GARBLE.

| Wayne Mcgregor | Seke Chimutengwende | Abby Lee Miller | | David Hockney | Arlene Phillips | Eleanor Sikorski | Declan Whitaker |

ISSUE5SPRING

TERM

THE PUBLICATION FROM LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE SCHOOL

The Travel Issue

FREELimited Copies

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C O N T E N T SI s s u e 5 | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2

FIND GARBLE ONLINE:= Read the full issue at WWW.ISSUU.COM/LCDSGARBLE= WWW.LCDSGARBLE.TUMBLR.COM= On Facebook and Twitter - Search LCDSGARBLE= For Submissions, Email LCDSGARBLE@GMAIL.COM

4 - Resolution? - Opinions on the 23 year old dance tradition

8 - LCDS Goes Forth - Seke Chimutengwende, Mari Colbert and Declan Whitaker

12 - The Exchange Jessica Sim talks California, New York and Copenhagen

16 - Dance Down Under Chris Scott makes us jealous of his time in Australia

20 - Dance Faces it’s Question Time

22 - David Cameron Is Not The Artist The future of British film

24 - Reviews: Stranger than Fiction, Shane Waltener, Perry and Hockney

26 - Garble Over Lunch With Wayne McGregor.

31 - Whats On? - in Dance, Art and Theatre

G

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Its that time of year. Christmas is but a distant memory, forgotten almost as quickly as your New year’s resolution to stop smoking/drinking/swearing/eat-ing/falling over in public, or other equally fun pastimes. I like to think us danc-ers have reached the point where we are aware of the impossibility of the tasks we give ourselves come January, and decide to opt out, or go for something smaller, vaguer... Like box splits.

In this issue, you can look forward to hearing about the overseas exploits of our dear LCDS exchange students (whom we have missed very much), an in depth review of the Resolution season at the Robin Howard theatre, and some lovely musings on how the government is ruining the country early this year. Oh and an exclusive interview with Wayne McGregor.

So enjoy, and as always, if you have any opinions, which we are sure you will, please argue with us on Twitter!

The Garble Team:

Editor’s Note.

James MorganChris ScottJessica SimMari ColbertKit BrownEmilia GasiorekDeclan WhitakerCelina Liesegang

Mary BullardDavid SteeleLondon Contemporary Dance School

Editor -Writers -

Special Thanks to -

Abby Lee Miller says welcom

e to Issue 5 of G

arble. Go to the

Back Page if you want to know

more about this lovely lady.

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Resolution?Text By James Morgan

The Robin Howard’s New Year Season of dance is nearly over, here’s what we think of the 23 year old tradition.

It is the beginning of 2012, the time of year of the new and undiscovered - and I don’t mean that post-holiday roll of flab or surprise second chin - I mean the arrival of 78 fresh and emerging choreographers, creating new works to be performed across 8 weeks at The Place. For those who don’t know what Resolution! is (un-forgivable for students in the same build-ing), it is the Robin Howard Theatre’s new year season of dance, which has been a staple of the London dance calendar for over two decades, and has launched more successful careers than the X-factor. OK, bad example...

The general format hasn’t changed since conception. For two months, works created by aspiring and unknown cho-reographers are assembled in 4 or 5 triple-bills per week. The open selection

process makes it deliberately accessible, and leaves room for a mixed bag of per-formances - at every notch on the scale, from one to crap. The public opinion of Resolution! is equally mixed, questioning everything from the price of tickets to the amount of support given to participating choreographers.

Some critics challenge the emphasis placed on the end product, when pro-cess is obviously the most useful way for young artists to develop their craft. With so many works being presented, space is only given to returning artists, and cho-reographers can certainly find it difficult bringing a presentable work to stage, un-able to pay their dancers and struggling to rehearse. It is also true that if an evening loses money, this has to be offset by the choreographers. While I believe this is harsh, it is also a reality that cannot eas-ily be solved. The season demands a lot of technical support and organisation, and contrary to the opinions of a certain online dance journal, I think it is naive to assume a bucket load of money from

GARBLE | 5

Arts Council England is easy to obtain - as if The Place hadn’t already thought of that. In a time when established companies are struggling, there isn’t the money to throw at no-name choreographers.

Additionally, many regular newspaper re-viewers arrive at a Resolutions! performance expecting artistic greatness as standard, when in reality it is the luck of the draw that determines the success of any given night. Don’t get me wrong, some are very success-ful, but it is the service Resolution! provides contemporary dance that is important, not these isolated snippets. It is true that the application process, which is solely written, inevitably leaves room for some pretty terrible works to sneak through, but its not like The Place is unaware of this; the hired online reviewers aren’t afraid to tear into the fresh meat and tell them their work is crap.

It is because of its flaws that I believe Resolu-tion! needs to be force-fully prescribed to new undergraduates: to really get to grips with the minefield of cli-ches that is contemporary dance, every stu-dent should sit through a couple of dozen performances that make them want to peel their face off - call it a ‘what not to do’ guide. I do understand however that this is not a particularly desirable endeavour when tick-ets, though comparatively affordable, are not something students can throw money at every week. Finding the balance between quality and quantity is obviously a difficult one, and maybe Resolution! could benefit from a more thorough selection process to

limit the throwaway nature of the season. This, together with an effort to avoid cram-ming the window of performances, could ensure that no great pieces of work fail to be seen on nights with a particularly weak audience presence.

After so many years of the same formula, it is easy for people to breezily state that Reso-lution! is outdated or irrelevant. Although I am willing to concede that the format might benefit from a rejig, there have been a vari-ety of successful career launches, including Russel Maliphant, Wayne McGregor (turn to page 15 for a pleasant surprise), Yael Flexor, Jasmin Vardimon, Hofesh Schechter

and Frauke Requardt, demonstrating that the season is a time-tested piece of dance heritage, which is still doing its job. For the choreographers who have the talent, and are savvy enough to understand what they are getting themselves in to, it is possible to make a real success of

the opportunity. Resolution! isn’t perfect, but it isn’t meant to be - after all, if you want a more polished affair, there is always The Place Prize in April.

So, if you haven’t seen one already, you have one week left. Do everyone a favour and sell out the last few nights - you will likely be in the same position very soon. And when you do go, let us know what you think of the works on Twitter, and don’t hold back. +@lcdsgarble

Tweet us @lcdsgarbleTurn over for our highlights of

Resolution! so far, and interviews with Seke Chimutengwende &

Mari Colbert, about their experiences with the season.

“In reality, it is the luck of the draw that determines the success of any given night.”

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I am not one whose impulses readily

give in to anxiety when someone is staged

hanging upside down, flying through

the air or attempting an audacious and

spectacular trick, especially if they are

trained. However, in the case of When

Kane Met Conspicuous (performed

and created by LCDS’s fresh graduates,

Eithne Kane and Dominick Mitchell-

Bennett) I found myself swallowing my

breath amongst an audience held in sus-

pense. What unfolded was a bold duet

that challenged the barriers of physical-

ity, aided only by an unhinged wooden

door that seemed as light as a feather for

these effortless and admirable dancers. It

was exciting to see so many risks being

taken and executed with such confidence

and trust. Two more inspirations added

to the unrivaled LCDS alumni.

