Team time out

Nice to have a bit of down time with the team today, after a really hectic period lasting ... oh at least since Christmas.

As well as celebrating two birthdays, it was time to say 'au revoir' to Steph who's off on maternity leave. We nearly had to offer her her own sofa at lunch as her wonderful bump is near basketball size now - she looked fantastic though. Good luck Steph and bring the baby in for cuddles soon!

Also we said goodbye to Mary who's been a massive help at Dance4 over the last few weeks, supporting the CAT students adventure in Birmingham and helping out with all and sundry in the office. Thanks Mary and we wish you well in all the wonderful things your career is bound to bring.

Rachel

U.Dance East Midlands

Hello!

So it was U.Dance East Midlands at Curve in Leicester yesterday evening and what it treat it was! Some of the best youth dance groups from the East Midlands took part in a phenominal showcase of dance including some street dance, hip hop, ballet, contemporary, south Asian dance, and break dance. There was even some improvisation happening around the building appearing between the crowds of proud parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles etc. The poi artists outside and the procession of Dhol drums and dancing led the audience into the auditorium, and was a really exciting start to the evening!

So much effort and hard work had clearly been put into the pieces performed and U.Dance East Midlands proved how much talent there is in the East Midlands! Well done to Linzi and Sarah for all their hard work of planning and organisation - you really did do yourselves proud! Also well done to the rest of the team and volunteers for all their hard work and effort on the day - it was super!!

So what's next in the youth dance calendar I hear you say......

Well we have our Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) open workshops coming up soon! We will be recruiting for new students to start in September this year. Please see dates and venues below if you would like to come to a free open workshop and get a flavour for what it's like to be in CAT! Book your place in advance.

Northamptonshire, University College Northampton
Sunday 28 March
To book call Northants Dance on 01604 233122

Derbyshire, Déda
Thursday 8 April
To book call Déda on 01332 370911

Nottinghamshire, New Art Exchange
Friday 9th April
To book call Dance4 on 0115 941 0773

Lincolnshire, Meridian Leisure Centre
Sunday 18 April
To book call Lincolnshire Dance on 01522 811 811

We would love to see you there!

Application forms are now available on our website www.dance4cat.co.uk - deadline 30 April. Auditions will be on 9 and 16 May.

Keep you updated soon!

Kirsten x

An exciting time...

So, we've had a very exciting couple of weeks here at Dance4 with episodes2010 taking to the Playhouse stage and Improvisation Congregation bringing together an amazing mix of improvisers for a very special one off performance.

For those of you who weren't able to make it along to these events, here's my thoughts on both performances......

Managing episodes2010 was a bit of manic experience for me, which meant that between getting groups ready, helping the technical staff and making sure everything was running smoothly, I didn't get to see many of the pieces. I might leave it up to one of my colleagues who were actually in the audience to tell you about what they saw, but I can tell you that the atmosphere, both backstage and on the audience, was electric - it was such an exciting and exhilarating weekend, seeing over 300 young people perform on a professional stage, many of them for the first time! Alongside all of the amazing youth groups, Vernon Coaker, MP for Gedling and Minister for Schools and Learners, came to the Friday night's performance and opened the event with an inspiring few words.

And then a week later we were at the Congregational Hall, a disused church building in the city centre, for an improvisation evening as part of the city council's Light Night. Improvisation Congregation was a beautiful magical evening with some surprising and unexpected moments (particularly the organ playing and rude gestures to Arts Council staff!!).

Look at for images of both events appearing on our Flickr and Facebook pages soon!!!

Cheerio!

Helen x

Exciting times!

Hello!

So it's been a while since I last blogged, and so much has happened! The platform at Nottingham Contemporary was fab, what a great space and an interesting building. Wendy Houstoun's Keep Dancing, brought the space alive with striking imagery and witty humour. A very mesmorising piece with layers of depth....I could have watched it for hours. Although, my favourite piece of the weekend was New Art Club's Big Bag of Boom. Just a big giggle the whole way through. It was great to see a mixture of work from previous pieces, and I love the audience interaction. It's makes me feel like I want to join in (especially when Pete is doing his crazy eighties dancing - classic!)

This weekend was also a busy one, as Vanessa and I travelled to Leicester to meet applicants for the YDE Stride! programme. The young people turned up with bags of intelligence and enthusiasm - which was fab!! They will all be joining us on the jam packed residential in April where they will learn lots about careers in the dance sector and get to meet some very experienced guest speakers.

Next weekend... well you should already know...episodes10!! Very exciting times for us here at Dance4, so we hope you will share our enthusiasm in all that is happening!

Keep you posted,

Kirsten x

Coming soon...

As January comes to a close, things definitely aren't getting any quieter in the world of Dance4!

At the end of next week, the mega excitement that is episodes2010 arrives at Nottingham Playhouse. Our annual youth dance platform for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, will see over 300 young people taking to the playhouse stage over next Friday and Saturday evening. Some of the Dance4 team have been visiting groups over the last few weeks, having a sneak peak at some of the work being presented and I can assure you that it's an event not to be missed! From superheroes to the Holocaust through an amazing journey of contemporary dance, street, hip-hop and ballet, episodes will be showing the very best of youth dance from across the county.

Get your tickets (very soon as they're selling like hot cakes!) from the Nottingham Playhouse Box Office on 0115 9419 419 and visit www.dance4.co.uk/episodes to find out more details and see who's performing.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Helen

x

Dance4 Presents….an electrifying weekend of performances

The office are currently recovering from a very busy weekend – presenting work in the performance space at the city’s new international art centre, Nottingham Contemporary. The mission: test the performance space.

We kicked the weekend off with Wendy Houston’s Keep Dancing. Where visions of Wendy thrashing around in a very sparkly dress in front of a mammoth projection of fascinatingly old archive footage, are still swimming in my head. The piece made for a very slick first ever live performance in the space.

Saturday saw Nottingham’s public thrilled by Nicola Conibere’s The Beckoning and the Escapades, a playful installation where the entry and exit of audience members to the space prompts the performers to introduce and remove an array of theatrical elements – from disco balls to sunglasses, electrical fans to stage lights.

Day three of the performances saw new ideas and experiments from three artists – New Art Club, Guy Dartnell and Gabriele Reuter. Audiences were taken into their working process through discussion, feedback and sneaky peaks at new work, in development.

In all, a very jam-packed, eclectic and electrifying weekend, which has left my mind reeling and fuelled my urge to both see and to orchestrate more live performance in the city….

Laura Cherry: My week placement at Dance4

So as I am approaching the end of my week placement at Dance4, I am just going to take the time for a reflection of my valuable experience here. Since I arrived on Monday, I have been swept off my feet and really impressed with the amount of hard work and creativity that goes into the organisation of Dance4. It really made me fully aware of exactly how much effort it takes to run an organisation of this scale. Being in my final year of dance performance at Middlesex University, the placement has been really beneficial as it gives a real eye opener as to what goes on in the professional world and all the hard work behind the scenes of the productions. The staff have been extremely welcoming and have given me support whenever needed. I have been really busy organising several things for the performances this weekend hosted by Dance4 at the brand new Nottingham Contemporary. I have been creating and printing programme notes, liasing with artists, calling guests for attendence, and helping with the box office at the weekend.As a fan of experimental dance, I am particularly excited to be working on the show for artists such as Wendy Houstoun and New Art Club. On my return back to London, I feel that I will be taking back a really insightful and beneficial placement which will hopefully aid the knowledge of my future career in dance!