Rosemary Butcher teaches at Independent Dance

February 15th, 2011

Monday. This week I have been invited by Rosemary Butcher to draw her inspirational dance classes at Independent DanceSiobhan Davies Studios. A two hour master class for professional dancers. I have admired Rosemary’s work for many years, see https://blog.sallymckay.co.uk/page/5/ (October 7th 2010) for my drawings of her beautiful, moving work Lapped Translated Lines.

The movement was based on improvisational processes, the dancing was strong and intense. Although the dancers didn’t necessarily know each other and hadn’t worked together as a group before there were connections and dialogue made through each individuals rhythmic movement and patterns of movement.

During the first hour I drew in pencil in my small concertina sketch book, my drawings were influenced by the words spoken by Rosemary as the dancers moved.

 Rosemary Butcher class Monday 1

‘Sense of exchange’

Rosemary Butcher class.mon 2.jpg

‘Disintegration’

Rosemary Butcher class.mon 3.jpg‘What have you lost?’ 

During the second hour the movement expanded, the connections and sense of exchange between the dancers became more pronounced, the drawings also increased in size.

Rosemary Butcher.mon 1.jpg

 

You are my sweetest downfall

February 15th, 2011

You are my sweetest downfall

You are my sweetest downfall. Framed etching, measures 36 x 77 cm, edition of 20, 15 available.  Also available unframed.

Lines of Desire

Lines of desire. Framed etching, measures 36 x 57 cm, edition of 20, 15 available. Also available unframed.

Both these prints will be on show from Wednesday at Billi Currie 47 Chiltern Street, London W1. They join six framed charcoal drawings, and two more etchings, see December 4th to view images. The venue is a fabulous West End boutique hairdressing salon in Marylebone.

Billi is a highly talented stylist, and has created a skilled and friendly salon. Billi is happy for people to drop by to see the work.

Ballet Black

February 14th, 2011

Ballet Black is celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary, they opened at The Linbury Studio Theatre at The Royal Opera House on 9th February performing for 4 nights. Ballet Black is a ballet company for international dancers of black and asian descent, their aim is “to see a fundamental change in the number of black and Asian dancers in mainstream ballet companies”. Founded by Cassa Pancho the company performs a beautiful fusion of classical ballet, jazz and modern dance.

Pendulum

Pendulum. Choreographer: Martin Lawrence

My personal favourite was Pendulum, a fabulous strong duet performed to Steve Reich’s Pendulum Music. The relationship swings between tender, intimate, gentle affection and wild, passionate combat, extraordinary angular shapes are created.

Da Gamba  Shift

Da Gamba. Choreographer: Henri Oguike. Shift. Choreographer: Antonia Franceschi.  

DaGamba and Shift were both accompanied on stage by cellist Zoe Martlew. Shift was performed to Martlew’s own score of gorgeous, fast sassy jazz.

Orpheus

Orpheus. Choreographer: Will Tuckett

 

.

American Ballet Theatre

February 6th, 2011

My first time watching/drawing The American Ballet Theatre who were performing at Sadler’s Wells last week. Two programmes, I chose the first over the second to see Twyla Tharp‘s Known By Heart. The first dance of the evening, danced by three couples to Scarlatti, was Alexei Ratmansky‘s Seven Sonatas.

I loved Twyla Tharp’s  Known by Heart performed by Gillian Murphy and Blaine Hoven to Donald Knaack‘s Junk Music. Known by Heart. Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp. Known By Heart

Another entirely different duet, Duo Concertant, followed, choreographed by George Balanchine.

Duo Concertant

Duo Concertant. George Balanchine

The final work, Everything Doesn’t Happen at Once choreographed by Benjamin Millepied had a 6 piece music ensemble on stage playing music by David Lang, performed by 24 dancers.

