nocturn presents CoEXist, The Gallery, South Hill Park, Bracknell, 7th & 8th May 2016

CoEXist – An exciting evening of new work curated and created by John Darvell’s nocturn.

The company invites you to an intimate sharing, the first live performance of an extract from our new work ‘… And They Have Escaped’. This will be an extraordinary opportunity to see the work up close in the first week of creation, before the professional artists and media partners transcribe the live work into a digital experience.

CoEXist will also feature work from ILLUME, a group of recreational adult dancers, who have worked intensively over five days in collaboration with nocturn to create a dance piece of their own in response to the ideas and themes of the professional work.

A key element of nocturn’s work is our passion for delivering high quality dance to young people across the Thames Valley. Two of these groups will be performing as part of this event, a curtain raiser from Norden Farm Youth Dance presented on one evening and from New Greenham Arts Youth Dance Company on the other.

Performances:  Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th May – 7.45pm

Venue: The Gallery, South Hill Park, Ringmead, Bracknell RG12 7PA

Tickets: £12.50, Conc £11, Schools £9

Book in person at box office, online here, or call 01344 484 123.

www.nocturndance.co.uk
@nocturndance

www.southhillpark.org.uk

 

The Revelation of Miss White: nocturn dance films on Facebook from Monday 21st March 2016

John Darvell‘s Berkshire based company nocturn creates and delivers experimental contemnporary narrative performances based on topical social issues.  Using a mixture of dance and accessible technology, they engage audiences in interactive artistic events that they may experience accidentally, either online, or in an installation setting.  On Monday 21st March The Revelation of Miss White will premier on Facebook and deliver a three week series of dance-film installments and accompanying intensive audience engagement in this online mystery series.

 

Fractured Landscapes: online video dances from nocturndance

Over the past four weeks the always innovative nocturndance has been posting a series of four short but atmospheric video dances by John Darvell made with creative team Deborah Ann Camp, Ben Johnston and Liz Allum.  The series is now complete and you can find them on nocturndance’s Vimeo page here:

http://vimeo.com/nocturndance

The titles of the films are as follows:

Wound

Torn open…

The slow descent…

A new path

John writes:  “After the moment, raging emotions from the harsh brutal force of change brings to life a new path. Please take the videos for what they are, just fleeting moments of expression, for you to watch and take in.”

 

Lunas Dance Project in Measuring Time, Old Fire Station, 10th May 2014 – Jane Connelly reviews

This show followed the theme of time. Lunas Dance Project’s new work Measuring Time started and ended the show, framing works by guest companies in the middle.

Measuring Time: Part 1 and Part 2. The piece began as Ellie Aldegheri moved a stone from a heap at the side of the stage to a new pile beside it; she danced a powerful solo, then joined all the dancers grouped at the back. There were fast sequences of intense movement on, off, around and across the stage, and with big umbrellas and newspapers, including a solo of quiet intensity from Elly Tiburcio.

 

dareyouwatch live streamed from South Hill Park by nocturn dance 31st May-1st June 2013 – Eleanor Jones reviews

The intentional obscurity of the social media campaign for dareyouwatch could be read as an unflinching self-awareness on the part of nocturn dance, a realisation of how the medium of dance is perceived, and indeed how at odds such an immersive and physical art form is with digital world. As an audience member, seeing dance performed is akin to the attending a live gig; it’s all about being there, being actively part of something even though you’re a spectator, and being so intensely aware of the physical achievements of the performers that it mesmerises you.  dareyouwatch is all about changing this, using social media to replace this sense of participation and, in fact, developing  it through direct interaction and involvement with the performance through Facebook and Twitter. Nor is this replacement a blind journeying towards inevitable progress, but an active attempt to shatter the perceived elitism that accompanies dance, or indeed any other form of high culture. 

 

nocturn dance presents “dareyouwatch” online and in performance at South Hill Park, Bracknell 31st May-1st June

Now you don’t even have to leave the house to get a thrilling dance fix…  Choreographer John Darvell of nocturn dance invites you to enter “the Chamber” and join five characters – and the tea lady – as drama unfolds online in dareyouwatch.  Play now on Facebook, watch it live streamed on Friday 31st May and Saturday 1st June – or see it live in performance at South Hill Park, Bracknell…

 

Dance Scratch Night at Pegasus Theatre 25th January 2013 – Lizzy Spight views works in progress

Lizzy Spight attended the January Dance Scratch Night at the Pegasus Theatre to see works in development by local dance artists, including some for Moving with the Times, the Dancin’ Oxford platform.  Audience feedback and discussion was facilitated by Fiona Millward.  Lizzy writes:

The first work in progress was Ellyfish & Things by Elly Crowther and Emma Goodwin; a colourful piece with playful elements around the subject of “Happiness”.  Little nuggets of wisdom are framed by playful short dances which bring up the memory of childhood, including some of its darker sides.  This was originally made for a children’s show, and the artists think that to present it as a duet rather than a  solo brings more out of it by enabling it to represent various relationships, maybe mother and child, or two children?

 

The Dance Shed – Cornerstone, Didcot Sunday 25th November

the DANCE SHED

Come see an evening of exciting dance work performed by pro, semi-pro and community adult groups at the Cornerstone, Didcot.  John Darvell and locally based company Nocturn Dance are hosting an evening  celebrating adult dance, showcasing all the best that adult community dance groups across the Thames Valley and South East can offer. The platform is an opportunity to engage with the diverse range of creative dance activity that takes place in the local community; watch them perform and learn how to get involved.  A night not to miss!