www.idfb.co.uk
At a Glance Diary DATE
TIME
SHOW
VENUE
Thu 22 – Sat 24 April Fri 23 & Sat 24 April
7.30pm 8pm
Birmingham Hippodrome The Patrick Centre
Fri 23 & Sat 24 April Tue 27 April – Sat 1 May
8pm 7.30pm (2.30pm Sat) 8pm
Mark Morris Dance Group L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMANCE Rosie Kay Dance Company 5 SOLDIERS The Body is the Frontline Liquid Loft / Chris Haring Running Sushi Ballet Nacional de Cuba Magia de la Danza & Giselle
Tue 27 & Wed 28 April Tue 27 & Wed 28 April Thu 29 April – Sun 2 May Fri 30 April & Sat 1 May Sat 1 – Mon 3 May Tue 4 – Sat 8 May Wed 5 May Thu 6 May Fri 7 & Sat 8 May Fri 7 & Sat 8 May Sun 9 May Tue 11 & Wed 12 May Thu 13 May Fri 14 May Thu 13 & Fri 14 May Fri 14 & Sat 15 May Sat 15 May
DOUBLE BILL: Pere Faura & Club Fisk This is a picture of a person I don’t know & Forestillinger 8pm Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Sadler’s Wells London Sutra Various Outspoken – New Performance from Arab Artists 8pm C!RCA presents CIRCA Various United Colours of Dance 7.30pm Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals (Wed 2pm & Fri/Sat 2.30pm) 7.30pm Chanta La Mui Complot 7.30pm Chanta La Mui Recital 7.30pm Akram Khan Company Gnosis Various DanceXchange & two’s company dance management Funny Bones 2pm & 5pm Compagnie Arcosm Echoa 8pm Colin Dunne Out of Time 8pm IDFB & sampad South Asian Arts present Thresh Dance Company The Absent Lover 8pm IDFB & sampad South Asian Arts present Abhimanyu & Vidha Lal Kathak Duet 8pm Xavier Le Roy Self Unfinished 8pm Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker Cruel TBC Put Your Foot Down!
Ikon Eastside Birmingham Hippodrome The Patrick Centre Birmingham Repertory Theatre The Patrick Centre & Ikon Eastside Birmingham Repertory Theatre Victoria Square Birmingham Hippodrome Town Hall Town Hall Town Hall The Patrick Centre The Patrick Centre The Patrick Centre The Patrick Centre The Patrick Centre Ikon Eastside Birmingham Hippodrome The Bullring
PAGE NO. 4&5 6 7 8&9 . 9 . 10 & 11 12 & 13 14 & 15 28 16 . 17 17 18 & 19 20 21 22 & 23 24 . 24 . 25 26 & 27 29
Two years ago, as we completed the first hugely successful International Dance Festival Birmingham, we knew it would be a hard act to follow in every sense. We got straight to work, learning, evaluating and reviewing, and set our sights on IDFB 2010. New relationships with artists, sponsors and supporters have driven our planning and we hope that what you discover within these pages (and on the website at idfb.co.uk) will fulfil all your expectations of just how a dance festival should look and feel. As tempting as it is to point out our own personal highlights, we think it far better for you to discover and select your own, hopefully trying something new and different in the process. Dance, always naturally one of the most popular and participatory of art forms, is experiencing a huge surge in interest whether on TV talent shows and celebrity challenges; in schools, colleges, studios and church halls across the country; or on the stages of our theatres. IDFB 2010 presents a diverse range of opportunities for every taste -- including a wealth of talks, workshops and residencies that offer new ways to discover and enjoy dance. In addition to ticketed shows in various city centre venues, there are free events in public spaces across the West Midlands, and a few surprises yet to be announced. We are of course enormously grateful for the financial support from our partner funders Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England West Midlands, and Birmingham City Council, and from our new corporate sponsors Brewin Dolphin. We’re also delighted that International Dance Festival Birmingham is an integral part of the West Midlands Culture Programme for 2012, showcasing our region as a world-class cultural destination and engaging our diverse communities. Watching a really great dance show as part of a live audience is one of the most life-affirming shared experiences you can have. Buy a ticket. Take part. Join in. Enjoy International Dance Festival Birmingham 2010.
