The Oxford Dance Forum (ODF) Scratch Night was an opportunity for four choreographers to try out newly created dances in front of an audience. Nathan Grassi introduced each work on behalf of ODF, and skilfully moderated the feedback discussions that followed each performance.
The evening started with a fragment from Andy Solway’s extended work 66 Dances, with which he plans to mark his sixty-sixth birthday over the course of two days at Littlemore Church in December. Eight dancers, alongside musicians Malcolm Atkins and Paul Medley, presented an improvisation that included danced responses to haikus by Erica Ison, which were written on pieces of paper that were pinned to the back curtain and selected at random. Imagery from the first haiku inspired a duet in which the dancers circled each other like birds. Solway and Jenny Parrott responded to the second haiku with movement that conjured up the sense of dripping water; I could almost feel the rain splashing onto Parrott’s head and neck.
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Leanne Benjamin arrived in London in 1980, aged sixteen, to attend the Royal Ballet School, and became a principal dancer with Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet (SWRB) at twenty-three. Her career in dance has been exceptional but there is nothing complacent about this memoir, co-authored with writer and broadcaster Sarah Crompton. Benjamin is as disarmingly open about her failures as she is about her successes, whether they relate to her dancing, her decisions, or her behaviour. Punctuality (or rather her lack of it) was a continual challenge: she missed the opportunity to be promoted to soloist by arriving late on stage during a performance of Les Patineurs; on tour in India, she took a sightseeing trip and arrived at the theatre too late to step in and replace an injured principal dancer. On the other hand Benjamin candidly does not regret a ‘silly’ decision to rehearse Romeo and Juliet with Peter Schaufuss in secret, behind the back of her director Peter Wright at SWRB, because it gave her a unique opportunity to work with Frederick Ashton.
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Oxford Playhouse’ Burton Taylor Studio this week offers an intimate evening of dance with What Songs May Do… Revealed by Nina Simone’s songs, this highly anticipated duet by award-winning choreographer and Rendez-Vous Dance artistic director Mathieu Geffré exposes with an unapologetic passion the fractured relationship of a once romantic couple as they delve into their past in an attempt to rebuild their future together. What Songs May Do… is an inclusive dance piece that celebrates love in all its diversity.
What the critics say about Geffré and Rendez-Vous Dance:
“An artist with pedigree, bringing depth, experience and impactful movement quality.” Graham Watts, Dance Writer
“If you’re searching for that perfect balance between strength and grace, I strongly recommend Rendez-Vous Dance.” Chloe Fordham, Dance Writer
Dates: Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th October, 7.30pm
Venue: Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2LW
Tickets: £12.50, book online here
Duration: 60 minutes, no interval
Age: recommended 13+
Find out more about Rendez-Vous Dance here
Oxford Dance Forum (ODF) hosts another stimulating Dance Scratch Night at Arts at the Old Fire Station, an evening of new works in progress by local dance artists, with time for audience feedback and discussion. Oxford artists showing work in this edition are Andy Solway, Ayala Kingsley, and Ségolène Tarte, and ODF is also delighted to welcome visiting company Dew Dance from High Wycombe. Further details about the works in progress they will be sharing:
Andy Solway: Six from 66
Andy Solway has been creating improvised performances since the 1980s. The pieces in this Scratch Night are fragments from a two-day performance planned for later this year. 66 Dances is a challenge, a taking stock, an artistic collaboration, and a reflection on the world over the past 66 years. On 2 December, Andy will be 66. Over 2 days, 2 and 3 December, at Littlemore Church, he will perform 66 dances, supported by an amazing group of dancers, musicians and other collaborators.
Ayala Kingsley: Intermediary
This piece came out of Café Reason’s Starting from Zero lockdown project, where Ayala experimented with using everyday materials and objects to explore states of relationship, restriction, and transformation. It was then developed for Café Reason’s Virtual Diamond Night in March within the theme of Hidden.
Ségolène Tarte: Peregrine Suite (Excerpts; work in progress)
Different times, different places, different states of minds… There are so many ways to travel! Dedicated to all who yearn for travel, and particularly to those who find themselves constrained to traveling in their imaginations, Peregrine Suite is an evocation of travels in time, in space, and in minds; it spins a tale of connections with others, with the self, and with the wondrous. Let yourself be carried along this semi-improvised ambulation across ballet, butoh, and, contemporary; follow the spinners of tales…
Dew Dance: Under the treetops
Under the treetops is a contemporary dance performance, celebrating nature and the significance of trees, intertwined with stories of the community. Performed by Dew Dance, we explore how trees signify growth, sustain life and are a place of shelter. Trees are home. Originally choreographed for bespoke outdoor spaces, Under the treetops is undergoing further development and adaptation for stage.
Date: Wednesday 5th October, 7.30pm
Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford )X1 2AQ
Tickets: £5 book here
Find out more about Oxford Dance Forum here
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