When Kane Met Conspicuous Eithne Kane and Dominick Mitchell-Bennett

Local GroupJose Campos | Do Not Dance UK

Eithne Kane and Dominick Mitchell-Bennett

Joel Tulley and James Morgan Image by Sebastian Hinds

Mari Colbert

Declan Whitaker

As a stranger to Resolution! I entered the Robin How-

ard slightly in the dark as what to expect, and I left

only slightly more illuminated. The night was a triple

bill of the good the bad and the ugly. The good being

Jose Campos’ window into a world of alien interroga-

tion, avian formation and naked guys in big hats.

The piece opened with a flock of female dancers re-

peating a simple phrase - to the cusp of boredom - that

swiftly morphed into appreciation for the mesmerising

kaleidoscopic effect that unfolded.

In a schizophrenic twist, we were plunged into the

centre of an interrogation scene - the persecuted, an al-

ien. Initially it made for confusing watching but there

was a charm in the confusion and the humour that fol-

lowed was a welcome lift from the seriousness of the

preceding pieces.

Enter two semi naked men in dunce hats. Their 2 min-

ute descent to the floor may have seemed arbitrary to

some but for me, the imagery represented the alien’s

humiliation and was a memorable moment.

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You could liken the first night of ‘Resolution!’

2012 to a bourbon biscuit; Eleanor Sikorski’s

‘Chocolate’ forming the satisfying creamy centre,

sandwiched between two stale biscuits of disap-

pointing dance. The first being a badly realised ex-

ploration of what you can do with limited resources

(apparently not a lot), and the last being a highly

sculptured and stationary leg-fest, consiting only

of pose, after pose, in unison boy/girl pairings. Re-

grettabely, unlike the crunchy snack, I wasn’t able

to scrape out the centre with my teeth and discard

the rest...

Entering a spotlight holding an ominous cardboard

box, Ellie proceeded to lay out a semicircle of forks

on the floor, which were soon reveled to be effec-

tive minstrel flickers, which she used to propel the

sweets into her mouth. She toyed with the audi-

ence’s expectations, as much as she did her food;

Chocolate Eleanor Sikorski

dairy milk, matchmakers and quality street to be

exact - seemingly she was putting Xmas leftovers to

good use.

Plain faced and effortlessly charismatic, she created

striking and often hilarious images, her sickly-sweet

music choices reinforcing the irony with which we

watched. At the pieces close, a glittering cloud of

cocoa rose from her magic box while she scrabbled

around in the bottom; then hung in the air like dry

ice as she exited the stage. The moment honestly

took me back to my first read of Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory, and the temptation to do an Au-

gustus Gloop and dive in was very real.

Some viewers questioned the poignance of the

piece and its debatably hollow amusement; but I

wonder what else is chocolate, other than a deli-

cious yet temporary satisfaction on the lips?

Eleanor Sikorski, Image by Clare Sikorska

James Morgan

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Your work, from what I have seen, is all improvisation based - Are you continuing this for your work in Resolution?Yeah, most of the stuff that I make is completely impro-vised, so I don’t have a theme, I don’t have a structure, I’m not trying to do anything particular before I start. I guess I just have a time limit. Erm, but this piece is much more structured.Is that related to the fact its made for resolu-tion?No, its just what I wanted to do, its what happened in the studio. Yeah I mean its got aspects of it which are improvised and aspects which are set.Cool. How has it been working towards Resolution? Did that change anything else about the way you had to approach the work - have you been rehearsing at the school for example?No I didn’t get any studio space from The Place, but I got space from Greenwich dance and Roehampton university, and I did a residency at Newington Green and I got some money from the Arts Council, so that paid for a bit of space.

Seke Chimutengwende and Friends, Image by Clare Sikorska

Seke Chimutengwende and Friends‘Mr Lawrence’ on the last night of Resolution!

Helpful. You often work in groups, or collab-oratively - Neat Timothy etc, and I know the piece is listed as being by ‘Seke and Friends’, so how many people are you working with this for this work - Is it a collaboration, or is it yours? I know that’s sometimes a strange balance...There’s seven people performing in the piece, and I’m not performing - I’m directing, and there’s a costume designer and a lighting designer. yeah I’d say its not collaborative in the sense that I’m deciding what we are going to do. Not a democratic process. But then I’m giving them a lot of choices in the piece - they’re kind of in charge of a lot of what happens. But I’ve given them that choice, rather than it coming from everyoneA free for allYeah.So the piece is called Mr Lawrence... What is it about? [Laughs] I mean to say, are there any themes, or something in particular you are trying to explore within it?Yeah I think there are definitely themes, what I’ve

GARBLE | 9

realised is that the main thing I’m interested in, with this project, is how I can work with people in the studio. You know, in terms of making performance, how do people work together. I don’t know that the piece is about the process, but the things that are in the piece have come from me exploring process... I don’t know if that makes sense. Its not-A piece about making a piece.Yeah its not a piece about making a piece, but the material comes from thinking about how do you make a piece, sort of a weird-Paradox?Yeah, but I don’t think at the moment there are any references in the piece, to the piece.[laughs]

It was great to see you at Stranger Than Fic-tion the other day [see page 24], and I’d be interested to know your opinion of the even-ing - I know you are part of that team.Well I wasn’t involved in that event at all, but I am part of the team that organises it and we take it in turns.And yours is in June.Yes. I really liked how the space was transformed, and it was interesting to see that collection of pieces under the frame of improvisation, and the frame of ‘atmospheres and spaces’.They all had a very different approach, some very simple, and others more elaborate.Yeah, they worked with improvisation in very different ways and I don’t know what any of the processes were really, but I didn’t really feel like I was watching improvisation most of the time - which is fine, but that was interesting.It didn’t put me on edge - like when you re-ally don’t have a clue what might unfold at any moment, I more allowed it to wash over.It was too long for me, well I think the first piece was far too long.That was the only one I didn’t really like.I mean, that was my main problem with the whole evening, I enjoyed the other things - well I liked the first piece, but it was just too long.

So the events are curated by one of the team, is that a very active role? And is it more organisational, or a sort of, artistic director? Yeah its about finding artists to perform, and then or-ganising the practicalities of the event. Its quite difficult to find people to perform, actually. We don’t have much funding so we cant pay people much at all. The other problem is there aren’t that many people who perform improvisation in London. There are a lot of musicians, and quite a few actors but not much dance, so its sometimes difficult.Well I look forward to seeing your piece, I’d be interested to know your opinion on Resolution - Positive? Negative?Well, I think its quite good really, [laughs] I wasn’t sure about it before. But they open up the space for a lot of artists to show work, different kinds of people, very different levels of experience. They offer a lot of sup-port, contact, and quite a lot of creative freedom.I guess there aren’t a lot of opportunities where you have blank canvas to create.Yeah, I mean obviously you’ve got to apply to be in it, but they do take a lot of people.I think its a great thing and also something that can put people off - it does becomes a bit throwaway...The work is very variable. You might go to see a friends piece and there are two other pieces which you really won’t like. That’s the downside to it, but if it wasn’t there, there would be 70-odd people who wouldn’t have the chance to show their work, in a really famous venue. Erm, I think it could be a bit more fun really, in terms of how the evening runs - a bit more interesting.Its a bit serious isn’t it.Yeah, seeing as it’s mostly people who haven’t made much work, or haven’t shown it in these sorts of venues, it could be a bit lighter. Not necessarily the actual work, but the whole setup, when its just people trying stuff out.Thanks for the chat!