David Massingham Artistic Director, DanceXchange Co-Artistic Director IDFB 2010
Stuart Griffiths Chief Executive, Birmingham Hippodrome Co-Artistic Director IDFB 2010
Festival Producers: DanceXchange and Birmingham Hippodrome Funders: Advantage West Midlands, Arts Council England West Midlands, Birmingham City Council Media Partner: BBC WM Accommodation Partner: Crowne Plaza
Stay in touch: see page 30 for our Facebook and Twitter details and make sure you’re the first to know about Festival news.
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP WITH THE ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS OF ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA
Image: Courtesy of Mark Morris Dance Group
L’ALLegro, iL penseroso ed iL ModerATo Thursday 22 - Saturday 24 April // 7.30pm Birmingham Hippodrome
Image: Ken Friedman
Described by The Washington Post as America’s “Mozart of modern dance”, Mark Morris has changed the way audiences see dance forever. The world-renowned choreographer returns to the UK to present his brilliant and majestic L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. When it premiered in 1988, it was instantly heralded as a landmark work. The musical landscape is Handel’s pastoral ode, set to the poetry of John Milton, whilst the sets are inspired by William Blake’s later watercolours illustrating Milton’s text. Boasting twenty-four dancers, English National Opera’s Orchestra and Chorus under conductor Jane Glover, and an outstanding quartet of soloists including Mark Padmore and Elizabeth Watts, this is “one of the very greatest dances of the late 20th century” (Boston Herald).
Booking 4
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Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £18.50-£49
“Once in a very rare while something comes along that simply has to be seen...blissful dance.� THE TIMES
5
ROSIE KAY DANCE COMPANY
5 soLdiers
WORLD PREMIER E
The Body is The FronTLine
Friday 23 & Saturday 24 April // 8pm The Patrick Centre 5 SOLDIERS The Body is the Frontline is a timely, controversial, thought provoking and moving exploration of war in modern times. A dance theatre work with 5 dancers, it looks at how the human body is essential to, and used in, warfare. 5 SOLDIERS explores the physical training that prepares you for war, as well as the possible effects on the body, and the injury caused by warfare.
Image: Brian Slater
Featuring Kay’s trademark intense physicality and athleticism, 5 SOLDIERS weaves a journey of physical transformation, helping us understand how soldiers are made and how war affects them. 5 SOLDIERS is a unique collaboration between award-winning choreographer Rosie Kay, visual artist David Cotterrell and theatre director Walter Meierjohann. It follows an intense period of research, where Rosie learnt battle training with The 4th Battalion The Rifles and David spent time in Helmand Province with the Joint Forces Medical Group. The piece has an original sound score by Annie Mahtani and dramaturgy by Petra Tauscher. Commissioned by DanceXchange, International Dance Festival Birmingham, Arts Council England and Warwick Arts Centre. Support from Birmingham City Council and The Rayne Foundation The Big Idea.
Booking 6
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Age guidAnce: 14yrs+ contains themes of an adult nature TickeT prices: £10/£8 conc.
LIQUID LOFT / CHRIS HARING
running sushi Image: Chris Haring
Friday 23 & Saturday 24 April // 8pm Ikon Eastside In Running Sushi, dancers Stephanie Cumming and Johnny Schoofs perform on a stage-cum-platter with chopstick-wielding high jumping, in a witty comment on contemporary life. With 12 dance dishes served up like a sushi menu, and performed in an order chosen by audience members who pick sushi off a plate, the audience creates a new storyboard each evening.
“Full to the brim with hinted comments about contemporary life. It was tasty, most witty, and rather humorous.” THE JERUSALEM POST
Booking Call 0844 338 5000 TRANSACTION CHARGES MAY APPLY. PLEASE NOTE TICKETS FOR THIS SHOW ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO BOOK ONLINE.
