Rambert School presents Platform, Arts at the Old Fire Station, 26th January 2023

Join the next generation of artists from Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance for a performance like no other.

Platform offers students the freedom to develop their own ideas, push boundaries and find their own unique style.

Don’t miss this chance to see the choreographers of the future display all the creative flair and fearless imagination nurtured at Rambert School.

Date: Thursday 26th January 7.30pm

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ

Tickets: Standard £13/ Pay more £15/ Pay less £11 – Book online here

Age recommendation: 12 years plus

Please note that the performance includes adult themes, and some flashing/strobe lighting will be in use.

 

Oxford Dance Forum presents Dance Scratch Night, at the Old Fire Station (OFS), Oxford, 5th October 2022 – Maggie Watson reports

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.

 

Oxford Dance Forum presents Dance Scratch Night, Arts at the Old Fire Station 5th October 2022

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

 

Going Global: Kathak dance & music by Aradhana Arts, Arts at the Old Fire Station 15th July 2022 – Susannah Harris-Wilson reviews

As part of this year’s Offbeat Festival on 15^th July at the Old Fire Station on Oxford’s George Street we were treated to an evening of Kathak dance and music presented as “Going Global”.  The instrumentalists included the amazing tabla player, Master Sanju Sahai, along with violinist Alice Barron, and sitar player and vocalist Debipriya Sircar.  Jaymini Sahai leads the company and is its solo Kathak dancer.  The troupe was sponsored and presented by Aradhana Arts.

The evening began with an introduction by Jaymini Sahai in which she explained that among the eight major Indian dance styles – or forms – Kathak represented best those from the North of the country along with the Panjabi Bhangra.  The famous Bharatanatyam from Tamil Nadu represented those from southern India along with the dramatic Kathakali dance drama form.   Sahai further explained that all Indian dances are a form of storytelling.  And that, under the Mogul’s rule in Northern India, Kathak dance became a dance for the courts of the emperors and was in this way refined in its gestures.

 

Dance at Oxford’s Offbeat Festival 11th-17th July 2022

The annual Offbeat Festival is a hive of new performance in Oxford showcasing brand-new theatre, comedy, dance, family shows, spoken word and music right on the doorstep. A collaboration between Oxford Playhouse and Arts at the Old Fire Station, it incorporates live and pre-recorded performances streamed from the Old Fire Station and Burton Taylor Studio. Take a chance on something exciting; here are details of dance shows at Offbeat.

Wednesday 13th July 8.00-9.00pm: Commonality

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ

Tickets: £10 – book online here

Shared experiences in a world of division, with Thomas Page Dances.  Featuring contemporary dance, a unique score, live photography and an interactive set, Commonality looks at the parts of life that everyone has in common. Through the exploration of shared experiences and feelings, this performance paints the possibilities of coming together as one community.

Friday 15th July 8.00-9.00pm: Going Global

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ

Tickets: £10 – book online here

Aradhana Arts are excited to bring Going Global to the Old Fire Station as part of Offbeat Festival, bringing together an ensemble of talented musicians presenting a rich mix of music from around the globe. The ensemble is led by the critically acclaimed Tabla Master Sanju Sahai and features versatile violinist Alice Barron, talented Sitarist and Vocalist Debipriya Sircar, versatile Guitarist Giuliano Modarelli and North Indian classical Kathak dance by Jaymini Sahai. Suitable for ages 10 years+

Sunday 17th July 11.00am-12.00: Apple ‘n’ Spice

Venue: BT Studio, Gloucester Street, Oxford OX1 2BN

Tickets: £8 – book online here

Sanskruti Dance introduces children to storytelling, dance and shadow puppetry with Apple ‘N’ Spice, an original, interactive and multi-cultural performance incorporating bharatanatyam and contemporary dance. This new fairy tale tells the story of two stepmothers; one from the East and one from the West, watch the plot thicken as their stories entwine. “Children and their families watched on in awe.” – Colchester and North Essex Gazette. Suitable for ages 5 years+

 

Van Huynh Company presents Re:birth, Arts at the Old Fire Station, 20th April 2022

“Let me begin again.” Ocean Vuong

Dam Van Huynh draws upon the words of writers, poets, activists as an awakening to his displaced experience as a child refugee from the Vietnam war. Moving from a state of disorientation into a state of consciousness, Re:birth retraces a personal experience of rediscovery. The performance unravels a recollection of visual impressions and sensations, a memory book whose pictures and stories long forgotten begin to resurface, a distortion between memories and dreams. Movement responds to a field of light, sound and voice to illude the senses.

Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.

Dam Van Huynh was Winner of the Asian Arts Award for Best Directing 2018 for DEP:

“Throughout ĐẸP, I am on the edge of my seat.” – The Guardian

★★★★ – The Observer on DEP

“Van Huynh is in his own very stylised world, and has perfected the art of drawing an audience into it.” – CriticalDance Forum

“A powerful work with a terrible beauty all of its own.” ★★★★ Seeing Dance on DEP

Date: Wednesday 20th April, 7.30pm

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ

Tickets: Standard: £13 | Pay more: £15 | Pay less: £11 Book online here

Ages: 12 years +

Content warning: Please note, this work contains nudity.

Find out more about Van Huynh Company here

 

Life Line, curated by Cecilia Macfarlane and Joëlle Pappas, Arts at the Old Fire Station 31st March – 2nd April 2020

Long established and highly respected Oxford dance makers Cecilia Macfarlane and Joëlle Pappas join together this spring to curate a three day festival of professional, adult community, and youth dance at the Old Fire Station under the title Life Line. The three shows, suitable for audiences of all ages, comprise:

Life Line

This evening of dance with live music is curated by Cecilia Macfarlane and Joëlle Pappas who relish the opportunity to share the passion and deep artistic values that they hold in common. Their careers as dancers, directors, teachers and mentors are rooted in the knowledge that Dance is the key to healthy living and our surviving on this planet.