LCDS GOES FORTH

Interviewed by James Morgan

10 | GARBLE

I had a chat with Mari about dancing in Jemma Bicknell’s ‘Please Not mine’

Yeah I guess there isn’t space for everyone. So, how long was the rehearsal process?Well she actually did it in two weeks, we only had like 6 rehearsals maximum, it was really easy, she was really sure of what she wanted and taught us phrases, that is, we didn’t make any of the material ourselves, She knew what had to be done in each one, a really easy creative process.So it was a good exercise in how to be-an efficient choreographerYeah, working with pretty strict time con-straints.Definitely, yeah.What was the actual piece like? It was about... It was, based on the idea of hooliganism and this young lad getting in with the wrong crowd, and getting in late every night, erm, his mum getting anxious - I mean yeah, it was a narrative piece. We were sorry of the crowd, the mob. I mean, basically, what did you think of the piece overall, did you like it?Yeah okay, I’ll be honest, it was very simple, I would de-scribe it as sort of, GCSE. Very easy unison, a simple stuc-ture, and the movement was erm, very two dimensional I guess, just really flat. But she was very clear with her nar-rative, it just wasn’t the most stimulating thing in the world.I guess that’s people have found with quite a few Resolution pieces this particular year, I don’t know if it’s a trend, or if we are just growing up - ha, developing a more critical eye I mean.I know, I think because there are three pieces every night, usually there is one that is really bad, and on this particu-lar night the other two pieces seemed to go down really well, this one not so much. Yeah, a real mixed bill, but I guess because its open to anyone, Its gonna get allsorts, and that’s a good thing.Yeah, its the only way its completely accessi-ble, but there will always be amazing work in there, and people who stand out and make a real success of it.Yeah definitely. I mean, she was such a sweet girl, and very hard working, it was just very-Standard?Exactly, but it was great to be involved with, being back-stage with something that isn’t part of the school, and its always nice to perform.

So how did you get involved with performing in Resolution?I was in Gemma Bicknell’s piece, and she basically just emailed around the whole school looking for dancers, and I though why not, its a good performance opportu-nity, a good opportunity to work with someone new. So yeah I just replied and ended up working with her.How did it go?It was good, it was fun, and great to perform on a Satur-day and stuff. It wasn’t perfect, we missed a couple of timings, went a bit wrong, but apparently it wasn’t notice-able - we had rehearsed a lot.I was going to say, what was the rehearsal process like? Was there a lot of space avail-able, and was that at the Place?Yeah they were all here.So she paid for them? I think, only returning Resolution artists get to use space for free over Christmas?Oh really? Yeah I imagine so, it was her first time in reso-lution.

Mari Colbert

LCDS GOES FORTH

Gemma Bicknell, Image by Jonathon Vines

Interviewed by James Morgan

GARBLE | 11

While I admit I know very little about ballet, and judge through my own contemporary lens, I did soon realise that classical movement can be quite dull when taken out of the context of the virtuosic grandeur of an actual ballet.

Having said that, there were some very satisfying moments. Lauren Cuthbertson was breathtaking in ‘Feathers in your Head’ by Ludovic Ondiviela - while the choreography was quite standard, archetypal twiching and all, she shone in her dy-namic delivery of it.McGregor’s Choreographic Apprentice, Robert Binet presented ‘At the River Styx’, which was beautifully detailed, but could have stuck more clearly to the intended narravie.Lonesome Gun by Kristen McNally was the most couragous work, taking the wild west as inspira-tion. I was pleasantly surpirsed by the abstract quality it presented from the start, but its gusto faded with each piece of music she introduced.It was amusing how far the no costume rule could be pushed. Clearly there had been several group outings to Bloch round the corner.

‘Overtone’ Performed and choreographed by Declan Whitaker, at The Royal Opera House. Photograph by Johan Persson

First year Declan Whitaker’s debut cho-reographic work, Overtone, was introduced by Wayne Mcgregor to a sold out crowd at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre. Thats a pretty good start by anyone’s standards. Cre-ated as part of the Youth Dance England’s Young Creatives programme and performed on the main stage last summer, the solo work was this time shown as part of the Draftworks evening of dance.

In this event, Dancers of the Royal Ballet have the opportunity to show off their choreography skills, in whatever guise this may come, in a stripped back - no lights no costume sharing. Works of varying quality and context were performed, but it is safe to say that Declan’s was the most polished; no bias intended. Based on the slow moving force of glaciers, he danced with grace, dynamic diversity and startling precision. Re-views were favourable - Judith Flanders of The Arts Desk stating he was “very musical and at-tractively odd”.

Declan WhitakerOvertone - In Draftworks at the ROH

12 | GARBLE

Along with the lively flock of first years, several new faces from across all bodies of water joined the BA3s at the start of our academic year. In their place six of our own BA3s migrated around the globe to a ‘semes-ter’ abroad; Lara Hollander and Jessica Sim to the California Institute of the Arts, Chris Scott and Laura Robinson to Purchase College (SUNY) in New York, and Andrea Dorelli and Chris Knight to the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in Copenhagen. A journey beyond the walls of LCDS, beyond the coast of the UK, to a plethora of fresh experiences, classes, performance opportunities, tastes, people, and life-styles. Though impossible to describe it all, here is a snapshot of the ‘exchange experience.’

GARBLE | 13

LCDS GOES FORTH

What struck you the most? What did you find most different or inspirational compared to your experience at LCDS? Lara: Definitely, having the different artist from all the various disciplines, being able to talk with them about their various art forms, being able to see how they perceived art differently, and being able to collaborate with them on a weekly basis.Laura: The different dance styles that you could do there. For example our contemporary teacher, Kevin Wynn, was more ‘jazz style.’ He taught combinations really quickly, that you had to pick up like in an audition. Our other contemporary teacher was an ex-Mark Morris dancer.Andrea: Two things. I felt like I danced more. The spaces are much bigger and we rarely danced with mirrors. The movement felt much more internal rather than it being judging from an external point of view. I was a lot less judgemental of myself. Contributing to this is their sense of community. Being in a smaller school, having a whole building to ourselves, the students have responsibility for the building. Describe the training routine: the classes, the institution’s work ethic, the students’ attitudes.Lara: Everyone is very supportive of each other (showing their appreciation by saying “work!” with a snap of the finger.) They are dedicated but also know how to have fun. They have a very good bal-ance, which I’m going to try to hold onto.Class starts at 9:00AM with ballet or contemporary. Ballet is more traditional rather than specifically “for contemporary dancers,” while the contemporary was more ‘American.’ But it was good to try new techniques. It was also great taking classes from different metiers (subjects.) I took Balinese dance and flute lessons. You could take writing courses and courses in any other art form of ‘critical thinking subjects’, which enriches your own artistic studies.The campus was more of a bubble. Everyone relies on vehicles to get places. You come to appreciate London and the public transport that makes it efficient to go and see art. But then again the bubble allows you to focus in a constructive way, being constantly stimulated surrounded by artists.Laura: Our weekly schedule was lot less intense. The classes were strict and regimented, but say on Monday we didn’t start until 12:00 noon. We had ballet and a ‘modern’ class every day and then classes such as classical pas de deux and modern partnerwork. Rehearsals for the Nut Cracker were nearly every day as well. I also took up Italian for fun, which finished at 8:30PM.The dancers were all incredibly strong. There is a high standard and everyone worked incredibly hard throughout the week. Though on the weekends people do let their hair down and we were always able to go sight seeing.Andrea: We started class later, earliest at 9:00AM. We had two classes everyday except Wednesdays where we had one, followed by a school meeting. Every week the entire school would come together to raise issues. Normally in the afternoon we worked on a single project. Everything is just a lot more relaxed and open, and everyone is encouraged to speak up.