Age guidAnce: 16yrs+ contains nudity TickeT prices: £10/£8 conc.
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Image: Johan Persson
BALLET NACIONAL DE CUBA Artistic Director Alicia Alonso
MAgiA de LA dAnZA & giseLLe Guest Appearances Carlos Acosta Tue 27 & Wed 28 April
Image: Courtesy of Ballet Nacional De Cuba
Magia de la Danza Tuesday 27 - Thursday 29 April // 7.30pm Giselle Friday 30 April & Saturday 1 May // 7.30pm & 2.30pm (Sat matinee) Birmingham Hippodrome As one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world, Ballet Nacional de Cuba is renowned for taking classical Western ballets and invigorating them with the vivid passion at the heart of Cuba. On this first UK tour, the Company will perform two programmes accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Magia de la Danza -- This stunning mixed bill brings together extracts from seven of the Company’s most famous ballet classics including The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia and Swan Lake. Giselle -- Initially choreographed by Coralli and Perrot and revised by Petipa in 1884, Giselle is one of the world’s best loved ballets, following the story of a fragile peasant girl and her enduring love for her prince, even after her tragic death.
Booking 8
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Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £16-£45
Image: Thomas Petri
“Technical fireworks with brilliant charm and awesome ease.”
PERE FAURA & CLUB FISK
douBLe BiLL
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Tuesday 27 & Wednesday 28 April // 8pm The Patrick Centre
Image: Courtesy of Pere Faura
This is a picture of a person I don’t know (Pere Faura) is a solo performance about loneliness and the idea of nostalgia as a way to escape from it. Trying to discover new spaces between theatre and cinema, words and movement, reality and fiction, the performer plays with very famous scenes from musicals (including A Chorus Line and Singing in the Rain) to expose his most personal conflicts in a poetic and humorous journey.
“…tugs at the heartstrings, makes us laugh and entertains in equal measure.” KELLY APTOR, EDINBURGH FRINGE REVIEW 2009 FOR THIS IS A PICTURE OF A PERSON I DON’T KNOW
Forestillinger (Club Fisk) is a short performance consisting of two dancers, two costume changes, two masks, an easel and an elaborate explanation of the performance and its underlying structure. Club Fisk’s work is characterised by a liberating sense of humour together with a good dose of classic Scandinavian minimalism. The Danish title Forestillinger is apt, as it can mean performance, or impression, as well as imagination.
Booking Call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.idfb.co.uk to buy online. PLEASE NOTE TRANSACTION CHARGES MAY APPLY.
Age guidAnce: 14yrs+ TickeT prices: £10/£8 conc.
9
Image: Hugo Glendinning
SIDI LARBI CHERKAOUI / SADLER’S WELLS LONDON
suTrA Tuesday 27 & Wednesday 28 April // 8pm Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Image: Hugo Glendinning
Celebrated Flemish/Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui presents a dance work inspired by the skill, strength and spirituality of Buddhist Shaolin monks. He has collaborated closely with Turner Prize-winning artist Antony Gormley, who has created a design consisting of 21 wooden boxes, repositioned during the performance to create a striking, ever changing onstage environment. Featuring 17 Monks directly from the original Shaolin Temple in China, the piece also includes a beautiful brand new score for piano, percussion and strings by Polish composer Szymon Brzóska, which is played live. A Sadler’s Wells Production. Co-produced with Athens Festival, Festival de Barcelona Grec, Grand Théãtre de Luxembourg, La Monnaie Brussels Festival d’Avignon, Fondazione Musica per Roma and Shaolin Cultural Communications Company.
