Rathbone and Diverse Dance Annual Dance Showcase

On December 3rd  Friends and families came from far and wide to cheer on the dancers of Bite Back, Made2Dance and B Diverse at Diverse Dance’s  Annual Showcase for 2016 at Theatre SW4 in Clapham.

Some favourite pieces had been seen before and some were brand new, but they were all performed with skill and enthusiasm.

2016 has seen the Diverse Dance  groups perform at the busiest ever Lambeth Country Show and receive a commission from Nine Elms & Big Dance, which led to an integrated group performance on the iconic Big Dance Bus. We were also proud to have our dance film WAVE selected and screened at the Southbank Centre’s Unlimited Inclusive Youth Dance Platform.

This years show looked to international artists for inspiration and are excited to present their responses to Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Rosas danst Rosas, along with Willi Dorner’s Bodies in Urban Spaces project.

Here are a few pictures captured by Sam Swainson

Getting back involved

Today the group continued to get back in to the swing of things after the Christmas break. After an upbeat warm up which got them moving they carried on from where they left last week and worked on their musical mirroring with thier  partners.

This showcased their team work and their listening skills. They didn't just have 1 partner but had to change several times which was a great showing of their level of understanding.

The task was a musical jamming task where they had to create movement based on the music they heard and respond and mirror thier partner. Slowly over a period of four songs they created a short sequence of movement which was then shared individually with the group.

Arts Award - Our Inspiration

The group were asked to do some research about the people that have inspired them creatively. Tonight some members shared who their inspirations are and why.

This young person chose the dance group Diversity and was inspired by their talent and the positive values of the group.

The group put a lot of hard work into their research and will build on the information they have collected week by week.

Arts Award

Today the group did some work towards their Arts Award.

The group members were creating thier own action cards, which were discussed in the last blog post.

They then had to translate their actions into movements 

This work will go towards the arts award which is an accredited qualification for the creative arts. 

Dance is back!

After an intense warm up the group started learning some new choreography. The new piece focuses on floor work and working with different levels.

The group really enjoys the new choreography and one of the members explained that it feels like a good workout for the body because it exercises lots of different muscles. He also likes the floor work because it allows him to explore a different kind of dance work.

The group then started to work with action cards:

These are cards which state an action, it is then up to the dancer to interpret the action cards however they want to.

Each card is numbered and when the number is called each member of the group has to perform their version of the action.

One of the members described watching the piece as 'different painters all painting the same portrait'.

Others found it a great way to experiment with new dance moves in an organic way.

Rehearsals continued...

Rehearsals for the diverse Christmas carol are in full swing this evening.

First the group had a meeting to discuss our progress and to talk about the upcoming technical and dress rehearsals at the Lost Theatre. Everyone got the opportunity to ask any burning questions and we discussed costumes. 

We also discussed rules to follow during the rehearsals and the show to ensure that everyone behaves appropriately. 

Then we got straight into rehearsals practicing Bollywood and South Anerican dances.

It's shaping up to be a great show on the 6th December so don't forget to get your tickets at the Lost Theatre in Vauxhall or call the box office on 0207 720 6897 or buy online at www.ticketweb.co.uk.

  

A Diverse Carol- The rehearsals

A Diverse Carol is going to be a journey through a variety of diverse cultures but with a Christmas twist.

One member of the group explains that 'rehearsals are going really well and everyone is working hard to remember their parts'

 Here the group are practicing some moves inspired by Bollywood, which is just one of the cultures represented within the show.

You will also see dances inspired by African, Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian, North American and Indian cultures. This is not a show to miss!

For info on dates, times and how to get hold of tickets just check the poster below.

Carnival Dance

The group have been inspired by the famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro and will be performing this celebratory dance at their Christmas show.

This dance is all about group solidarity and celebrating and this can really be seen in the big, outstretched movements that the group are learning.   

The group will be performing this dance at their Christmas show on the 6th December at the Lost Theatre. We will be uploading details of how and where to get tickets soon so stay tuned for more information!

Lambeth Country Show - Showreel

Made to Dance made another great impact over the summer with their end of term show at Lambeth Country Show.

The choreography was choreographed by the young people and inspired by a poem about Rain. Here is a some of Lambeth Country Show highlights - see if you can spot some of Made 2 Dance in the show reel, can you see them?