THE EXCHANGE| By Jessica Sim |

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Aside from dance, how did you find the ‘exchange experience,’ and the city or university life? Lara: It was great to finally have a chance to feel like I was a part of a ‘real university’ even though it wasn’t actually all that big (1,300 students). It was good to go somewhere new and have a fresh start without any bad habits. Getting away from the busyness of London gave me time to process things in my head. Also living in dorms, you hear perspectives from different people about politics, such as the occupy LA movement or really anything ‘global.’The university is very liberal. People bring dogs to class, any random objects that you find lying around the school could be an art piece… and anything goes in what people wear, think or do.Laura: New York is an amazing city, its brilliant. The only down side is I wasn’t yet 21. But there is still so much to do in the city; there are always free events you can go along to and so many dance performances showing companies from around the world.Andrea: It was some of the best months of my life. I think going on exchange, you become so open to receive every kind of information. You become willing to do so many more things to re-ally get the most of the experience.Copenhagen is an incredible city, but very civilized. They’re organized and also have so much money. It’s smaller and safer. You can just hop on a bike and go around. I went to a lot of eco vil-lages, little communes and different art collectives.It was good to me. I went with hardly any money and ‘freedom raided.’ I never ate so well in my life. I fed twenty people with a whole thanksgiving meal from the dumpster (including David Zambrano!) What did you bring back with you that you aspire to continue as a part of your practice?Lara: A more global perspective on dance. I’ve been inspired to travel and see more of the world. Also learning how to collaborate with various artists has inspired me to want to collaborate more, not just with musicians but with animators, film directors… etc.Laura: A more diverse range of skills. I managed to do a lot of point work, which we don’t get to do here. Chris and I also did a musical theatre show. The amount of performing we did out there and the shows we took part in were of such a high standard, it really opens your eyes to things.Andrea: Some faith in myself, trying not to be as judgemental. Also that dance is internal and not external.

The Golden Gate Bridge disappear-

ing into the famous San Francisco fog,

one of the many destinations on our

coastal road trip from CalArts

GARBLE | 15

Any last words? Or words of wisdom?Lara: There is so much to say. I think it is important for everyone to go somewhere and have fresh experiences to dance and not get bogged down. And the sun makes a big difference!I was struck by how similar the dance world is a way, with a few obvious differences.Also about how LA isn’t this magical Hollywood place, it’s this strange spread out place with no real city centre. But still fun at the beach and going to San Francisco was amazing!Laura: The exchange program is a fantastic opportunity that I think we should promote more and make more accessible to everyone. The experience you get immersing yourself in another country is very different from the experience here, especially if you haven’t had the opportunity to ever train abroad. Andrea: I definitely recommend the exchange. It is good in the final year to experience a different perspective, to boost your through your last year and to gain some confidence.

Top - Lara Hol-lander performing in her choreogra-phy as part of the

CalArts ‘Noonish’ Concert.

Bottom - A still image from ‘First

Bow, a film by Jes-sica Sim as a part of the Dance For Camera course at

Calarts.

LCDS GOES FORTH

Text by Jessica Sim, Images by Lara Hollander, Jessica Sim and Andrea Dorelli

16 | GARBLE

If you’re like most dancers you probably have an insatiable desire to travel, in every and any capacity possible. If this desire motivates you far enough to consider a self-directed trip to some far corner of the earth to bask yourself in some other dance culture, I would immediately direct you to one fantastic opportunity - The Lisa Ullman Travelling scholarship fund. This fund finances the travel expenses for dancers wanting to participate in projects, either locally or internationally.Last year I was fortunate enough to receive funding from LUTSF which got me all the way to Australia (and back again), and being half a world away from the land of the Kangaroo, us folk in London hear very little about the thriving dance scene happening down under. So from first-hand experi-ence here is your Unofficial guide to the Australian Dance scene. The sheer geographical size of the country creates a modularised dance industry, with ‘hub’ cities generating the majority of dance work, and little else happening across the vast and sparsely populated country. This actually makes visiting the country and its dance treasure’s very straight forward. The cities to keep your eye on are: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

I would encourage everyone to be pro-active about travelling, there is noth-ing quite like letting another country and culture broaden your horizons. It was actually the guru of all knowledge that encouraged me to take that risky step and start planning such a major trip - our very own Sonia Noo-nan. “You will never feel like you have enough time or money to really in-vest in travelling... so why not now?” Go for it, you have everything to gain.

DANCE DOWN UNDER| Text and Images By Chris Scott |

GARBLE | 17

“You will never feel like you have enough time or money to go travelling...”

Turn over for a closer look at Australia...

18 | GARBLE

DANCE DOWN UNDER

PERTH • West Australian Ballet, national touring com-pany presenting mixed programmes of work.• Kings Street Arts Centre, exiting hub for dance, holding professional classes and artist support.• West Australian Academy for Performing Arts (WAPPA), world renowned dance training, producing some of the countrys most exiting young dancers.

ADELAIDE• Australian Dance Theatre, International touring company, artistic director Gary Stewart, presenting highly physical exiting contemporary work.• Leigh Warren & Dancers, the Ex NDT dancer returned to Oz to form his own project based repertoire company.

A Closer Look At Australia

GARBLE | 19

DANCE DOWN UNDER

SYDNEY• Sydney Dance Co. One of the country’s big-gest international touring companies, artistic director the acclaimed Rapahel Bonachela.• Bangarra Dance Co. - Aboriginal Contem-porary dance• Sydney Opera House, - the world-famous landmark presents annual programmes of Opera, music, ballet and contemporary dance.

MELBOURNE• Considered by many to be the cultural capital of Australia.• Chunky Move Dance Co. new Dutch Artistic director Anouk Van Dijk. Exiting contemporary work with a focus on technological interaction• The Australian Ballet – world famous interna-tional touring company.

CANBERRA• AusDance HQ, AusDance is the biggest dance Network in Australia with offices in all the major cities, they are responsible for coordinating festivals and dance events including the Australian Dance Awards, they know everyone and everything worth knowing, so looking for more info? They are a good place to start.• Quantum Leap 2, exiting centre for youth training.

A Closer Look At Australia

20 | GARBLE

On the 4th of November 2011 a meeting was

convened in an attempt to address the big issues

facing the dance world. Members of the dance

community came from near and far to answer

the call to arms, suffering the sweltering heat

and stuffy air as they crammed themselves into

the tiny Riflemaker’s Gallery venue in the heart

of Soho. Dance Question Time had all the hall-

marks of a shady coup: an unassuming venue (so

unassuming in fact that it was practically impos-

sible to find, particularly for the van that was sup-

posed to deliver the chairs), a strong cause, and a

thirst for decisive action.