Booking 10
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Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £12-£20
“Exceeds even our highest expectations.” HHHHH THE TIMES
11
ouTspoken
new perForMAnce FroM ArAB ArTisTs curATed By eckhArd ThieMAnn
Image: The Assassination of Omar Rajeh, photographer Ursula Kaufman
Thursday 29 April - Sunday 2 May The Patrick Centre & Ikon Eastside There is a new generation of dancers and choreographers in North Africa and the Middle East creating audacious dance theatre. From Omar Rajeh’s politically charged work to Nacera Belaza’s hypnotic minimalism, be surprised, moved and engaged as IDFB brings you the UK’s first performance season dedicated to new choreography from Arab artists.
Muhanad rasheed -- iraqi Bodies // Ahmed khemis // salah el Brogy TripLe BiLL Thursday 29 April // 8pm // The Patrick Centre Muhanad Rasheed -- Iraqi Bodies (Iraq), Crying for my Mother Deeply influenced by the company members’ lives in Iraq, Crying for my Mother has a dramatic and epic quality with high physicality, strong lighting and a powerful soundtrack. Ahmed Khemis (Algeria, Tunisia, France), Voyages de Poussiere (Voyage of Dust) This solo is a physically charged expression of longing and the quest for a new life, based on Ahmed’s relationship with, and the early death of, his father. Salah El Brogy (Egypt), Adrenalin Pent up with conflicting emotions and sensations, Adrenalin shows a person on the brink of explosion. “The blood rushes to my head and sweat runs down my face – the desire to express my thoughts and demand my rights remains...unheard.”
Booking Call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.idfb.co.uk to buy online. 12
PLEASE NOTE THAT TICKETS FOR PERFORMANCES AT IKON EASTSIDE CANNOT BE BOUGHT ONLINE. PLEASE NOTE TRANSACTION CHARGES MAY APPLY.
Age guidAnce: Various -- please ask when booking TickeT prices: Individual shows £5-£10, Weekend Pass £30
omar rajeh -- Maqamat dance Theatre (Lebanon) The AssAssinATion oF oMAr rAJeh
nacera Belaza (Algeria/France) Le cri & Les senTineLLes
Friday 30 April // 8pm // The Patrick Centre
Sunday 2 May // 5pm & 8pm // The Patrick Centre
Following a series of political killings of journalists in Lebanon, Omar Rajeh shows the deep emotional and existential impact these violent acts have on people’s lives. A group of individuals express their emotional responses in a series of solos, group scenes and tableaux, presenting a moving experience of human resilience and solidarity.
Le Cri // 5pm A physical and emotional tour de force, Nacera Belaza and her sister build up a mesmerising and trance-like experience through repetition and variation, with a powerful score combining Arabic chanting, Maria Callas vocals and disco beats.
Taoufiq izeddiou (Morocco) AATABA (The ThreshoLd)
Les Sentinelles EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW // 8pm Alone or together? Based on the concept of a choir, Les Sentinelles asks how we maintain our individual selves in the presence of others. What connects us? What happens when individuality and common purpose come together? What deeper bonds are there between ourselves and others? IDFB is proud to present an exclusive preview of this long-awaited internationally touring trio prior to its premiere in Paris on 10 May.
Saturday 1 May // 8pm // The Patrick Centre Daring and uncompromising, Aataba is one of most controversial yet internationally successful productions from Morocco in recent years. Four female performers explore the contradictions of the individual and society in Morocco – what behaviour is expected and what actually happens.
Meryem Jazouli (Morocco) & Muhanad rasheed -- iraqi Bodies (iraq) douBLe BiLL Saturday 1 May // 6pm // Ikon Eastside Meryem Jazouli, Kelma (The Word) Based on the life and poems of the most famous Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, Kelma is a meditation on exile and absence – and how the creation of art can transcend oppression and darkness, overcoming personal and political conflicts. Muhanad Rasheed – Iraqi Bodies, Insomnia Insomnia is a new version of Iraqi Bodies’ first work The Last Breath, created while living in Iraq in 2005. Three men attempt to find a space of tranquillity and repose in a world filled with uncertainty.