Made 2 Dance - Summer of perfromances

Made 2 Dance had a great summer of performing

We kicked started the performances with our involvement with Big Dance Festival with an exciting project that involved us performing as part of the Routes To The River which was commissioned by Sioibhan Davies

Routes the the River was a playful journey of performances from Siobhan Davies to the Southbank Centre as part of Big Dance 2014 on Sunday 13th July. Audiences were provided with a specially illustrated map and led along a winding route through spaces and discreet spaces around the gardens at Kennington Park. The audience met various dance groups around the site specific promenade that explored water and our relation to it and the patterns it creates. The piece was choreographed by Henriatta Hale and the audience were invited to contribute to Your Move, Siobhan Davies Dance photoblog - please click performance here for more info

Routes to the River rehearsals

The Made2Dance crew have been selected for the Big Dance Festival performance, Routes to The River. Made 2 Dance applied to Siobhan Davies Studios and were selected along side 7 other groups and will be performing alongside 100 performers on a site specific trail from Siobhan Davies Studios, through Imperial War Museum and ending at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Roof Gardens.

Siobhan Davies are the host organisation for South London and have been commissioned to put on a performance for part of Big Dance Festival 2014.

We will be performing on Sunday 14th July with various performances happening through out the day. For more information please visit Big Dance Website and Siobhan Davies Website.

The group have been working on their weight barring skills and team work, by passing a wave throughout the circle and by using their weight. They have to work as a team and feel when the weight and need to change the speed and direction of the wave being passed around.

Siobhan Davies - Routes to the River

Just to let you know I put an application in for Made 2 Dance to be part of Routes to the River as part of the Big DanceFestival. I am pleased to say that our application was successful J

Made 2 Dance will be performing  Routes to the River, a Big Dance 2014 event produced by Siobhan Davies Dance and Big Dance hub for South London. 

Routes to the River is a trail of performances in green and urban spaces from Siobhan Davies Studios to the Southbank Centre on Sunday 13th July as part of Big Dance 2014. They will be a varied selection of groups/companies who will be performing alongside Made 2 Dance along the outdoors  trail. Each group will work independently to develop their piece with support from a professional choreographer from Siobhan Davies Dance. Routes to the River is a piece that will find connections between people and the natural world in an urban environment

It’s a fantastic opportunity for Made 2 Dance to learn choreographic skills around site specific work and work alongside other companies and choreographers and to be part of a national festival. We have also decided to integrate both our Old Library Dance group which is now named Bite Back Dance Crew to support Made 2 Dance throughout the process and performance.

Code of Ball

The group this week went over their Code of Conduct that they produced last week. The Code of Conduct covers all aspects of the dance session from Listening to teacher, respecting each other, what to wear to class and how to behave. The code of Conduct also covers the rules for when the group are on the minibus, this includes rules such as not distracting the driver and always wearing a seat belt.

We also discussed the consequences of rule breaking so everyone in the group is clear about what  happens if a rule is broken. We made sure everyone agreed with the rules and we all signed contracts of agreement.
We did this to make sure the dance class is a positive and productive environment where everyone stays respectful and focused.

Back to work in the studio

This week Made 2 Dance are getting straight back to work and beginning their next Arts Award.

As part of their arts award each member will have to lead a warm up, the group practiced this today as each member contributed a movement to the warm up..

Stretching our arms.

Star-jumps!

Can you touch your toes?

The group then did some floor work and talked about how spacing is important in dance.

The group then started rehearsing a narrative dance based on a poem called 'In the Puddles'. 

Learning brand new choreography!

Made 2 Dance were taught about using movements to represent the words of the poem. They will need to use this knowledge to create some of their own interpretations of parts of the poem in the upcoming weeks.

Made 2 dance had a busy evening learning more about leading a warm up, spacing and floor work and even some exciting new choreography!

Wizard of Oz the DVD!

This week the group got the opportunity to watch back their wonderful performance! 
We got the popcorn ready...

...And proceeded to watch the Wizard of OZ , The Diverse performance..

It was great for the group to see what they looked like on stage and how the performance looked from the audience point of view. Everyone really enjoyed the DVD and everyone wants a copy, which is a steal at only £5.00. If you or anyone you know wants a copy please get in contact with Diverse Dance.

The group was then surprised with Certificates to celebrate their amazing performance at Made in Lambeth (see previous post). Their performance was incredible and the group got the whole audience up and dancing!

A well deserved certificate of achievement!

Made in Lambeth was a brilliant experience and the whole group put their all into their performance.

Made in Lambeth

On Saturday 11th January made to dance successfully auditioned for a spot in the Made In Lambeth talent show. Now the pressure is on to get everything perfect for the show on Monday 27 January.

Made In Lambeth has been organised by Se1 united, a youth led organisation focused on positive social change, education and engagement for young people. You can find out more about them at www.se1united.org.uk.

Made to dance are very excited to be part of this project and are incredibly proud to have impressed the audition judges and secured a spot in the talent show!

Rehearsals are going well and everyone is dedicated to putting together another fantastic performance.

Made In Lambeth talent show is being held at The Festival Village, Southbank Centre, London, SE1 8XX. Doors open at 18.30 and the show starts at 19.05. To get your tickets all you need to do is phone Alison on 07905 497 037 or email your requests to madeinlambeth@gmail.com.