Lost Dog at the Edinburgh Fringe

Today we had our first performance of 'Home for Broken Turns' and 'It Needs Horses' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We will be performing at Zoo Southside until Sunday 25th of August.

 

This is my first collaboration as a performer with Lost Dog, the English dance theatre ensemble directed by Ben Duke. I had had the chance to work with Ben previously at Scottish Dance Theatre, when he created 'The Life and Times of Girl A' in 2010.

 

Home for Broken Turns is the kind of place that makes you dream of running away to the circus. But it is also a sanctuary, a place where the few remaining occupants could be described as family. This is the story of a group of women who exist on the outskirts, fiercely protective of each other and ready to savage anything that threatens to break up their dwindling pack.

                                

It Needs Horses tells the tale of a down at heel circus duet and their increasingly desperate attempts to entertain the crowd. The glamour has faded and the performers have forgotten their acts, but the show must go on. The piece was awarded in 2011 with the Place Prize, the most prestigious choreographic prize in the UK.

 

Here is a trailer of the piece with the wonderful original cast, Anna Finkel and Chris Evans. For more information on the performances and to book your tickets click HERE:

 

 



 

Dance UK mentorship

I have been recently selected to take part in Dance UK’s new Dancers’ Mentoring Scheme in Scotland. The programme is organised by Dance UK in partnership with Dancers’ Career Development and is funded by Creative Scotland.

 

The mentoring scheme offers company and independent dancers a paid mentor working in a high level leadership position from the arts sector or beyond. Over eight months, eight Scottish dancers will be able to gain confidence, develop transferable skills and receive guidance on how to transition from the studio into leadership and managerial positions.

 

I will be working alongside Chris Fogg, a freelance arts producer, consultant and evaluator, who has for the last two years been the Creative Producer for South East Dance in Brighton, working on their Associate Artists scheme. As part of his current portfolio Chris is the Creative Producer for the Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award, as well as being an Arts Council Assessor. He has more than ten years’ experience of arts project development and management, as well as running arts organisations. Chris has also worked for many years as a writer and theatre director, and he frequently collaborates with dance artists, offering dramaturgical support and advice. These have included bgroup, Mark Bruce, Darkin Ensemble, Lost Dog, Probe and StopGap among many others.

 

It will be a luxury to work with such an experienced artist and producer, and I can't wait to get started!