Other activities planned over the four days include post show talks, workshops, film screenings, artists in conversation and debates. A full programme will be available late March – please request your copy by emailing idfb@dancexchange.org.uk or calling +44 (0)121 689 1095.
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C!RCA presents
Friday 30 April & Saturday 1 May // 8pm Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Image: Colm Hogan
circA Come on a thrilling and moving journey. Delight in exceptional circus acts, combined with movement, dance, light, sound and video – and experience a thoroughly new circus. Blending intricate acrobatic sequences, complex tumbling, and powerful solos, Brisbane-based C!RCA’s work is utterly refreshing, making circus a place of renewed wonder.
Image: John Williams Photography
Circa is a new work created for 7 performers from three of C!RCA’s in-repertoire works – The Space Between, By the light of stars that are no longer... and Furioso.
“The six performers in this Australian troupe blend the macabre of circus and the fluidity of dance into a thoroughly spectacular experience.” THE STAGE, EDINBURGH 2009
C!RCA acknowledges the assistance of the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
Booking 14
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Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £12-£20
15
sTricTLy coMe dAncing The proFessionALs
Image: Courtesy of Birmingham Hippodrome
Tuesday 4 - Saturday 8 May // 7.30pm (matinee, Wed 2pm & Fri/Sat 2.30pm) Birmingham Hippodrome A celebration of the glitz, glamour and passion of Ballroom and Latin from the world’s dancing elite, Strictly Come Dancing The Professionals features the world champion dancers from the smash hit BBC TV series as they take to the stage for the first time in the ultimate dance extravaganza. Starring Flavia Cacace, Matthew Cutler, Brian Fortuna, James Jordan, Ola Jordan, Kristina Rihanoff, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, along with this season’s new faces Natalie Lowe and Aliona Vilani, this brand new show presents the beauty and elegance of Strictly’s dancing professionals within the intimate environment of the Hippodrome. The stage show will include the breathtaking show dances for which the professionals have become famous in each of the BBC1 Strictly Come Dancing TV series, together with never before seen content. A must see for fans of the TV series and dance enthusiasts of all ages!
Booking 16
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Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £17-£42.50
coMpLoT & reciTAL
Image: Fernando and Javier Posada
CHANTA LA MUI
Palero & Lamban for i.tek.es
Complot // Wednesday 5 May // 7.30pm Recital // Thursday 6 May // 7.30pm Town Hall Chanta La Mui comprises three young dancers – Olga Pericet, Marco Flores, and Daniel Doña – all of whom are solo performers and choreographers that have enjoyed prestigious careers. They decided to join forces to present an alternative yet complete vision of dance and flamenco, and we’re delighted to welcome them for two very different Flamenco performances this year. Complot is the brain child of all three artists and is related to different styles of dance and music, which have the same free-spirited aim: of going back to our roots to bring the adventures and memories of the past to life today. Recital explores the more traditional Flamenco style of choreography and performance. Several pieces make up the show, in which dance, guitar and singing are the only players.
Book For BoTh shows And geT 15% oFF! Booking Call 0121 780 3333 or visit www.idfb.co.uk to buy online. A £2 TRANSACTION FEE APPLIES TO ONLINE AND PHONE BOOKINGS.
Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £12-£20
17
A5 Brochure 32pp:Layout 1 29/01/2010 12:00 Page 17
AKRAM KHAN COMPANY
Friday 7 & Saturday 8 May // 7.30pm Town Hall
Image: Rankin
gnosis
Image: Christina Paul
Gnosis is a new solo evening in which Akram Khan returns to his classical roots. With an emphasis on the idea of the ‘knowledge within’, it’s an exploration into the inner and outer battles of characters both human and godly. It’s a story in four parts, told using the most expressive of classical Indian dance forms, kathak. Starting out with familiar classical motifs in Polaroid Feet and Tarana, we follow Akram on a journey in which he undergoes a gradual and profound transformation, culminating in an eponymous and shattering conclusion. Akram has long been fascinated by comic-book superheroes and villains, who are, so often, inspired by real-life characters. In parallel, collaborator Gauri Sharma Tripathi is intrigued by the characters of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and in particular by Gandhari, the wife of a blind king, who decides to blindfold herself for life to follow her husband on his journey. The final part, Gnosis, portrays the notion of clouded vision, clouded decisions, seeing darkness, and yet being blind to light. Akram’s choreography has been developed in collaboration with internationally renowned Kathak masters Sri Pratap Pawar and Gauri Sharma Tripathi, and the show features a band of musicians including Yoshie Sunahata, a taiko drummer from Japanese company KODO.
