Dancin’ Oxford 2018 – Susie Crow reports

“Spring is coming…” I wrote in posting an advance round-up of performance and other events for this year’s edition of Dancin’ Oxford Festival 1^st – 11^th March 2018. It would perhaps have been more appropriate to post “Winter is coming…” as the arrival of the “Beast from the East” took some casualties in the first weekend of programming. Heavy snowfall and consequent travel disruption led to the postponement to a later date (to be announced) of the one day Dance and Academia conference, with several guest speakers unable to get there. That same day (Saturday 3^rd March) Company Chameleon’s performance at Pegasus Theatre was also cancelled.

Other companies who had arrived in Oxford a day or two earlier before the snow were able to continue with scheduled performances in true “the show must go on” style, and with encouragingly healthy audiences. At the end of Theatre Ad Infinitum’s Friday evening performance of Odyssey at The North Wall, performer George Mann gave a heartfelt thanks to those that had made it. I found this lively retelling of Homer’s great story of journey and homecoming well worth crunching through silent snowy streets for.

 

#Ending the Silence, Unlock the Chains Collective at the Old Fire Station, 23rd February 2018 – Joel Stanley reviews

A Captivating Performance and an Unmissable Experience

#EndingTheSilence is a tripartite production that builds on the previous work performed by Unlock the Chains Collective. The first part of this performance, #BlackLivesMatter premiered in March 2017 in the Pegasus Theatre. Capitalising on its success, the collective have built on it, developing two following parts, called #Walking on Eggshells and #Rise Up.

For Unlock the Chains Collective, theatre and performance is a fundamentally holistic and immersive experience that doesn’t begin merely when the curtain rises. Walking into the Old Fire Station a little before the performance, I was greeted by a drumming set performed by Natty Mark-Samuels, Francis Boua, and Bawren Tavaziva, which wonderfully hinted towards the rhythm and the energy yet to come in the second part of the performance.

 

#Ending the Silence: Euton Daley’s Unlock the Chains Collective, Arts at the Old Fire Station, 24 February 2018 – Maggie Watson reviews

This was at three-part evening: first drumming in the bar by Natty Mark-Samuels and Francis Boua, then the performance (which the drummers also accompanied), and afterwards a DJ set.

The central event was Unlock the Chains Collective’s performance of #Ending the Silence, Euton Daley’s blistering commentary on the aftermath of empire and colonialism. Part One (entitled #Black Lives Matter) opens to the sound of emergency vehicles, and we see the performers dressed in black and white on a set with two soapbox stands and a pair of large grid frames, one placed on the floor the other leaning against the back wall. Overhead, a screen displays Derek James’ filmscape of words, names and images.

 

Unlock the Chains Collective present #Ending the Silence, Old Fire Station, 22nd-24th February 2018

Heralding the arrival of Dancin’ Oxford 2018 in an exciting preview event, Euton Daley’s Unlock the Chains Collective presents a powerful evening of dance theatre #Ending the Silence at the Old Fire Station, building on last year’s work commissioned by Dancin’ Oxford #Black Lives Matter.

Unlock the Chains Collective asks: Where are our heroes, history makers and change makers? Why are so many not recognised in our history books or halls of fame?  In the form of a trilogy #Ending the Silence is a protest-for-change style of theatre exploring the Black experience and struggles for justice, equality and human rights:

#Black Lives Matter – a historical reflection juxtaposed with modern day resistance, protest and struggle.

#Walking on Eggshells – struggles, stories and perspectives on surviving.

#Hope – dreams, aspirations and looking forward.

“So original and thought-provoking”  Audience member

The evening starts with drumming in the bar at 7.00pm, before the performance at 7.30pm, and will be followed by a DJ set at 9.00pm.

Unlock the Chains Collective produces dance theatre projects fusing storytelling, performance poetry and design, giving opportunities to Black artists to explore their experience, culture and identity as well as create and showcase work. #Ending the Silence will kick-start a year of remembrance and celebration around the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush from the West Indies at Tilbury Docks in 1948, and with it the first large group of post-war immigration into Britain.

Performances:  Thursday- Saturday 22nd-24th February, 7.00pm for 7.30pm

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

Tickets:  £10, £8 concessions, Students/under 16s £6

Book online here, or call the Box Office on 01865 263990

Find out more about the company and Euton Daley here

 

DugOut Adult Community Dance present Suspension, Pegasus Theatre 9th June 2017

Temporary withdrawal from the demands of the routine – dance offers all of us a moment of suspension.  Join DugOut Adult Community Dance at the Pegasus Theatre for an evening of surprises with their new show Suspension, exploring the possibilities found at the very edge, in the instants between rising and falling, between holding tight and letting go.

DugOut is an intergenerational and inclusive contemporary dance group, based in East Oxford, which seeks to promote dance for everyone regardless of age, experience or background.  Started 27 years ago and led by respected Oxford dance artist Cecilia Macfarlane, this inspirational group presents a whole evening of their work once every three years, incorporating seasoned group members and new performers.  The performance will end with an opportunity for everyone to take to the stage, with DJ Euton Daley taking charge of the decks.

Performance:  Friday 9th June 7.30pm

Venue:  Pegasus Theatre, Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RE

Tickets:  £12, £9 concessions.  Book online here or call the Box Office on 01865 812150

Find out more about DugOut here