JUMP! 2020
A showcase of Reading Dance
JUMP! Show Notes:
Senior Twilight Dance Company (Queen Anne’s School)
One Night Only
This piece is a fast-paced, technical jazz piece. The music is from DreamGirls the musical. We hope that the audience feels energised and captivated by the high energy performance! We are a dance company within a school making us unique to have dancers training at such high standards. We produce a variety of dances from contemporary to technical jazz pieces. This piece was filmed in the rehearsal process and has not undergone cleaning.
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Dance Phaze
Bored
Dance Phaze is a North Hampshire based dance company providing class and performance opportunities for dancers of varying ages and abilities. 'Bored' is a short dance film exploring the idea of being tired with current surroundings, circumstances or relationships. When the direction of life changes or plans are halted, an array of mixed thoughts and feelings come over us, forcing us to be patient however mundane it may feel. How we choose to deal with these challenges is an individual choice but maybe there is a strong need for empathy and understanding more than ever before..?
Dance Phaze would like to thank our wonderful dancers, Matt Green, Mark Richardson and Everest Academy for executing this creation in a such safe, distant and COVID secure way and for supporting each other’s creative outlets whole heartedly at such a unprecedented and uncertain time.
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Drishti Dance
Contours
Drishti Dance was established in 2008 and took in, its first youth students within Reading in 2012 and from that time onwards, it has grown from strength to strength with additional dance centres now in Oxford and Didcot. Contours is a fast paced and dynamic work, that is a contemporary spin on traditional technical Kathak. It reconstructs the established rhythm structures and melodies with an aim to etch new ‘Contours’ on rhythmic canvas.
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Sonder Dance
When Things Go Back to Normal
Sonder Dance are an intergenerational company based in Bracknell, Berkshire. Each group member brings their own experience and understanding of dance to the company making us diverse and distinctive. As a collective we explore different ideas that are relevant to our individual lives and our community. 'When things go back to normal' is a dance film based around our experiences of coming out of lockdown including the transition from being indoors and isolated to suddenly returning to large open, outdoor spaces. Many of us felt anxiety transitioning back into public areas and felt discomfort with the 'new normal’ we are currently in the process of adapting to. The piece is filmed in several locations in Swinley Forest, Bracknell. The work was developed with the company at a distance/online and filmed over a series of days.
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Low Impact Tap with Sonia Brown
Dance with me Tonight
Low-Impact Tap with Sonia Brown gives dancers a gentle option for learning to tap dance. All jumps, springs and hops are removed and contact is kept with the floor the entire way through the lesson with barres on hand for stability if needed. We have a good giggle every lesson and love to wiggle our hips to the beat! My Low-Impact Tappers began tap dancing for the first time this September. This piece is their first ever dance learnt over 6 lessons in 4 different venues so they have done brilliantly. We just wanted to have fun dancing to a song we all enjoy! We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed performing it!
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Reading School of Dance
Night of the Dancing Dead
Reading School of Dance presents: Night of the Dancing Dead A concept by Shaquille Mannus. A short Halloween themed concept video that was put together with the RSOD Crew members. Just a fun side project that showcases these amazing, talented dancers and is their first video together as a new crew. We have been so grateful for the opportunity to have something to work towards whilst we can not perform and compete as a crew.
RSOD have been established since 2013 Our aim is to share our passion for dance and to support the younger generation mentally and physically. We offer a chance to be creative, build confidence, meet new friends and experience something new. We give our students amazing opportunities and we will go that extra mile for our students. We have been able to provide our students with a future career in dance. Having students go on to Urdang, Wilkes, Creative Academy, East London and Middlesex University. RSOD have performed at Move it, The place, The Crescent Theatre, Africa Centre Summer Festival and competed and have come first place at UDO, BDO, Street Dance Challenge Regionals and were also Set4Set winners 2020.
