December 10, 2009

Cloud Interview: Lucía Piquero (Diciembre Dance Group)

Laura @ 03:00 —
Filed under: English,Interviews — Tags: , —

The ballet-trained Diciembre Dance Group was one of the rare companies presenting a narrative work at the Cloud Dance Festival, and an ambitious one at that, based on Federico García Lorca’s challenging House of Bernarda Alba. Mats Ek himself made a dance version in 1978, but Lucía Piquero, the company’s young Spanish choreographer, explains how she went back to Lorca’s instructions for what was her company’s first piece, followed since by more creations.

How did you start dancing?
I started dancing when I was 11, casually – I just met a friend who was doing ballet. I was more interested in gymnastics, but I joined in and it ended up being like a boom in my life, a real change. I trained in ballet in Spain, and I only started contemporary dance when I came to London – I spent one year at The Place, and now I’m finishing a MA in Choreography at Middlesex University.
I actually always wanted to choreograph, and I had my first opportunity the year before coming to the UK – my teacher liked one my ideas, and I ended up choreographing the whole school show, which was a huge change from doing nothing! I then did a student workshop at The Place, and I just fell in love with it.

When was the Diciembre Dance Group created?
The members of Diciembre come from the London Contemporary Dance School, and the group was formed in August 2008 – I started it to do more things, since none of us were dancing anywhere else at the time. We applied for Resolution! 2009, which was our second ever performance.

© Diciembre Dance Group

© Diciembre Dance Group

What was the thinking behind The House of Bernarda Alba?
It was the first piece we did – we performed it at university. Being Spanish, Federico García Lorca is quite close to me, and I did a lot of theatre when I was younger – I did some Lorca, and I didn’t understand anything. Everyone that stages Lorca changes a lot of things, so I wanted to do a dance piece that corresponded exactly to what Lorca was saying when he gave the instructions for the play. That’s why we don’t have any men – there aren’t any in the cast of Bernarda Alba, but people find it easier to just have the men of the story on stage. I know it is also quite usual to cast a male actor or dancer as the main character, Bernarda, but I don’t like it – why would a strong woman necessarily have to be played by a man? I mainly wanted to convey the emotion, and since it’s a 15-minute piece, we selected the most important scenes.

How would you describe your style?
Emotional, and invested with social concerns. Everyone in the company is ballet-trained, so ballet is a strong base movement-wise, although we have all switched to contemporary dance now. I still want the technique to be seen somehow, but we just use whatever explains what we are trying to say – our aim is to say something, and dance is the tool.

What are your inspirations?
Literature is a strong inspiration. I also try to do choreography that deals with social issues – I just did a piece on madness, for which I obviously read Cervantes’s Don Quixote. In terms of choreographers, I really like Mats Ek, Nacho Duato and Jiří Kylián. I try to avoid being too strongly influenced by traditional Spanish styles, to let go, but obviously a fan and a mantilla will say Spanish to the audience in Bernarda Alba.

What’s next for you after the festival?
We’re performing a new piece in Spain on 30 December. It’s an experimentation around the idea of childhood, of play, but we didn’t want to idealise it – being a child is not that easy.

Any Christmas wishes for the company?
For the New Year, the opportunity to perform more and more, to develop ourselves as a group and myself as choreographer.

Many thanks to Chantal Guevara for making these interviews possible.

Diciembre Dance Group © Mikah Smillie

Diciembre Dance Group © Mikah Smillie





December 9, 2009

Cloud Interview: Melody Squire (Sol Dans)

Laura @ 23:32 —
Filed under: English,Interviews — Tags: , —

London-based dancer and choreographer Melody Squire does it all – from musicals to films and commercials, her career has spanned a range of genres, and she brings that experience to her young company, Sol Dans. Returning to the Cloud Dance Festival with an energetic premiere, Groundlings, she spoke engagingly of her American roots and her current experimentations.

How did you start dancing?
I’ve been dancing since I was two and a half – my parents put me in dance classes before I even knew I loved it, so it’s something that I’ve always known, it’s just been my life. I started in jazz and ballet when I was a little girl, and then I went to Point Park Conservatory to train in the US. I later went to Paris with Wells College for the Arts abroad, and then I got a degree at London Studio Centre. I also trained with Intoto Contemporary Dance in my final year.
I started this company because I love contemporary jazz, and I felt like there was work to be made with people that I knew. I thought I could facilitate all of their talents in a group, and it organically came together. The first thing we did was Resolution!, in 2008, and since then we’ve worked on several projects. Groundlings is our third piece.