Booking 18
Call 0121 780 3333 or visit www.idfb.co.uk to buy online. A £2 TRANSACTION FEE APPLIES TO ONLINE AND PHONE BOOKINGS.
Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £12-£20
A5 Brochure 32pp:Layout 1 29/01/2010 12:00 Page 18
“The wunderkind of Western contemporary dance and classical Indian kathak.” THE TIMES
19
DANCEXCHANGE & TWO’S COMPANY DANCE MANAGEMENT
Funny Bones Friday 7 & Saturday 8 May // Various The Patrick Centre
Image: Edward Moss
Enticing children aged 5yrs+ and their families into a new world of dance and movement, Funny Bones is a brand new in-the-round double bill of contemporary dance choreographed by Enrique Cabrera and Luca Silvestrini. Enrique Cabrera’s piece, DanSense, explores the five senses and offers a stimulating interactive dance experience for young audiences. From costumes adorned with plastic spoons, to buckets filled with water that soaks the dancers (and the audience!), this piece is a beautifully creative piece that will have children intrigued from start to finish. The second piece, choreographed by Luca Silvestrini, is an imaginative and energetic piece of dance theatre based on the theme of sport. Entering an unusual arena, the performers move from one sporting discipline to another, facing victories and defeats, competitions and challenges. The audience is called to support and take sides, but who will be the winner?
workshops SPECIAL OFFER – book a workshop and performance and get 15% off! 20
A series of workshops will accompany our family weekend, for children and their families to enjoy. Please check www.idfb.co.uk for details or request a family weekend leaflet by calling 0121 689 1095 or emailing idfb@dancexchange.org.uk.
COMPAGNIE ARCOSM
echoA Sunday 9 May // 2pm & 5pm The Patrick Centre
Image: Courtesy of Compagnie Arcosm
A Stomp for the younger set, Echoa is an hour of pure creative fun! This enormously charismatic group of dancers, drummers and physical comedians seizes the stage with its electrifying brand of action percussion. Infectious, inventive and utterly unique, Echoa blurs the line between music and movement, creating a new type of performance. Imagination meets possibility where anything can be an instrument, everyone can dance, and laughter abounds.
“It was awe-inspiring, beautiful, jaw-droppingly energetic, done with meticulous precision and very, very funny. Utterly fantastic.” VICTOR HALLETT DURING WALES INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 2008
Booking For Funny Bones & echoA Call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.idfb.co.uk to buy online. PLEASE NOTE TRANSACTION CHARGES MAY APPLY.
Age guidAnce: 5-95yrs! TickeT prices: £6/£4 children under 16
21
COLIN DUNNE
Image: Courtesy of Colin Dunne
Tuesday 11 & Wednesday 12 May // 8pm The Patrick Centre Nine times world Irish step dance champion and principal dancer in Riverdance (1995-1998), Birmingham-born Colin Dunne’s Out of Time is his first full-length solo production. Seamlessly integrating movement, text, film and sound design with the step dance tradition for which he is internationally acclaimed, Colin offers a contemporary perspective of the art form. Intimate and playful, Out of Time is both an unsentimental homage to Irish step dance, and a bold investigation of Dunne’s personal and artistic relationship with a tradition that has shaped his life. He is joined on stage by projected archival images of dancers from the 1930s onwards, including himself as a ten year old boy. Movement, sound and image come together to create a provocative dialogue between past and present.