The discussion, organised by advocacy group

Dance UK and cultural website The Arts Desk

had a very respectable panel indeed. The Chair,

dance critic Ismene Brown (Dimbleby couldn’t

make it), was joined by Val Bourne, the founder

of Dance Umbrella; Craig Hassall, managing di-

rector of the ENB; choreographer Rosie Kay; TV

judge and choreographer Arlene Philips; Robert

Noble, co-director of New Adventures; Tamara

Rojo, principle with the Royal Ballet; Caroline

Miller, director of Dance UK; and Alistair Spald-

ing, chief executive of Sadler’s Wells.

The panel and the public came armed to the

teeth with opinions. The whole event was teem-

ing with them, apparently leaving little room for

actual decisions.. It seemed that here, plotting in

our unassuming den, was a very select clique of

dance-enthusiasts confirming each others opin-

ions and woes, at times wallowing in our own

sense of oppression. The former gun shop venue

had perhaps become a talking shop.

Nevertheless, action or no action the event was

interesting. The discussion’s primary focus was

on the financial issues facing dance but it also cov-

ered questions of regionalism, the importance of

dance, and how the dance world can make itself

heard. The event began with concerns that with

a rise in tuition fees certain forms of dance would

once again become a pass-time of the privileged

with Rosie Kay pertinently asking “Where are

risk-takers going to come from if you’re already

going to be saddled with debt? Would talented

people choose to go into the dance profession or is

it only going to be the domain of the privileged?”.

The issue of funding cuts was then tackled. Rob-

ert Noble defended the need for public subsidy

by pointing out that even a commercially suc-

cessful company like New Adventures required

investment to create a piece before it could make

any return. Alistair Spalding extended this de-

fence to the works that would never make money,

impressing that it was necessary to invest in young

choreographers at the onset of their careers, and

to invest in work of artistic merit that would never

DANCE FACES IT’S QUESTION TIME| Text by Kit Brown |

GARBLE | 21

The full video and transcript of Dance Question Time is available at http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/theartsdesk-debate-dances-question-time

cover its own costs. Such investment would often

have to be balanced by more commercially suc-

cessful work, demonstrated best by Craig Hassall:

“half a week of Nutcracker at the Coliseum will

fund the deficit on a 10-week mid-scale tour of

a collaboration with a streetdance company. If I

didn’t do the nutcracker, I couldn’t do the other.”

Public subsidy was considered not only to enable

but to require that companies take risks in order

to produce new and creative dance.

The point was raised that even without funding

was pointed out to which Tamara Rojo remarked

that “academic studies are all very well if you’re

going to be academic, but they’re not going to

create all the jobs of the future. They don’t en-

courage creativity and imagination, and arts edu-

cation does”. Audience member and Rambert-

collaborator Professor Nicky Clayton then threw

in her two cents: “as someone who interviews

people coming in to read natural sciences at Cam-

bridge what I look for is two science A levels, but

I do want to see at least one other to be something

different, because it shows a broader picture.”

Finally the discussion turned to questions of ac-

tion and making ourselves heard. It was decided

that the dance community needed to be more

unified if it were to defend itself from cuts and

prevent itself from being walked over by the gov-

ernment and by other art forms. This was the

time for inspiring speeches and calls to arms.

Craig Hassall argued that “We have manpower,

national coverage, interesting stuff, we’re enter-

taining people, at the end of the day, so we have

all the weaponry to make a really big voice if it’s

done in a coordinated, clever way.”

The discussion ended with a light-hearted ques-

tion met by serious response: “Considering the

success of Occupy London, is it time for dance

to occupy Westminster?”. Spalding and Rojo

seemed to think so, the others were less con-

vinced. Certainly the joke has important implica-

tions. The issues that we so comfortably deliber-

ate between ourselves need to be had out in the

open and heard by other people. We are the ones

who need to make ourselves heard. +

“We have manpower, na-tional coverage, interest-ing stuff, we’re entertain-ing people, at the end of the day, so we have all the weaponry to make a really big voice.”

dance would still be made. For Val Bourne fund-

ing was therefore a question of providing access

to work, “[unfunded dance] would just be in a

small room performing to your friends, which is

really not the object of the exercise”.

The panel then attempted to move discussion

of the importance of dance away from its purely

economic benefits. Hassall and Noble despaired

that “dance is an elsewhere art form” considered

“the lowest rung of the ladder” whilst Arlene em-

phasised its ability to nurture intellect. Michael

Gove’s labelling of dance A Level as a soft subject

Images by Jon Mikol, The Arts Desk

22 | GARBLE

The Artist and the Govern-

ments’ new plans for British

Film Industry: Will Cam-

eron’s attempt to make ‘suc-

cessful’ films suck any artistry

from this country’s cinema?

The plot is relatively simple. A

young, beautiful actress is deter-

mined to make it in 1920’s Hol-

lywood. Her steady progression to

stardom crosses the path of a silent-

movie star whose career is plunging

in the other direction in his efforts

to resist the advancements in tech-

nology and consequent propagation

of text. Jump forward 90 years and

we are presented with ‘The Artist’,

an independent film gaining rapid

popularity because of, it would seem,

its innovative recreation of this sup-

David Cameron Is NotThe Artist

posedly inferior medium. With no

colour and no speech, it tenderly

embraces every facet of the human

condition through exquisite acting,

profoundly expressed with the body

and face. Accompanied by the or-

chestral score of Ludovic Bource, it

is undeniably touching; a refreshing

portrayal of the recurrent themes of

love and loss frequented so tediously

in mainstream films.

However, the success of ‘The Artist’

was unintentional and unforeseen.

As an art-house film, it was not pro-

duced purely for entertainment val-

ue. Indeed, this resulted in conflict-

ing responses; while some have been

enchanted, others demanded their

money back, aghast by the unexpect-

ed silence. The desire for bigger and

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo play George Valentin and Peppy Miller in The Artist

by Emilia Gasiorek, with Mari Colbert

“A refreshing

portrayal of

the recurrent

themes of

love and loss,

frequented so

tediously in

mainstream

films.”

GARBLE | 23

ART AND CULTURE

louder is as omnipresent as ever.

Coincidentally, this captivating black

and white film has been released

against the backdrop of a changing

film industry in Britain. Only a cou-

ple of weeks ago David Cameron

announced plans to steer the film

industry towards “more commercial

success” where National Lottery

Money will be redirected to support

more mainstream films. Cameron is

hoping to make the industry more lu-

crative through pumping money into

films with huge box office success

rather than art-house films, which

make less money. Successful films

companies will also receive greater

support, instead of funding going

towards small or foreign companies.

The thinking stems from an attempt

to raise the caliber of the British in-

dustry to compete with the cachet of

Hollywood and French cinema.

The film industry currently con-

tributes an estimated £4.2 billion

a year to the UK economy, where

blockbuster films such as The Kings

Speech brought in £250 million last

year. It is believed that Cameron

hopes that with the new initiatives

this remarkable success will continue

into 2012. Furthermore in a recent

survey conducted by the British Film

Institute (BFI) showed that out of

2,000 cinemagoers (ages between 15

and 74), over half are more likely to

watch a film if it was British. These

figures, pointing not only towards

the popularity of British film but also

towards box office successes, were

given significant weight in the report.