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Mids Twilight Dance Company (Queen Anne's School)
Legally Blonde
We are a dance company within a school making us unique to have dancers training at such high standards. We produce a variety of dances from contemporary to technical jazz pieces. This piece is a fun and lively piece of musical theatre dance. Combining acting and dance to create a showstopping performance piece that we hope will make the audience want to "join the parade" too! The students have been working on their acting skills to bring bold characters like Elle Woods to life!
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Leia Shorney
(Dis)Abled
I'm a dance graduate from the University of Winchester and I have cerebral palsy. I focus in on Contemporary Dance and over this lockdown I've been thinking about what it means to me to be a disabled dancer. This is a piece of work that is autobiographical and explorative in the way that I dance. Throughout my formative years dancing, there was only one way to dance and it was structured by syllabus. I've begun to deconstruct that thought process to having more of an open mind about dance and discover more of who I am as a dancer.
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Urban Stylez
Into The Woods
Urban Stylez are a street dance company who provide sessions for all ages 3+ to adults. We are proud to have award winning teams represent Reading across the UK, with now 4 teams at Urban Stylez including our two advanced teams who have competed at World Championships & European Championships in Germany and were also selected from thousands of crew entries to be a part of the Flawless UK Tour at Camberley. Our piece includes our adult advance dancers along with our Youth Advance crew members.
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Natraj Dance Academy
Malur Jum
The students of Natraj Dance Academy have performed Malhar Jum this song that is inspired by Indian classical forms but is presented in a contemporary rock fashion. The overpowering emotion in the song is of happiness & celebrations. Since it is a tarana it has no lyrics but is an incorporation of various ragas. The predominant raga used is Malhar. Performers, Sanchali, Parvathy, Ilakshi, Mukta, Prerita, Krittika, Aniya. Natraj Dance Academy specializes in Indian Classical Dance, Kathak as well as traditional folk dance.
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Hilary Goodall
Under Uncertain Skies
Under Uncertain Skies is a movement collaboration between myself and two dancers created during Lockdown in spring/summer 2020. We live in different parts of the UK (one of the dancers is in Reading) and we never met during the process.
The dancers were sent open-ended creative tasks to interpret however they wished, then shot their responses on personal phones and sent them to me. They had no access to each other’s material, other than selected movements I chose to share with them.
The film was then edited and set to music.
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Arwen Hobday
With Thanks
I am a freelance dance artist and as such I’ve had a varied career. Performing in the UK & abroad and teaching dance to all ages and abilities. I am mostly passionate about contemporary dance in particular Cunningham technique where I attended summer training in NY in 2009. This short dance film’s concept came from the gratitude felt towards female trailblazers. Trailblazers both past and present that have impacted the development of legal rights for pregnant employees. Blog posts by working pregnant dancers, along with the imagery of Suffragette lyrics and posters inspired some of the movement. The movement material was created with the pregnant performer Arwen Hobday and choreographed for filming by Annarita Mazzilli. The pregnant dancer was shot against a green screen by Lucy Lee, new backgrounds were chosen and keyed in. The project was supported by Resource Productions.
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Silver Swans with Sonia Brown
Variation de Giselle
Silver Swans with Sonia Brown classes offer over 50s the chance to discover or rediscover ballet in a gentle, low-impact way, with the number one priority being to have a good time, make friends and feel like the ballerina they never were!
When creating Variation de Giselle we set out with the aim as dancers to feel beautiful, elegant and graceful -not worried about which move comes next. Having recently returned to studio classes we were excited to try mixing all 5 studio and 3 online Silver Swans classes together as one large corp de ballet.
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SwagOutEntertainment
Sneak Peek
SwagOutEntertainment are a street dance collective we focus on pursuing the techniques and foundations in multiple styles of Street Dance to fully realise the potential in all of our dancers. The crew (SwagOutRevolutionz) was first put together in late 2013 and officially launched in 2014 by their leader and choreographer Lashon “LcarRich” - who at the time was just 15 years old - We focus not only on building strong and capable dancers but helping them to grow as people by finding their confidence and the belief that all things are possible. Sneek Peek is exactly what it says on the tin with this being a preview of what the group have been up to since resuming thier training Post-lockdown. The performance features choreography from our work-in-progress team set as well as the freestyle abilities of the crew members and trainees.