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost.  The world will not have it.  It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.”  ― Martha Graham

Thursday 31st March 7.30pm

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2QA

Book online here

Curious Dancing: DugOut Adult Community Dance

DugOut Community Dance Group present Curious Dancing, an evening of dance created and performed by its members and guests with direction from Cecilia Macfarlane. All the dancers celebrate how powerfully dance can release expression, feed the soul and entertain others. We celebrate difference; the excitement is not in uniformity but unique individuality that can powerfully change lives. Find out more about Dugout here.

Friday 1st April 7.30pm

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2QA

Book online here

Ripples, Echoes…: Tac-au-Tac Youth Dance and guests

“Look out, now! We’re ready to jump!
Because the rhythm is jumpin’, jump session
Doo wadda doodoo wadda doodoo wat doo wah” ― Slim & Slam

Tac-au-Tac Youth Dance and Joëlle Pappas present two entertaining programmes of contemporary dance.

Ripples of the past, echoes of the present, dance carries us forward…

Saturday 2nd April 4.00pm

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2QA

Book online here

 

Bitter Moves, Sweet Truths: an evening of continuing – multidisciplinary collaboration at Arts at the Old Fire Station 24th February 2022

“Last Christmas, a new telescope was sent into space and is now wandering in the dark and mysterious galaxy – is this how we, as artists, feel when we go deep into our consciousness in search of what makes us feel alive?“

What happens when five artistic units come together during a global pandemic and are given the time to think and reflect? Witnessing a rise in sickening racial attacks against the global majority, the endless closure of theatres and arts venues, and the widening gap between the “successful” artist and the “starving” artist, what would five live artists of different races and backgrounds do when they gather?

Bitter Moves, Sweet Truths: an evening of continuing is part of an ongoing collaboration between percussionist/multidisciplinary artist Angela Wai-Nok Hui, contemporary art duo Ghost and John, dance/maker/writer Shivaangee Agrawal, and independent dance artist Thomas Page. Together they look at what creative exchange and artist alliance means in a world where the arts are under threat, and how to project a healthier future in the post-pandemic world. This dynamic promenade piece will merge dance with soundscapes & projections, transporting you to a place of calm that strives to build connections through art.

The evening will be a chance to observe, question, challenge, share, reflect, dream, and exchange. So artists, art makers, art lovers, join us at the Old Fire Station Theatre in Oxford as we unpack this mess in the tidiest ways we can!

Date: Thursday 24th February 7.00pm

Venue: Arts at the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ

Tickets: Standard: £13 | Pay more: £15 | Pay less: £11 Book online here

Duration: 2.5 hours

Ages: 14+

 

SpinDrift: Helen Edwards and Oxford Improvisers, Arts at the Old Fire Station 22nd February 2022

Spindrift is a special early evening event in the cafe of the Old Fire Station combining free improvisation by musicians of Oxford Improvisers and dance with special guest Helen Edwards.

Helen Edwards is an Oxford based dancer, artist and arts psychotherapist. She has studied Butoh and Amerta Movement in Indonesia, Japan, Europe and the UK. Helen will perform a solo piece of her own devising (Finding Stone) and also dance in duo with fellow Oxford-based dancer Lizzy Spight.

The evening will present a new piece for improvising musicians and dancers devised by Lawrence Casserley, a larger group piece by Paul Medley, and a piece by Bruno Guastalla using maqam techniques, for loutar and sinewaves.

Programme:

Siròc for loutar with sine waves performed by Bruno Guastalla

Finding Stone solo dance by Helen Edwards with musical accompaniment by Martin Hackett, Philipp Wachsmann, Paul Medley

HIPPO devised by Lawrence Casserley. Dancers: Helen Edwards and Lizzy Spight. Musicians: Lisa Reim, Chris Stubbs, Pete Watson. The five greatest threats to biodiversity can be summarized by the “HIPPO” acronym: (1) Habitat loss, (2) Invasives, (3) Pollution, (4) Population, and (5) Overexploitation. The score consists of five graphic images, which are drawn from some of the most endangered environments on earth: grasslands, oceans, broadleaf forest, arctic regions, Aral Sea.

Spindrift devised by Paul Medley for solo players and small groups

Squall, a text piece devised by Mark Browne for improvisers, that considers some of the many and diverse aspects of large bodies of water.

Performers:

Dancers: Helen Edwards, Lizzy Spight
Musicians: Andrew West, Chris Stubbs, Bruno Guastalla, Lisa Reim, Martin Hackett, Lawrence Casserley, Chris Dammers, Mark Browne, Pete Watson, Philipp Wachsmann, Dan Goren, Lizzy Spight, Paul Medley.

Date: Tuesday 22nd February 6.30pm

Venue: Old Fire Station Cafe, 40 George Street, Oxford OX1 2AQ

Tickets: on the door.

Find out more about Helen Edwards here

Find out more about Oxford Improvisers here

Find out about Lizzy Spight here

 

ODF presents Dance Scratch Night, Arts at the Old Fire Station, 9th February 2022 – Maggie Watson reports

Wednesday 9th February saw the first Dance Scratch Night at the Old Fire Station since the start of the pandemic.   Three local makers, Pragna Das, Susie Crow and Helen Edwards shared new work with an audience, and invited feedback and suggestions during discussions moderated by Jenny Parrott on behalf of Oxford Dance Forum (ODF).  Although they work in different dance and movement genres, all three artists draw on a vast corpus of knowledge and understanding: for Pragna Das and Susie Crow, the heritage of Kathak and ballet; for Helen Edwards, Asian movement traditions including Butoh, and the ancient materiality of the natural world.