Ironically a link of a picture of Cam-

eron’s own DVD collection (tweeted

by journalist Charlie Brooker) ap-

pears rather lacking in British films…

Britain’s most recently successful

films already cover a wide range.

From The Kings Speech to Shame

and The Inbetweeners to An Educa-

tion the industry is currently produc-

ing both commercial and more inde-

pendent films. However, there are

fears that the new plans will quash

this diversity. Directors are already

expressing their worries that future

subsidy for making films will be sole-

ly based on predicted box office suc-

cess and on “commercially viable”

pictures. Furthermore critics ques-

tion whether it is possible to even tell

what films will be box office sell outs.

Following on from this, having been

to see (and loved) The Artist I find

this report more worrying than posi-

tive. Firstly, how on earth are the

government going to decide what

will be a successful film when it is all

so subjective? Secondly, the stress on

commercial success means we will

lose any variety. The industry needs

various projects and different types

of films in order to become rich, vi-

brant, interesting and importantly

lucrative. It would be boring to see

billboard after billboard advertis-

ing only blockbusters. It is quirky,

low-key films like The Artist (albeit

actually a French film) that keep the

industry alive. This dipping into dif-

ferent varieties, the bringing back of

old techniques shown alongside new

technological explorations gives us

an interesting variety. And finally,

do art-house films not provide an

important experimental opportu-

nity for directors? In dance we need

studio time to try out new ideas and

push our thoughts in order to find

something interesting. Does the film

industry not require this in the same

way? +

“David

Cameron has

announced

plans to

steer the film

industry

towards more

commercial

success.”

“It is quirky,

low-key films

like The

Artist that

keep the in-

dustry alive.”

24 | GARBLE

The only thing stranger than an evening at ‘Stranger Than Fiction’, is an evening with my parents at ‘Stranger than Fiction’. I strangely reveled in watching my parents silently cope with the masochistic, audience participant, tom-foolerly. The first performer had gone to some length to fulfil the evening’s theme of ‘Atmosphere’s and Spaces’, but sadly managed to destroy any (tenuous at best) atmosphere she had created in forcing us to enter in the dark, by walking over to her laptop to start a projection - pressing play FROM WITHIN MOVIE MAKER. Unforgivable.Other works were more successful: Air, by Bettina Neuhaus & Mark Horrocks demonstrated the satisfaction we can feel when a piece is executed simply, but with care. The playful relationship between improvised dance and music was beautifully self aware. It didn’t apologise for the visible technology, and the movement was laced with both precision and whimsy, interacting with the space in a subtle and refined way.The fourth piece was equally well realised - a simple duet between dancer and torch wielder in darkness, was the most emotionally evoc-ative work of the night, and I couldn’t help but see the iconic shadow ascending the stairs image from Nosferatu, the German Espressionist film. Oddly, it was her silhouette against the glow of the studio’s fire exit sign, which dwelled in my mind for the rest of the night. The final piece, 5 Aggregates of Motion was the most fully realised ‘atmosphere’. Lit with coloured circles of light from manned cin-ematic film projectors, the dancers twisted and moaned and we were gradually assaulted by images of violence and nudity, which evoked an engagingly disturbing mood. I only wish I didn’t need to stand on a chair at the back to see; my only realy problem with the whole event.

Stranger Than fiction, Saturday 28th January @ Siobhan Davies Dance Studios

James Morgan

REVIEWS

David Hockney, an artist considered one of Britain’s greatest living masters, has brought so much to today’s art world. His works have previously made modern art more accessible to the public. With this new, huge exhibition, held at the Royal Academy of Arts, of works produced dating between 2004 and 2011 we see his celebration of Yorkshire, his birthplace, and a continuation of this accessibility.The work explores his continual interest in landscapes and the natural world. Drawn from memory and imagination, sketched and painted in situ and even created on an iPad; his variety of media is astonish-ing. The first thing that strikes you is the enormity of the canvases and boldness of colour – you could spend hours staring at just a few paintings. His likeness to Turner or Constable is uncanny; they share an interest in natural beauty, yet Hockney takes this further. His bold, vivid paintings stand next to intricate, chocolate-box watercolours, film work, photo-montage and iPad creations. This exhibit is phenomenally full of life; it really does seem to exude vivacity from every canvas, tying in neatly with his exploration of na-ture’s cycles of life. I found that I couldn’t help but leave feeling happy and as if his bright colours would remain with me for the day.

Emilia Gasiorek

David Hockney - A Bigger Picture @ Royal Academy of Art

GARBLE | 25

ART AND CULTURE

Next time you fancy having a Teddy bear’s picnic, look no further than the British Museum! The latest exhibition from the Turner Prize-win-ning, cross-dressing, Grayson Perry, seems to have overflowed even to the museum’s restaurant menu, taking inspiration from his childhood teddy bear “Alan Measels”... However strange this must sound, I left the exhibition questioning more than just the recurrent appearances of ‘Alan’.After two years rummaging through the British Museum’s archives, Perry has installed various artifacts to create a “memorial to all the anonymous craftsmen that over the centuries have fashioned the man-made wonders of the world”. Alongside this, are his own creations; vast, dynamic tapestries, vases and sculptures, which together create a dialogue highlighting the similarities between the artists of today and the ancient craftsmen who created artifacts for their own cultures.His work analyses the pilgrimages we make throughout our existences , the art world and its infiltration into lives of the general public, and disparaging our “celebrity obsessed culture”.His emphasis on the anonymous craftsmen is a reminder that the relationship between tool and maker has been lost in this technological age. I left wondering: if I was the only person left on this planet, how many of the objects I use daily would I be able to recreate?

Celina Liesegang

Grayson Perry - The Tomb of The Un-known Craftsman @ The British Museum

Emilia Gasiorek

Following the trend of cross-art form collaborations, where different genres spill over into each other, Shane Waltener presents an exhibition of new works exploring the relationship between dance and textiles. Specifically designed for the Siobhan Davies Studios, using dance notation and stitching patterns he exhibits both static art pieces and a ‘performance’ resulting in a site-specific installation.The opening night showcases, as described online, “a performance” in collaboration with dance artist Laura Glaser “to interpret stitching pat-terns into a set of movements”. Dancers, possibly representing human bobbins, held long strips of yarn and wove intricate patterns up and down the main stairwell. The exhibition also included small architec-tural plans overlaid with stitching and dance notation, and a wall of torn clothing and fabric mimicking dance notation.As interesting as the evening was, and as amazed as I was with the complexity of the installation created, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Having read the description online I had expected to see some movement. At the end of the day it taps into the debate about what dance is and what it means to ‘see’ dance. Weaving and dance don’t jump out to me as an apparent match but inherent to both is the possibility to create patterns and explore form and rhythm. In this sense, especially with today’s blurring of artistic boundaries, I did ‘see’ dance.There was a strong sense of tradition throughout the entire 110 minutes. The soul touching, live Irish music was clearly embraced by the audience’s rapturous applause at the end of each song and the movement had its own tradition as the dancers were visibly free to engage with their own, unique physical qualities. A contagiously energetic piece, comforting in its carefree and fun presentation of life and very easy to watch with its simple yet spirited choreography. But the highlight of the show was by far the music. There is nothing like live musicians, especially if they’re playing songs that originated in the pub, over a sociable pint with friends and family.

