Oxford Dance Writers

News of exciting new research with both academic and artistic strands happening here in Oxford.  Here the Avid for Ovid team introduce themselves, what has happened so far and plans for forthcoming work.

Who we are and why we are

Avid for Ovid is a group of performing artists interested in exploring the potential of using principles and ideas from ancient dance and music in contemporary performance. As performers we are keen to research ancient performance principles and to broaden our vocabularies by incorporating elements from the unique cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome in order to use them to develop narrative pieces that are meaningful within a contemporary context.

Core members of the group are Malcolm Atkins, musician; Susie Crow, dancer: and Ségolène Tarte, dancer.  Our interest in this work was crystallised through our participation in the Oxford University research project Ancient Dance in Modern Dancers in the summer of 2013.  Conducted by classicist Dr. Helen Slaney, social anthropologist Dr. Caroline Potter, and doctoral researcher Sophie Bocksberger, with the support of TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities, University of Oxford), the aim of this practice-based project is to explore the nature and physicality of Ancient Roman Pantomime.  (more…)

If you missed Amarita‘s performance at the Ashmolean in May, here is your chance to catch her with a new line-up of guest artists:

FLAMENCO FLAMENCO
Performance: 7.00pm Sunday 29th June

Venue:  The Varsity Club, 9 High Street, Oxford OX1 4DB

Al baile (dancing):  Amarita Vargas y Jorge Muelas

Al cante (singing):  Jasmine Villalobos

A la guitarra (guitar):  Tito Heredia

This is a family friendly event, children are welcome

Tickets:  Adults £12, children £6

For information and booking: info@amaritavargas.com or telephone:  07526 487492

Facebook event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/294357114067257/

www.amaritavargas.com

A welcome alternative to football presented itself on Friday night with the appearance of FLASHMOB – Where Dance Worlds Collide at Oxford’s New Theatre. Fresh from an opening season at London’s Peacock Theatre, and at the start of an intensive nationwide tour of mainly one night stands, this dance show brings together a range of popular dancers known from TV shows: headlined by Kevin “from Grimsby” Clifton and Karen Hauer from BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, with Irish dancing duo Brosena and lyrical duo Alleviate from Sky’s Got to Dance, versatile street dancer Tommy Franzen (Runner-up in BBC1’s So You Think You Can Dance 2010), and last but not least, street dance ensemble Flawless who came to fame in Britain’s Got Talent 2009.

Choreographer Nick Winston directs, providing ensembles and a narrative thread to frame numbers in a range of dance genres arranged by the featured artists themselves which allow their particular and often spectacular skills to shine. (more…)

TV STARS JOIN TOGETHER FOR THE MOST EXCITING DANCE SHOW OF THE YEAR ……

If you love dance, then Flash Mob is a show you cannot miss. See the stars of TV dance shows headlined by the spectacular Kevin Clifton (Kevin from Grimsby) and Karen Hauer, from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, World Street Dance champions Flawless from Britain’s Got Talent, as well as Olivier nominated Tommy Franzen (BBC1 So You Think You Can Dance) contemporary duo Alleviate and Irish fusion duo Brosena from Sky 1’s Got To Dance.  This show for every member of the family offers you the chance to immerse yourself in the joy of dance.  Flash Mob provides a spectacular gourmet menu of many different dance genres, stripping away the need to focus on any one dance style and allowing you to just enjoy the wonder of movement to music.  From Latin to Locking, from Celtic to contemporary and from jazz to jump jive, you will laugh, cry and be on your feet for this dynamic production that celebrates the powerful emotions that dance can bring to an audience. (more…)

From 5^th December 2013 to 2^nd February 2014 Modern Art Oxford presented A Storyteller’s Inadequacy, the first UK solo exhibition by artist Eva Kotátková in which she proposed a playful and awkward relationship between performance, object, sculpture and installation.  A Storyteller’s Inadequacy saw a giant speech organ command the space of the Upper Gallery, creating a playground, gym, theatre and circus mixed environment for a group of performers to enact poses and temporary body constellations. The performers interacted with an eclectic range of objects in an exploration of the possibilities as well as the limits and barriers in human communication and interaction. Oxford dance artist Jane Connelly describes her experience as one of those performers in the personal account below. (more…)

Café Reason Butoh Dance Theatre and voice artist Anne L Ryan join forces to create a highly original and eccentric piece of physical theatre, combining butoh dance with an extraordinary vocal landscape, for forthcoming performances at the Old Fire Station.  A woman is searching for meaning and balance in her life, moving between the sensory, material world of the Lion and the spiritual realm of the Unicorn to find her one, true desire.  Inspired by the intriguing medieval tapestries The Lady and The Unicorn, The Heart’s Desire uses both voice and movement to present a quirky and playful exploration of our five senses – taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight – and their rôle in our lives. (more…)