Nocturne: Joëlle Pappas (dancer/choreographer), Diana Hinds (piano), Rory Carver (tenor), New College Oxford Chapel, 12 December 2019 – Maggie Watson reviews

Nocturne, an original programme of French piano music, dance and song, was a completely absorbing aesthetic experience. We sat on chairs arranged in a semi-circle around the performance area, the grand piano to the left, the dance space alongside it, illuminated by small portable footlights. In the far corner was a Christmas tree, lit with plain white lights; overhead there were angels carved on the wooden ceiling, and behind us, Jacob Epstein’s statue of Lazarus.

Musically, the programme fell into two halves: the first half, which included the dance, being Gabriel Fauré’s 1er Nocturne in E flat minor and Toru Takemitsu’s Rain Tree Sketch II; the second a performance of French poems in settings by Fauré, Claude Debussy, Henri Duparc and Reynaldo Hahn, elegantly sung by Rory Carver.

 

Motion & Meaning: Ensemble Klang & Leading Contemporary Dancers Residency, St Hilda’s College, 6th July 2018

DANSOX and the Liveness, Hybridity & Noise Series join forces for this multi-disciplinary presentation of three new works that stretch the synthetic possibilities of music and dance. Over a four-day residency at St Hilda’s College, one of Holland’s leading contemporary music groups, Ensemble Klang, will be working with three composers from Oxford and a team of leading contemporary dancers and choreographers (Malgorzata Dzierzon, Estela Merlos, Patricia Okenwa, Liam Riddick and Piedad Albarracin Seiquer). ‘Open’ rehearsals will take place each afternoon on 4-5 July (15:00–17:00), as well a fully-staged performance at 19:30 on Friday 6 July (tickets required for all sessions and spaces limited so booking early advised).

CUE by Anna Appleby (Rambert Music Fellow and St Hilda’s alumna) is a quirky and comical piece that plays with the audience’s perceptions of the boundaries between dance and music. Grim’s Ditch by composer Joel Baldwin (St Hilda’s) explores melancholia, politics, artistic expression and meaning through the layering of multimedia, sound and physical motion.  Joel’s work features the talented Austrian vocalist Michaela Riener, whose recent solo engagements include works by Steve Reich, Michael Gordon (with dance company EmioGreco|PC), Louis Andriessen (La Passione, TAO) and Hanns Eisler (with the Asko|Schönberg Ensemble).  Her soloistic capabilities, as well as her experience with Ensemble Klang and numerous early music ensembles, make her the ideal candidate for this central role of Grim’s Ditch.  Joseph Currie (Wadham) investigates different kinds of time in movement, motivated by the structural difference of heartbeats and breaths, alongside ideas about gendered breath and the expressive apparatus behind screaming.  A new instrumental piece for the ensemble, written by former Oxford composer, Sophie Sparkes, will also be premiered at the main performance on Friday evening.

Anna Appleby – CUE
Joel Baldwin – Grim’s Ditch (feat. Michaela Riener – mezzo soprano)
Joseph Currie – How many eyes do we have then, being two…
Sophie Sparkes – new work

Both open rehearsals (3-5pm on 4th and 5th July) and the performance at 7:30pm on 6th July will be livestreamed.

Date(s):  Friday, 6 July 7:30pm

Venue:  Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, St Hilda’s College, Oxford OX4 1DY

Tickets:  £25 (+£5 per open rehearsal session); £15 students (free entry to open rehearsals) Available online here

St. Hilda’s Alumnae Ticket Offer:  There is a 20% discount offer available for the alumnae of St. Hilda’s College to mark the 125th Anniversary of St. Hilda’s College. Please email the Development Office for more information.

You can find more information about this event here

 

Song and Dance; The Occasional Orchestra with Charlotte Edmonds & Finn Cooke, Sheldonian Theatre 3rd March 2017

Oxford’s The Occasional Orchestra conducted by Fifi Korda brings together music by Debussy, Richard Strauss and Gershwin with dance by emerging choreographers in the majestic setting of Oxford University’s Sheldonian Theatre.  Inspired by the flawless merging of art forms in the Ballet Russes, Song and Dance brings you the next generation of Britain’s artistic talent.  The evening will premier a new ballet by the Royal Ballet Choreographic Apprentice Charlotte Edmonds, featuring Emma Farnell-Watson and Kaine Ward dancing to  Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. It will also feature choreography by former-Royal Ballet School dancer Finn Cooke in Richard Strauss’s 4 Last Songs, alongside upcoming soprano Roxanne Korda.

Date:  Friday 3rd March 8.00pm

Venue:  The Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AZ

Tickets:  £10, £7 concessions

Book online here or call 01865 277299

 

Pilgrim: Lucy Suggate and James Holden, Burton Taylor Studio Friday 6th January 2017

What’s so special about losing yourself in movement and music?

This is the question that Lucy Suggate and James Holden are trying to answer with Pilgrim. This new show combines Suggate’s irreverently entertaining dance style with Holden’s otherworldly electronic score to create an experience that will entrance all lovers of music and dance.

Lucy Suggate is a choreographer whose been making fascinating dance theatre since 2003. In that time, she’s honed her creative and bold style, creating numerous five star shows that overflow with grace, humour and passion. An international success, she comes to Oxford now with a performance that’s sure to entrance you with its poise, vulnerability and rhythm.

For Pilgrim, she is joined by the spine-tingling music of James Holden. A musician and DJ whose been making hit music since 1999, Holden’s first album was described by the Guardian as “astonishing”. His intricate rhythms make the perfect landscape for Suggate to explore and lose herself in.

To summarise: we think that this partnership is incredibly exciting and that Pilgrim is that special kind of dance show that will take your breath away. Don’t miss it.

Date:  Friday 6th January, 7.30pm

Venue:  Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford Playhouse, Gloucester Street, Oxford OX1 2BN

Tickets:  £10 (discounts £8)

Call Ticket Office on 01865 305305 or book online at http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com