What was the thinking behind this piece?
For Groundlings I tried something different – sometimes I’m quite regimented in choreographing everything, but this time we were exploring with our movement material. I’ve enjoyed it – the dancers collaborated as well, and they’re all very strong performers on their own. I just wanted to experiment, as that is what is great with Cloud Dance Festival: it’s a really good platform for emerging choreographers. It’s hard when you’re in that in-between place where you’ve got good work, great dancers, but you’re waiting for funding.

How would you define your style?
It’s physical, emotive, and raw.

What are your inspirations?
I love film – I love to tell a story, I’m also inspired by music and art. I’ve seen concerts, circuses that were simply amazing. I come from Chicago, and I grew up with Hubbard Street Dance and Alvin Ailey coming through – they inspired me, and I come from that background of emotional movement, where music is quite strong.

What’s next for you after the festival?
We’ll break up for the Christmas holidays, but we’ll start looking for festivals to take part in again in 2010. We will also try to get funding, as we don’t have any yet. Hopefully that way we’ll be able to get another piece or two together, and have an evening of works to present.

Any Christmas wishes for your company?
I just hope the dancers enjoy themselves, because they worked very hard, and that the audience will enjoy Groundlings as well. I like the audience to be entertained and engaged in what they’re watching.

Many thanks to Chantal Guevara for making these interviews possible.

Melody Squire of Sol Dans © James Rowbotham

Melody Squire (Sol Dans) © James Rowbotham





Cloud Interview: Ji Park (Flexa Dance Theatre)

Laura @ 02:32 —
Filed under: English,Interviews — Tags: , —

The thrice-yearly Cloud Dance Festival also brought back favourite artists for its Parade edition, and among them was choreographer Ji Park and her company, Flexa Dance Theatre, performing there for the third time. Their latest work, Festival and nagune (wayfarer), unfortunately had to be performed with less dancers than originally planned, but Ji graciously answered questions about her background and an artistic process that is centered around the performers.

Can you tell me about your background?
I was born in Korea, but I learnt European contemporary dance as well as ballet, tap and jazz. After my graduation, I worked for different Korean companies. Seven years ago though I had a very bad knee injury, and I couldn’t carry on as a dancer – I was very depressed, and I started doing different things, including yoga and meditation. I started choreographing because I couldn’t dance properly any more.
I came to England about five years ago – I quite like British history, and I needed something different. After a year I started a BA course in Theatre Arts near Brighton, and at the end I was instrumental as choreographer in establishing our graduate and post-graduate dance theatre company, at the Southern Theatre Art Centre/Northbrook College in Worthing.  We have created 8 pieces so far, but financially it is very difficult. I work by day to have money for the shows.

What was the thinking behind your piece for the festival, Festival and nagune (wayfarer)…?
It’s not easy to explain, because I usually work not only with dancers, but also with actors and musicians, or even non-dancers. The process really involves them. I never have a definite plan before auditioning, because I’m waiting to discover the participants. Some didn’t want to be performers, but I give them a chance, I try to make them performers.
The process for Festival and nagune has been very difficult, because originally I had six dancers – in my mind I needed six, with the props, the music, the lighting – but two weeks later a dancer dropped because of illness, then another one, then another one. And every time I had to change my mind, to change the piece. Last week I found out that another of my dancers was very ill, she still was the day before the performance, and two dancers will be dancing in the end. But it remains about the artist’s story. I use their background – some of them are also singers, some are more physical. The process is more important than the result.

What are your inspirations?
It would be a long story, because there are a lot of different inspirations in my work. My choreography is influenced by Baroque art. My favourite company is Les Ballets C de la B, I like their philosophy and the work they produce. Since my injury, I’ve also done a lot of research on art, art history and national history, anatomy. I collect all those ideas when I start working on a show, and there are a lot of them. Music is also important, but I’d rather work with musicians than simply be influenced by it.

What’s next for you after the festival?
I need a long holiday after this show, and then I have plans to make a new solo piece – I haven’t been on stage in seven years. I feel ready to do it.

Any Christmas wishes for your company?
I hope my performers will find good jobs, and I wish Chantal [Guevara, director of the festival] all the best. For myself, just happiness would be fine, but my dancers and musicians work so hard that I really wish them the best for their careers.

Many thanks to Chantal Guevara for making these interviews possible.

Flexa Dance Theatre at a previous Festival © Mikah Smillie

Flexa Dance Theatre at a previous Festival © Mikah Smillie





December 8, 2009

Cloud Interview: Jenni Wren (Slanjayvah Danza)

Laura @ 14:38 —
Filed under: English,Interviews — Tags: , —

Cloud Dance Festival was holding its first “best of” Parade last weekend at People Show Studios, and Bella Figura took the opportunity to interview some of the festival’s up-and-coming dancers and choreographers. We start with the delightful Jenni Wren, Artistic Director of Slanjayvah Danza, whose Blind Passion – Live Cut with Phil Sanger left the audience stunned.