Booking 22
Image: Courtesy of Colin Dunne
ouT oF TiMe
Call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.idfb.co.uk to buy online. PLEASE NOTE TRANSACTION CHARGES MAY APPLY.
Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £10/£8 conc.
“An intimate, sincere and funny artistic calling card that sums up why he is who he is, and how he is where he is.” THE IRISH TIMES
23
IDFB and sampad South Asian Arts present
THRESH DANCE COMPANY
The ABsenT Lover Thursday 13 May // 8pm The Patrick Centre The Absent Lover (pictured) is a modern interpretation of a classic 5th century Sanskrit play by famous Indian dramatist, Kalidasa. A story of love and loss, nymph Urvashi runs away in a fit of jealous rage from King Pururavas who desperately seeks her. Encountered by the magic of nature he is driven from realistic to fantastical ‘mind-trips’ until he finds his true love.
Image: Courtesy of Thresh Dance Company
ABHIMANYU & VIDHA LAL
kAThAk dueT Friday 14 May // 8pm The Patrick Centre This fantastically talented dance duo from Delhi are rising stars in the field of Kathak. Comprising dance teacher Abhimanyu Lal and wife Vidha, who has earned great acclaim for her stunning solo and group performances both in India and abroad, they will be accompanied by budding Classical Indian musicians Fateh Ali (sitar), Amaan Ali (tabla) and Imran Khan (vocals).
Booking 24
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Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £10/£8 conc.
XAVIER LE ROY
seLF unFinished
Image: ZOLTAN+
Thursday 13 & Friday 14 May // 8pm Ikon Eastside Drawing on diverse influences from the worlds of science, performance art and contemporary dance, Xavier Le Roy welcomes us to a white stage resembling a research lab, and gradually starts to transform into different kinds of creatures, some recognisable and others rather indeterminable. Using his body and very few pieces of clothing, he constructs in a systematic way a series of images that tease our imagination, often surprise us, and subvert our inherent tendency to want to identify and define the bodily forms he proposes.
Booking Call 0844 338 5000 TRANSACTION CHARGES MAY APPLY. PLEASE NOTE TICKETS FOR THIS SHOW ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO BOOK ONLINE.
Age guidAnce: All Ages TickeT prices: £10/£8 conc.
25
Dance Consortium presents
COMPANHIA DE DANÇA DEBORAH COLKER
Friday 14 & Saturday 15 May // 8pm Birmingham Hippodrome
Image: Cruel 2008
Colker’s work is renowned across the world for the incredible skill and concentration it demands of her Brazilian dancers. Not only do they move with feather-light grace and precision, but also with a touch of daring acrobatics and athleticism that leaves audiences astounded and exhilarated. For this year’s Festival, the company returns to Birmingham with its latest work, Cruel. Cruel explores the many different forms that cruelty can take in a relationship. It unfolds over four movements, the first of which sees an enormous globe-shaped chandelier suspended above the action. In a later scene violence is explored as two dancers perform on a 5-metre-long table which is spun around the stage as knives are thrown into it. The final act sees a selection of vast mirrors pivoting across the stage, creating dazzling reflections that give surreal and intriguing views of the dancers’ bodies and movements. There will be a FREE post-show talk with members of the company after the Friday evening performance.
Booking 26
Image: Cruel 2008
crueL
Call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.idfb.co.uk to buy online. PLEASE NOTE TRANSACTION CHARGES MAY APPLY.