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Berkshire & Henley Dance
Wildfire, Quake, and Tribe
Wildfire are an intermediate street dance and hip hop group. They are all year 6-8 and have been dancing together as a group the last year. This was to be their first competition year and they are competing in online competitions across the uk. Their fellow classmate won a first place prize in a dance festival during lockdown.
Quake is a senior teen street dance and hiphop group. They won first place at SOAR last autumn and were due to compete in the championships at Blackpool Tower Ballroom this March. They are now completing online in competitions and they rehearse together 3 classes a week. Their fellow class mates won 1st and second place in a dance festival during lockdown. The group also dance in contemporary, ballet and contemporary fusion classes.
Tribe are a newly formed competition group and they have been dancing together since September 2020. They have just submitted to an online competition and are eager to continue to improve and win competitions. Their fellow dancer in the group won 4 place at an online dance festival during lockdown. The group also dance in modern, ballet, contemporary and tap classes.
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Silver Swans with Sonia Brown
Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the Knights
Our second piece, Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the Knights, started as a bit of fun during lockdown, having been inspired by the National Paris Opera Ballet’s Video rendition. It was such a hit it was featured on the BBC and ITV news and inspired Silver Swans licensees on the other side of the world to make their own! It was a fantastic morale boost for participants and spectators during an emotionally difficult time.
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Betty BonneFire
Serenity
I’m so grateful to be able to share this project, I’m Beth. Circus artist & dancer. I hope this positive response to covid is enjoyed.
The streets were strangely serene, our futures in flux and we were together in our loneliness.
As the video begins, the ring of fire embodies restrictions. I used darkness to portray uncertainty. Blurred and obscured body parts with no particular direction. As I remove my mask, I am able to breath and move freely. From then on, the darkness fades and the light at the end of the tunnel secures its presence.
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Kalakunj
Shivam
Kalakunj was set up with the aim to celebrate South Asian art forms in the community and promote the values of cultural heritage amongst all interested participants. The performing arts group has already worked on two successful Heritage Lottery Fund projects, THE STORY OF SHIVA and KRISHNA: The Mythological Hero and is currently embarking on its Arts Council England project SHAKTI: The Divine Energy and Power in the coming year. This work in progress is an exuberant rhythmic piece celebrating the Lord of Indian classical dance and also revered as the originator of 'Yoga', Shiva, the supreme energy who is omnipotent and a symbol of destruction of evil forces. This is a powerful piece narrating the power of Shiva using the medium of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance from Southern part of India, and projects strong physical movements and 'Abhinaya' (expressional) skills by the 5 performers.
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ILLUME // NOCTURN
EXHALE
ILLUMÉ is an inclusive contemporary performance group, created by our community, delivered by NOCTURN. We believe in the transformative power and impact of dance. Age is a positive attribute: we draw on our collective life experience to enhance our work. Formed in 2010, we have gained a reputation across the South East for delivering high-quality dance performances, influenced by the work of NOCTURN but with our own style, while still celebrating our diverse nature. A community dance film devised and directed by NOCTURN’s Artistic Director, John Darvell, EXHALE is a reminder of why it is so important to take stock, breathe, and embrace the great outdoors. Created through a mixture of online weekly lockdown classes and an intensive, socially distanced weekend dancing out in the elements, NOCTURN’s community dancers came together to work with John, enjoy the sunshine and each other’s company, culminating in a piece just months ago we never imagined possible. And we couldn’t be more proud.
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Thank you so much to all these amazing performers, the companies and schools that give them a platform and to the audience watching these performances!
From us all at Dance Reading, #danceRDGJUMP