Can you tell me about your dance background?
My parents were always very artistic – my mom was a singer, and my dad was a musician. They always let me do what I said I wanted to do. I grew up in a very small village, but I did ballet, for a short while, and other things. The only one I kept going with was rollerskating – I became a member of the Scottish Squad, and I competed nationally. I stopped when I was 14, but I was a pre-silver medallist.
Then I became a teenager, and there were no facilities for dance in my school. At 19 though I started doing one class a week at Scottish Dance Theatre. After two years, Janet Smith [the artistic director of the company] asked me why I wasn’t training – I just didn’t think dance was a career you could have. So I started my training just when I turned 23. I did a year at Scottish Contemporary Dance School, and then a three-year degree at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, before moving on to a graduate traineeship with Attic Dance.
The people that influenced me most were Yael Flexer (Bedlam Dance) and Janet Smith. I found it difficult to find dance that inspired me though – I just had a lot of things to say, and I decided to make my own work. As a kid I was always choreographing for rollerskating, and it made sense for me, against everybody’s advice not to start a company right after college. My first professional work was for the Certamen de Madrid. It reached the semi-finals, and from there we did a small tour in Spain, with four other pieces. I came back to the UK because of the funding situation, and since returning, I have had five funding awards here, including some from the Arts Council England. We are currently in residence in an art space in Leeds called Seven, and they support us a lot.

Where does the name of your company come from?
It’s Celtic/Scottish for “Cheers to your health, to your life”. I used Danza because there is a lot of Spanish influence in my work – I have a lot of friends there, and I started the company with Spanish girls. I’ve been there so often that I feel like I have origins there now.

What was the thinking behind Blind Passion – Live Cut?
It was premiered last July, and it has been a turning point for me. It is the first time I have made a choreography about how I feel. Many people think it is about a relationship, and in a sense it is – it’s about my relationship with what Phil [Sanger, dancer and choreographer] and I feel passionate about. That includes the body, the naked form of the body, the mechanical forms of the body – I do massages, and quite often I find myself looking at it inside out, looking at the muscles, the patterns. The body as a work of art in itself is incredible.
My other passion is communication, and Phil and I have been friends for a long time, we communicate very well, and I wanted that to come across. The third important thing was contact – we actually structured the work through contact improvisation. If you can do contact well, you should be able to do it with your eyes closed, and that’s where the blindfolds came in.
We did the film version first, and then we developed it into a longer piece that was suitable for small venues, with minimal costumes. We end up in skin-coloured underwear, and that way, with the lightning design, it is possible to see how the body is moving, muscularly and sculpturally. Phil is leaving for a company, but I will continue performing the piece with someone else.

What are your inspirations?
On a personal level, my mom. She has always allowed me to be completely individual, and she has supported me in everything I’ve wanted to do. She believes in personal growth, personal and professional development, she inspires me to be determined. The body-mind connection is another important thing.

Into the Light, © David Cobley

Into the Light, © David Cobley

What’s next for you after the festival?
We are doing a new piece called Crazy Joanna, based on a Spanish film, Juana la Loca. The film was about a Spanish Queen tormented by her husband, who went crazy in love with him, while he abused her emotionally. She died very lonely. It went on for us to the theme of domestic abuse, and it now follows the journey of three women, of a woman living three life cycles. It goes from the Medieval times in Spain through to Buenos Aires in the 1920s and the present time, and follows a recurring pattern, with three dance styles, including Spanish and Tango influences. This work will premiere in Leeds in May, and it is a collaboration with my film maker Aurora Fearnley and the artist David Cobley. We will use one of his paintings, Into the Light, for the production.

How do you incorporate the Argentine tango in your work?
My interpretation of tango has always been a part of my work. Phil and I went to Buenos Aires for five weeks of intensive training last year – it was hard, the dissociation particularly. We will use it more in Crazy Joanna, as I’m working with a contemporary dancer that has tango experience for this piece.

Any Christmas wishes for your company?
A break. We need to prepare for what is coming up, and we have worked so much lately.

» See video snippets of Blind Passion and other works on Slanjayvah Danza’s website

Slanjayvah Danza is currently in Residence at Seven Artspace, in Leeds. The company will also perform at Resolution! 2010.
Many thanks to Chantal Guevara for making these interviews possible.

