the dancers are transformed as layers of clothing slip away. A powerfully atmospheric score specially commissioned by Zoviet:France accompanies the dance work.
Richard Alston Dance company return with Alston’s Blow Over, Shuffle It Right and Movements from Petrushka. Set to Philip Glass’s songs from Liquid Days, Blow Over features lyrics by songwriters Suzanne Vega and Paul Simon. Shuffle It Right is a tribute to the great American songwriter Hoagy Carmichael. Evoking a lazy summer in the Deep South, Shuffle It Right’s wit and expressive detail come to life with toe-tapping charm. In Movements from Petrushka, set to Stravinsky’s piano arrangements of his own score, and specially revived this year to mark the centenary of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes, Alston reworks images from the ballet Petrushka. Set to Bach’s G Major and F Major Brandenburg Concertos, Martin Lawrance’s new piece To Dance and Skylark encompasses the full company of dancers.
The Blank Album encompasses live music, comedy and dance in the ego-driven excesses of rock'n'roll culture. Choreographer Natasha Gilmore looks at the dynamics of a band on tour with music composed by Quee MacArthur of cult Scottish band Shooglenifty. Guitar, fiddle, cello, percussion, voice, the music and movement are completely intertwined as the dancers from Gilmore Productions not only play their own instruments but dance with them.
Posted on Thursday, 19 February 2009 under Press Theatre Press