Shane Waltener - Drawn To Motion, Space Stitched Over Time @ Siobhan Davies Dance Studios

26 | GARBLE

Could you tell us about your introduction to Dance?I always say that I started with ballroom and Latin American dance when I was about 8, grow-ing up in the 70‘s, John Travolta was in all those movies: ‘Grease’, ‘Saturday Night Fever’ so I just wanted to a bit of disco. My mother reminds me however that I did English country dancing and that was my introduction, I ought to be honest about it and admit it! I think I just did it for pleasure and I went on to do amateur musicals, I love musicals. Do you watch Glee?I used to.I like, love glee. Anyway, you don’t have to write that.Gleek.Exactly! So I did musicals and went off to do a degree in Choreography and Semiotics.

Did you imagine your success when you were younger?I don’t think it’s good to. If you have this thing on your shoulder telling you ‘it’s gonna be bad, it’s

gonna be bad’ you’ll never make any good deci-sions. But really you have to commit and do what you really believe in. What other people think about it and what happens to it is really not in your gift. If you decide you’re going to make a piece to get an Olivier it just ruins you. It’s impor-tant to do what you do and be passionate about it.

As it happens Random Dance is one of the most successful contemporary companies. You’ve developed an original aesthetic and vocabulary but your use of technology in dance is really interesting. How important is the relationship between the dance and technology?I’ve had Random almost 20 years and have been lucky to have a lot of interesting collaborations. I think the most important technology for me is the technology of the body and that everything is someway and extension and development of that. If you think about iPad, your body is always the interface of the technology that you work with. In the early days a lot of people thought technology was just an add on, but for me growing up I was

WAYNE McGREGORRANDOM DANCE, ROYAL BALLET

| Interviewed By Declan Whitaker |

GARBLE | 27

GARBLE OVER LUNCH

Wim Wenders’ Pina was shot in 3D and your own work UNDANCE had 3D elements, what was the audience’s response to this?There’s a responsibility on artists to try new things out and even if the audience say ‘Oh it’s not like Avatar, I don’t see the 3D in front of my face’, they’re different mediums so keep exploring what the potentials are.You mentioned using the body as technology. Your work pushes dancer’s physicalities to ex-tremes. Do you think the techniques taught at conservatoires are enough to prepare dancers for dancing life and where do you see technique going next?Hmm, Ok... What’s interesting about technique for me is that people often say ‘you really push dancers to their limits’ and actually my response would be: The dancers I’m faced with in the stu-dio want to invent new movement langauages for themselves, they are interested in pushing them-selves, they are interested in doing things that are unfamiliar. So it’s not me with a stick at the front telling them to, it’s willing, intelligent collabora-tors wanting to do it. If you look at dancers from today and dancers 30 years ago, they are faster, they are able to do more

Critically acclaimed choreographer and recent CBE recipient Wayne

McGregor talks to us about conserva-toires, Glee, John Travolta and more.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Continued over the page...

one of the first young people to have a computer, it was a spectrum, at the age of 9, it’s always been a part of my life. I don’t think of it as ‘I’m working with that composer or that visual artist’, technolo-gy is just part of the way I live every day. I used to work a lot with technology as an application, 3D or motion sensor images, but now I’m interested in things that can tell us more about the inside of the body and the mind when it’s working. There are so many brilliant technologies that can tell us something about the creative act and that’s what I’m interested in now.

turns, the technical capacity is absolutely ex-tended. So it says something about how the body changes over time - how it can evolve. Surely that’s an interesting relationship to explore. I think unfortunately many training institutions haven’t caught up with what the capabilities of the body today and are training people to be in companies that existed 30 years ago. One of the difficulties they face is that when these dancers come to auditions, with choreographers like me who are expecting a highly attuned instrument and a highly attuned intelligence, they can’t actu-ally deliver.

Your work often uses psychology and science as a starting point. When did this interest start?It’s a good question. I just realised we consider dance to be a non-verbal means of comunica-tion but we talk so much about it: I’m talking to you, I’m talking to the dancers, I’m talking all the time and actually a lot of my work happens in my head, it doesn’t happen in my body. I thought if I’m thinking about choreography 50% of the time then cognition must be useful to me, it has to be. It is important that the audience recognises the cognitive process?I am always bewildered by people like Clement Crisp (Financial Times)...

Wayne Mcgregor’s ‘Live Fire Exercise’, Premiered at The Royal Opera House

28 | GARBLE

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that when he writes a review, he’ll spend half of it writing about what I’ve said in the programme. He writes back the notes but has limited opinion about what he sees.Audiences have two options: They can either read the programme because they want to be engaged in the process of making, which might in some way inform them. But some people don’t want to - so don’t read the programme. Right? Just watch the piece and get what you can and analyse it in the terms that you want. Everybody watches piec-es through filters. What I object to is when people read the pro-gramme notes and then don’t do their own analy-sis and try to retrofit something onto it. All I’m saying is, this is my reality, this is how I made my piece. You don’t necessarily have to see all the steps but I was inspired by this, and what you see is that transaction.

In 2006 you were appointed resident choreogra-pher of the Royal Ballet, how much responsibil-ity did you feel you were taking on?It goes back to the question about success, I don’t think about the responsibility of it I just think about what I’m going to do, I’m a bit of an ac-tion man like that. I think what can I offer to this massive organisation in my own way to make a contribution.In a place like this [Royal Opera House], it’s not enough just to have a title. You have to be out there inventing things. The great thing about here is it’s a really collaborative building. Even I had the perception that it was old fashioned and rigid but actually it’s full of individuals who are really creative and all want to make to difference, so gal-vanising their energies makes things happen.One of the great joys about being here is that you are able to do things: work with young chore-ographers, in education, with film makers... My responsibility is to my work, I’m my own worst critic. I have to be to ensure I’m developing the work and dancers.Has you work with Random developed since the appointment?It’s different in Random. With the Opera House, it has a particular audience, view and place in the

world. If you were doing a piece at The Place for an exam, you think about the tutors that are judg-ing it. Do you temper it in line with those people to get a good grade or do you think ‘Fuck That’ and do your own thing? There’s always a condi-tion. With Random, there’s no conditions, it’s my own, I started it from nothing. I have the oppor-tunity to do what I want. Sometimes they totally flop and sometimes they work really well. What I think is great audiences can think are crap, so it’s very unpredictable. With the Opera House, the stakes are much higher but for me why they work together is I have this place to experiment with Random so I can learn things from both places, ways of working, ideas etc. So there’s this symbi-otic relationship.

I read online about Akili. Could you tell us a bit more about that?Sure, in 2005, I built a house and studio in Africa, in a town called Lamu in Kenya, on the Indian ocean on 12 miles of beach. I wanted to offer art-ists residency there. They go there, they can work if they want, or eat, sleep, read, whatever they want. We’ve had 150 artists go...Dance artists?Cross art forms, composers, muscians, actors, an-ything. There’s no application form, it’s just an in-vite and the last two summers we’ve run the East Africa writers course for Sundance Film Festival. We have 30 writers that come for a month to write scripts, plays. It’s just a place for artists to play. I use it myself to recharge before big projects, clear my head, just time to think.

