Daniel Somerville

Friday 2nd December, 8:15pm

EPISODES

Episodes is a dance research project run by choreographer and performer Daniel Somerville, who hails from Deal. Episodes is taking place at various sites in Kent including The Astor Community Theatre. Working with three dancers Somerville will research, devise and develop two dance works (under 25 mins each) and share the work in progress at The Astor Community Theatre on Friday 2nd December 2011 at 8:15pm. Tickets are available through The Astor Community Theatre.

The first of these new pieces is called ‘Second Piano Concerto’ and is a duet for the choreographer and another male dancer. It works with themes of obsession and is set to music already created by Somerville but remixed in a dub-step version. This work is part of a series of ‘piano concertos’ by Somerville – his ‘First Piano Concerto’ premiered at Brighton Festival Fringe in 2010 to rave reviews. The second new piece, ‘Mad Scene’, is a trio for two female dancers and a male dancer set to music from Donizetti’s opera ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ and will examine interpretations of madness from grotesque to comedic. These works will be preceded by Somerville’s critically acclaimed ‘the moment I heard’ which was created for Resolution! 2011 at The Place in London. ‘the moment I heard’ is about loss. Stylistically the new episodes will act as a counterpoint to ‘the moment I heard’ and its sombre mood, to create a programme with moments of high energy and grotesque comedy.

THREE EPISODES: the moment I heard / Second Piano Concerto / Mad Scene

This project continues Somerville’s explorations of the Japanese contemporary dance form, butoh, which he combines with operatic gesture and certain aspects of cabaret performance. His work attempts to manipulate and distort time in order to examine emotions in detail.

Friday 2nd December, 2pm
BUTOH WORKSHOP

Daniel Somerville will be leading a public workshop on butoh and other aspects of his work on Friday afternoon 2nd December 2011 from 2pm at The Astor Community Theatre.

No experience necessary – open to all ages and abilities. The workshop is good for core strength, leg strength, balance, concentration, use of imagination and relaxation.

“Butoh has been called ‘the dance of death’” explains Somerville. “But it is not about death, or zombies, it is connected to a Zen idea of emptiness – you empty yourself of yourself so you can fill you with something else – like an image or a concept. It’s very like a kind of meditation for the whole body, finding ways to express things through the body. Often this is very slow and quite focussed.” The workshop will include some of the basic techniques of butoh and will begin with gentle stretches and exercises and conclude with an opportunity for participants to improvise together using these techniques.

For further information on Daniel Somerville visit: www.dsomerville.co.uk

This project is supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England