Jenni Wren and Phil Sanger in Blind Passion © Slanjayvah Danza

Jenni Wren and Phil Sanger in Blind Passion © Slanjayvah Danza





December 4, 2009

Make Your Own Ballet Christmas in Paris

Laura @ 23:04 —
Filed under: English,News,Other — Tags: , , , , , , , , , —

Dorothée Gilbert and Manuel Legris in Nutcracker © Sébastien Mathé / ONP, 2007

Dorothée Gilbert and Manuel Legris in Nureyev's Nutcracker © Sébastien Mathé / ONP, 2007

It’s that time of the year again, and the Paris Opera Ballet is celebrating in style with the perennial holiday favorite, The Nutcracker, and a Ballets Russes program comprising of four ballets rarely danced by the company today.  If you fancy a Freudian Sugar Plum Fairy, the original Petrouchka or simply a chance to go and see the Christmas lights in Paris, here are a few tips, starting with the usual dilemma: which dancers shall you see?

Tree growing at the Opéra Bastille – Nutcracker casting

Myriam Ould-Braham & Nikolai Tsiskaridze

© David Elofer / Dmitry Rozhkov

© David Elofer / Dmitry Rozhkov

Beauty and the Beast
19 December (evening), 22 December

Why you want to see them : strong contenders for most unlikely couple of the year, and yet – the petite, delicate Paris Opera soloist and the tall Bolshoi star who ranges from teddy bear to neurotic on stage might be magic together. Myriam Ould-Braham was filmed in the role two years ago, and it is an all too rare occasion to witness her lyrical, absorbing presence. Tsiskaridze could make the odd Drosselmeyer/Prince of this version work, and we would then be in for a truly Freudian Nutcracker, in the best Nureyev tradition.

Potential holiday fun : watching Nikolai Tsiskaridze trying to work his long legs and bravura Moscow persona around Nureyev’s insanely complicated petit allegro choreography. When inspired, he does also occasionally hang on to nearby curtains.

» Video : Nikolai Tsiskaridze in Yuri Grigorovitch’s Nutcracker (Bolshoi Ballet)

Natalia Osipova & Matthias Heymann

© Andrei Melanin / ONP

© Andrei Melanin / ONP

The Firecracker Competition
8 & 9 January (evening)

Why you want to see them : She is the It Russian Girl of the ballet world – he is the latest prodigy of the Paris Opera Ballet. Neither has danced Nutcracker before, and neither is entirely right for the ballet, but watching them outdo each other in terms of stage presence and technical tricks should be an experience in itself. Natalia Osipova, the Bolshoi star now in demand everywhere, is a rare treat in Paris, and her high-flying sense of fun can be a breath of fresh air.

Potential holiday fun : Matthias Heymann, the happy kid on the block, as Clara’s old, grey-haired, limping godfather Drosselmeyer. A hilarious first act should ensue.

Dorothée Gilbert & Matthieu Ganio

© ONP / Michel Lidvac

© ONP / Michel Lidvac

Hieratically French
11, 13, 14, 25 & 29 December

Why you want to see them : They are two of the brightest young stars of the company, and although they haven’t been paired very often, their elegant, hieratic styles should complement each other perfectly. Matthieu Ganio, hopefully back for good after several long-term injuries, is a beautifully understated dancer, who should bring dignity to Drosselmeyer and the Prince. Gilbert was made an Etoile in the role of Clara two years ago, and she is entirely at home in Nureyev’s combinations of combinations.

Potential holiday fun : Which one of them will regret first to have agreed to five performances (seven for Dorothée Gilbert), and throw Nureyev overboard for a version of the choreography that would actually be fun?

» Video : Dorothée Gilbert in the final Pas de Deux of the ballet, with Manuel Legris

Myriam Ould-Braham & Emmanuel Thibault

© David Elofer

© David Elofer

Phantoms of the Opera
5 & 9 (matinee) January

Why you want to see them : Both are so rarely allowed on stage, let alone together, that their partnership has almost become a legend. The atmostphere at every one of their appearances in classical ballets was electrifying, and I cherish the memory of their Don Quixote and Fille mal gardée. Ekaterina Maximova & Vladimir Vassiliev invited them to perform at their 50th Anniversary Gala. Old-school stagecraft is their secret, and dancing together they are a wonder, an 18th-century painting come to life.

Potential holiday fun : Emmanuel Thibault flying across the stage, but watching them have fun together should be enough for a bright New Year in any event.

» Video : Myriam Ould-Braham & Emmanuel Thibault in a Vassiliev Pas de Deux

Mathilde Froustey & Matthias Heymann

© ONP

© ONP

Ambitious Youth
23 & 26 December

Why you want to see them : Both are crowd-pleasers, and Froustey is the undisputed darling of the French audience, who has been waiting in the wings of stardom for a few years. A born Fille mal gardée, she knows how to capture attention, and her technique is both strong and light, despite her thinness. The youthful couple of the run.

