Ana Dance

Author Archive

Attended Kyla’s session at OFS today organised through ODF as part of the homebed programme.  Good to meet up with others in the session and share experiences and helpful tips.  (as well as have a bit of a grumble about the emphasis on having to do all this side of things – filling in forms/ finding new audiences/ /evidencing everything/having to self publicise/prove huge leaps forward  etc etc.  Suspect economic climate and cuts to Arts Council will not help… Other paths to tread…

The new ODF site is up! oxforddanceforum.com  Still a work in progress but at least we now have up to date information and a clean new face thanks to Kyla.  Looking forward to see how it develops and takes shape.  Great resource for Oxford’s dance community.  Plenty of  new training opportunities/workshops.  I’m especially looking forward to the touring workshop coming in September.

First DEC session after the summer break.  Another new interesting idea to work with and develop.  Body stiff though after few weeks holiday!

Have sent a call out through the Oxford Dance Forum for ‘Choreocollect’. This is an idea for dance artists /choreographers to meet regularly to try out their ideas and approaches to choreography with the aim of learning from each other and having the opportunity of bodies/dancers in space.  I have been thinking about launching this project for quite some time so I’m glad its finally out and great that there’s been a really positive interest already.  Looking forward to seeing how it develops and how we manage the sessions.  Just dates and times to fix now.

Today was given over to the filming of an absurd political mask dance  set in the Oxfordshire countryside. Brainchild of Malcolm Atkins it featured well known politicians and contemporary characters as well as sheep, ponds and a pantomime horse.

ODF at OFS hosted movement 12 for a ‘salon’ evening this last friday.  Actually,  it could be more properly said that the members of the Brighton group were the hosts bringing as they did delicious food beautifully and inspiringly presented  as well as a range of conversation starters.  This was an opportunity for members of Oxford and Brighton dance communities to exchange stories, information and backgrounds to the formation and functioning of their respective groups and to sharing approaches to providing opportunities for professional development.  We hope this is just the first of other exchanges between opposite ends of the South East Dance region.

How do we do it?  Seriously thinking about this recently after going to see/and hearing about some really poorly attended shows that deserved bigger audiences.  Who goes to the theatre? who is not going to the theatre?  Whilst I love site specific and any opportunity to take dance/theatre to new venues, unusual places and public spaces etc the theatre is still a space in which a kind of magic can be created which is distinct from other experiences.  People are missing out!

Meetings and practices to refine and develop the exciting cross art collaboration we have.  Reviewing the mass of techniques and approaches we’ve developed and working at the moment on how to take the work forward in terms of composition/structure whilst retaining the liveness of  improvisation.   Looking forward to being able to present a more theatrical version of our mix of live music, dance and drawing in the spring.   I am also pleased that this collaboration is  offering me the opportunity to keep exploring the possibilities of using projection and shadow with dance.

Following the workshop in Hertfordshire organised by Cafe Reason on sound and movement for Butoh I have been using this theme in our regular classes on friday.  We have been exploring listening and sound making within and through movement and trying to refine our body responses to the stimulus of sound as well as becoming more confident at integrating sound and rhythm in our dance.

Been enjoying Lucia’s classes .   Has been great to be reminded of and for my body to re experience the subtleties of contact, listening awareness, weight exchange and the affirmation of physical support both given and received.  Looking forward to next week’s session though this will be the last in this series of classes with Lucia organised by Susie Crow at URC.