Age guidAnce: 11yrs+ TickeT prices: £14.50-£24.50
“WOW! Colker’s 14 dancers are exceptional athletes and gymnasts, but more than that they are true performers.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
27
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lsa at Sunse the help of accla treet dance In 2008 we had Sa st Midlands. With nd new hip-hop/s from across the We le op pe ), we’ll create a bra of s me red dro er to perform po eth hund Hip tog the me at co on n nti the will Breakin’ Conve ion. All participants reg the s (star of last year’s ros ac right 10. taught to people event of IDFB 20 routine that will be as the grand finale Saturday 15 May part of a on e tin rou d ise street/hip-hop, are the synchron if you’re learning so , nts fun!), just get ipa of rtic pa nts ou nt for citing (and huge am ? We’re on the hu ex ed d olv an w inv ne be ng to Want nt to try somethi any, or you just wa street dance comp . low be ls detai in touch using the
nt nce ed. Closel We don’t just wa school, or your da ing and get involv ance for you, your rtunity to get danc po op the u ages and d education; a ch all give yo an for y ver ies co nc dis ide of ps and res a programme ng weeks, classes, worksho events, there’ll be ite over the comi gh attendance at ilable on our webs part of IDFB throu ava a be be l to wil y ies an nit mp co these opportu ormation about all abilities. More inf w.idfb.co.uk. ww at tes da up for k so do please chec
y of the in being part of an ister your interest us at ail em If you want to reg n ca u s, yo on these two page . activities outlined 95 10 9 68 0121 ge.org.uk or call idfb@dancexchan
Images (L-R): Ed Moore, Jon Bushell
or you To F e c n A h c A – 0 idFB 201 al. We want to during the Festiv dAnce!to present great performances and events foryyolinku edto wato tch ances and rm rfo pe the of many
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Poke Us! Follow Us! Stay in touch... As well as our printed materials, there are lots of ways you can follow this year’s Festival online and via your mobile, and lots of opportunities to tell us what you think. Here’s the info you need to find us in the digital world!
Read our blog idfb.co.uk/news/category/blog Follow us on Facebook facebook.com/InternationalDanceFestivalBirmingham Talk to us on Twitter twitter.com/idfb If you’re Tweeting, using Twitpic, or searching for us, the hash tag is #idfb2010 Follow our photos on Flickr flickr.com/photos/idfb If you want to share your photos, please tag them idfb2010 Watch us in action on YouTube youtube.com/user/IDFB2010
Booking Info IDFB events take place in venues right across the city (see map opposite). As we don’t have a dedicated Festival ticket sales hotline, please contact the relevant venue direct to buy your tickets, check availability, or request further information. No booking is needed for our free outdoor events across the West Midlands – just turn up and enjoy! Birmingham Hippodrome Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB Birmingham Repertory Theatre Centenary Square, Birmingham B1 2EP Ikon Eastside 183 Fazeley Street, Fazeley Studios, Digbeth B5 5SE The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome Hurst Street, Southside, Birmingham B5 4TB Town Hall Victoria Square, Birmingham B3 3DQ
birminghamhippodrome.com birmingham-rep.co.uk ikon-gallery.co.uk dancexchange.org.uk thsh.co.uk
0844 338 5000 0121 236 4455 0844 338 5000 0844 338 5000 0121 780 3333
Please note that each venue may apply its own transaction charges and telephone call rates. Check our website for details or ask before making your purchase(s) in person or by phone.
Booking Online Most performances have tickets available to buy online. Visit www.idfb.co.uk, choose your performance, and click BOOK NOW under the show title to make your purchase(s).
Victoria Square
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Symphony Hall Ikon Eastside Town Hall
BR OA D
ST RE ET
The Bullring
The Patrick Centre Birmingham Hippodrome HEAD HOLLOWAY
International Dance Festival Birmingham is working in partnership with the West Midlands Culture Programme for London 2012, along with a range of other exciting programmes including People Dancing, to celebrate and engage people with the region’s world-class cultural offer. For more information and to find out how you can get involved go to www.wmfor2012.com.
Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK’s largest independent private client investment managers, is the proud sponsor of International Dance Festival Birmingham 2010. The firm is delighted to support an event that reaches out to a wide range of audiences and reminds the world of Birmingham’s reputation as a home to creativity, industry and talent. In fact, the sponsorship deal marks another major step towards building a bridge between the city’s thriving professional community and its innovative arts offering.
All information correct at time of going to print but subject to change – please check our website for up to the minute information, www.idfb.co.uk.