Potential holiday fun : Seeing them flirt with you, dear audience, much more than with anybody on stage.

Outsiders : Mélanie Hurel, Christophe Duquenne & Alessio Carbone, three strong and experienced soloists; Ludmila Pagliero & Josuah Hoffalt, who have both just been promoted to the rank of premiers danseurs.

Back to the Ballets Russes, once more

Le Spectre de la Rose / Le Tricorne / L’après-midi d’un faune / Petrouchka

Petrouchka and L’après-midi d’un faune were last seen in Paris in 2001, and when Le Tricorne was performed for the last time, Brigitte Lefèvre wasn’t heading the company yet (prehistoric times, in other words).  This Ballets Russes offering is an occasion to see a whole new generation take on legendary leading roles, and some performances will be filmed, with broadcasts and a DVD to follow.

Don’t miss :

  • Nicolas Le Riche and Clairemarie Osta in Petrouchka, in different casts. Sadly, Manuel Legris has pulled off his scheduled performances in the ballet due to injury, but Nicolas Le Riche should bring maturity and experience to the title role. Clairemarie Osta, on the other hand, was born to dance the Ballerina, and her Ondine-like eyes and soft lines should work wonders on stage.
  • Emmanuel Thibault and either Delphine Moussin or Clairemarie Osta in Spectre de la Rose. Matthias Heymann will be featured on the future DVD, but Emmanuel Thibault is a special performer, all lightness and infallible style. This may be the last occasion to see him in this iconic role.
  • José Martinez and Eve Grinsztajn in Le Tricorne, in different casts. José Martinez has been dancing the main role since 1992, the year he was promoted to Premier Danseur, and he even took part in its Moscow premiere at the Bolshoi, in 2005. A lucky role for the Spanish dancer, who will be featured on the DVD. Eve Grinsztajn, on the other hand, will not, but the fiery Première Danseuse, who had early triumphs as the Street Dancer in Don Quixote, should bring all the needed weight and strength to the Meunière.
  • Nicolas Le Riche or Jérémie Bélingard in L’après-midi d’un faune. Pure sensuality ahead with these two – remember Le Riche in Béjart’s Boléro. Jérémie Bélingard was even in a commercial for Jean-Paul Gaultier not so long ago, and his very physical stage presence should fit the Faun like a glove.

Dancers of the American Ballet Theatre in Petrouchka © Gjon Mili / Time Inc. (1946)

The American Ballet Theatre in Petrouchka © Gjon Mili / Time Inc. (1946)



But it is sold out…

This being ballet-starved Paris, both Nutcracker and the Ballets Russes program sold out within hours. So what can you do if you are coming in December, or if you still want to?

  • Check daily, and even several times a day, the website of the Paris Opera. Once in a while, a few (usually top-price) tickets for one or more performances are made available this way, but you’ll have to jump on them.
  • Audience members will sometimes sell tickets they cannot use, and a lot of them do so on Dansomanie, a popular French website, via “post-it” posts on top of the main discussion board. Be aware though that the number of people looking for Nutcracker tickets is higher than ever, especially for Natalia Osipova and Nikolai Tsiskaridze’s performances.
  • If you are in Paris and want to see a performance, go and queue for returns at the box-office. They are sold at regular prices around 45 minutes before the performance, but the queue around Christmas gets absolutely huge, and if you want something you should plan to arrive several hours in advance. If you are eligible for concessions last minute tickets, don’t waste your time – these are only sold after everyone in the returns queue has been served, and as the French would say, hens will grow teeth before that happens in December.
  • Beware of the black market – you will undoubtedly find resellers around the entrance of each Opera, Bastille and Garnier, who try and sell cheap tickets at five times their regular price. Don’t accept.

Finally, if you can’t find anything, don’t be too disappointed – the Ballets Russes program will be broadcast live in French, Belgian and Swiss cinemas on 22 December (see the list here), with a DVD to follow. The Nutcracker was filmed two years ago with Myriam Ould-Braham and Jérémie Bélingard, but it has yet to be released.

Happy holiday season!

More links:
» Official casting for Nutcracker on the website of the Paris Opera Ballet
» Official casting for the Ballets Russes program on the website of the Paris Opera Ballet
» Elizabeth Maurin and Laurent Hilaire in the two main pas de deux from Nureyev’s Nutcracker (TV production, 1989)
» Laëtitia Pujol and Manuel Legris in the final pas de deux
» Rudolf Nureyev in L’après-midi d’un faune (Afternoon of a Faun)





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