One last question, someone at LCDS wanted to know what your favorite ice cream was...[Laughs] One I would ask, why would they want to know? But also how did they know to ask about Ice Cream? I’m an ice cream junkie, so two, no three... no two things. It used to be, it could still be - Häagen-Dazs pralines and cream. But they’ve opened a new restaurant by my house and they have a desert called the kinder, but I have no idea what ice cream they use. So Kinder or Pralines and Cream.

GARBLE | 29

Interviewed by Declan Whitaker. Speacial Thanks to Clare Thurman

(Royal Opera House)

Wayne Mcgregor’s ‘FAR’, Premiered at Sadlers Wells

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GARBLE OVER LUNCH

30 | GARBLE

BREAKING NEWS

Was it the Jete that broke the dancer’s back? Or a refusal of the young dancer’s bad boy attitude?

Two weeks ago, the Royal Opera House became a whirlwind of confusion and rumours. The jewel in the Royal Ballet’s crown demoted himself to dia-mond in the rough with a shock resignation. Polunin rose swiftly through the ranks at the Royal from student, to artist to principal and had placed himself firmly at the top. Due to perform last week as Oberon in The Dream, the Royal Ballet’s bad boy created a #sergeistorm - no explanation, no indications and

The much beloved Bellyflop Mag has an-nounced it is taking a break from writing, to re-evauate how to stay afloat with no funding. As envious admirers of such a great publication, we would like to wish them good luck in finding some money and getting back to flopping.Sign their petition - http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/get-bellyflop-magazine-back/

#sergeistorm

Article 19 need to chill out. The argumentative, and adolescently opinionated online dance publica-tion have really been getting on our wick and we’re starting to wonder if is there anyone they do like... In a time of such uncertainty for the arts, it would seem appropriate to make a more positive contribu-tion to dance journalism, rather than bitching and pointing out typos on twitter, especially seen as they aren’t really as funny as they’d like to think.

still no revelations. Although Monica Mason of the Royal Ballet took no time in releasing a statment wishing him success and good luck, the terms of his departure remain uncertain. But one thing was for sure - his place at The Royal was no more.

The rumour mill that is twitter has been churning out talk of drugs, tantrums and a diva-like attitude, however Polunin’s personal account has remained elusive with hints at becoming a tattoo artist. Although performing at Putrov’s Men in Motion at Sadler’s on friday, Polunin’s future as a dancer hangs in the balance. In a political twist, Polunin’s right to work in the UK has been denounced upon leaving the Royal, adding to the furore of the #sergeistorm.

GARBLE | 31

What’s On? Our Top Picks...

19th Jan to 18th Feb: The Alan Cristea Gallery is exhibiting David Hockney lithographs. Its a nice off- the-beaten-track gallery to visit if you can’t make it to the Royal Academy15th Feb - 15th July: Picasso & Modern British Art @ Tate Britain - The new exhibition explores the pro-found influence Picasso’s work has had on modern art and culture in Britain Until 11th March: Tacita Dean ‘FILM’ @ Tate Modern - As part of the The Unilever Series Dean has pro-duced a 11 minute silent film to be projected on the walls of the massive Turbine Hall. Free entry!21st Jan - 9th April: David Hockney ‘A Bigger Picture’ @ Royal Academy of Arts - Major exhibition of Hockney’s landscape work inspired by the East Yorkshire landscape. See our review on p22. A definite must see, but make sure you go early to avoid the queues!4th April - 24th June: For the Love of God @ Tate Modern - Damien Hirst’s iconic Diamon skull goes on display in the Turbine Hall for the first time ever in the UK - Free!

ART

DAN

CETH

EATR

E2nd - 25th Feb: The Paper Cinema’s ‘Odyssey’ @ Battersea Arts Centre - Homer’s classic tale told through animation and puppetry.8th - 25th Feb: ‘At swim two boys’, Earthfall @ Riverside Studios - Set at the start of the Irish revolu-tion the story follows the love affair of two men and the political upheaval that surrounds them. Staged in a slowly filling lake.Feb 28 - March 23rd - The Leisure Society @ The Trafalgar Studios. A tale of ‘middle class grotes-query’ by playwrite Francois Archambault starring British supermodel Agnes Deyn.Matilda, the Musical by Dennis Kelly & Tim Minchin @ the Couryeard Theatre - Award winning stage adaptation of the Roald Dahl childrens classic - tickets from £15, try midweek performances!

29th Feb - 1st March: Richard Alston Dance Company @ Sadlers Wells - A mixed bill featuring the new ‘Ceremony of Carols’ which features five dancers from the third year at LCDS.8th-11th Feb: Without Warning, Lizzi Kew Ross @The Old Vic Tunnels - A work inspired by ‘An Evil Cra-dling’, an account of Brian Keenan’s time in captivity. With live accompaniment, and a darkroom of work by Peter Anderson, this promises to be an evening of serendipity.6-18th Feb: Jealousy @ The Print Room - The premiere of a collaboration between sculptor Laurence Kavanagh’s and choreographers James Cousins, Hubert Essakow, Daniel Hay Gordon and Morgann Runacre-Temple.Feb 18th 12:30-5:45pm: Swing patrol @ Cafe1001, 91 Brick Lane - Learn to dance swing in a day. This workshop is ideal for brand new dancers who are keen to try something new… in one day!Workshop covers introductions to six beat, eight beat, charleston and swing dancing.6th - 9th March: Nederlands Dans Theater 2 @ Sadlers Wells. Presenting works including Kylian’s criti-cally acclaimed ‘Gods and Dogs’. If you have never seen this world renowned Company I can not recom-mend it more highly; and with dancers aged only 17 - 23, the result is quite remarkable.9th – 28th Mar: Can We Talk About This? by DV8 Physical Theatre @ the National Theatre, Lyttelton – International tour of Lloyd Newson’s most recent work exploring speech, censorship and Islam.16th - 17th Mar: LOL (lots of love) by Protein @ the Robert Howard Dance Theatre - Nominated for Best Modern Choreography at the 2011 NDAs’; a physical theatre exploration of the cyber world.

EVERYTHING ELSE we think you need to see

G Don’t seek to dance in your teachers footsteps; seek what they sought.

What do you have to say to Garble readers this issue, oh wise one?

SONIA SAYS:

Search “African Dance white girl” - She’s insane, it just doesn’t make sense.

It’s trashy American reality TV, about kids less than half your age, dancing twice as well as you ever could. And by that I mean they do lots of no-handed walkovers and layouts, to lyrical music and covered in sequins. It’s their moms, who apparently don’t have jobs, and dance teacher Abby Lee Miller however, that will have you watching the show inces-santly. You may start watching it ironically, but somewhere down the line, when you catch yourself screaming “Cathy are you for real???” at the computor screen, the self hate will begin to set in. But too late, you will be hooked...

Search “Shit Ballet Dancers Say”. Clearly we aren’t that different...

PHOTO CORNERThis is exactly what it looks like. Pictures of cats with bread on them. Welcome to the internet.

Links to all of this crap can be found, on our Facebook page...