Everything doesn’t happen at once

 Everything doesn’t happen at onceBenjamin Millepied. Everything Doesn’t Happen at Once 

The Wapping Project, Luca Silvestrini

January 31st, 2011

The end of a month of fabulous inspirational dance to celebrate The Wapping Project’s 10 year anniversary, curated and directed by Dr. Jules Wright. Saturday evening began with Rock ‘n Roll taught to a large enthusiastic class by the charismatic dancer/dance teacher, David Outevski.

Rock ‘N Roll, Wapping Project

Rock ‘n Roll in the Boiler House of The Wapping Project

At 9.00 the lights went down and the music cut out, the dance class looked confused as a man and woman in their underwear stroll into the middle of the dance floor. A soundtrack begins of an agitated woman’s voice projecting the thought’s of the characters. The dancers continually break away from each other and return in a rush of angry or heated passion, quirky teasing or a slow sultry embrace. The dance is quirky, funny and fast, with a dangerous edge.

To The Bone

To The Bone 2

To The Bone

To The Bone. Protein Dance 

The fragment is from Protein Dance: “To The Bone“, choreographed by Artistic Director Luca Silvestrini and danced by Thomas Goodwin and Vicki Manderson. To see details of the current tour see Protein Dance web site.

The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station housing The Wapping Project is a fantastic venue, Dancing the Decade has now ended but there is a restaurant, a bookshop and a sycamore tree with an exhibition in it’s branches if you need an excuse to visit.

CitytoCity Cabaret at Greenwich Dance

January 26th, 2011

On Friday night Greenwich Dance held their first Cabaret night of the year with dance from Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece and the UK. It was wild!

I sat with the dance and drama students from Lewisham College who I’ll be drawing in a couple of weeks time and my friends Lisa Stubbs (Head of Dance and Drama at Lewisham College) and musician Carl Marsh.

Here are some of my sketches of the night

Ognjen Vucinic & Aleksandra Misic, Randevu

Ognjen Vucinic & Aleksandra Misic, Randevu 

Elvis McGonagall/Milen Petrov

Compere Scottish poet, Elvis McGonagall. Milen Petrov, Apartment

Nigel Charnock. Them There Exes

Nigel Charnock. Them There Exes 

Levantes Dance Theatre. Canape Art

Levantes Dance Theatre. Canape Art 

Nigel Charnock. Cold Tongue

Nigel Charnock. Cold Tongue 

It was a great night. The next cabaret will be the Spring Cabaret 11th March. I shall be there with my sketch book to draw hip hop from Avant Garde and others.

Youtube, Chasing Shadows

January 25th, 2011

In May 2009 I had a 6 week solo show Chasing Shadows in the West End gallery, GV Art in Marylebone. Martin Smith and Alex May of Quadratura were commissioned to create an audio/visual composition of dancer, Alessandra Ruggeri, responding to my work.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening Alessandra Ruggeri will be dancing at Dancing The Decade, the 10 year celebration of The Wapping Project, with Andrew Graham in the duet, In One Breath.

A fragment of Edits at The Wapping Project

January 19th, 2011

On Friday and Saturday choreographer Lea Anderson and two dancers from her all male company The Featherstonehaughs, were at The Wapping Poject as part of the celebration. Ryen Perkins-Gangnes and In Pang Oci performed a stunning fragment from the 2010 show Edits.

Featherstonehaughs, Edits, Wapping Project

Ryen and In Pang perform a duet from Edits 

I drew during some the rehearsals for this show last year, it takes as it’s starting point the rhythm and phrasing of film editing in feature films. (see August 21st and August 23rd). The costumes are by Sandy Powell, music by Steve Blake and Will Saunders and light and stage design by Simon Corder. Lea Anderson first came to The Wapping Project 17 years ago with a site specific performance performed by her all female dance company, The Cholmondelys, in the building before it’s refurbishment.

Before and after the duet a lively Rock n’ Roll class was in progress on the dance floor, the dance teacher even managed to persuade me to abandon drawing them and join in!

Rock ‘n Roll, Wapping Project

Rock ‘n Roll class in progress on the dance floor

 

New Sculpture

January 16th, 2011

IrinaIrina  

Irina is a full size figure created from wire, now installed in a Lawyers office in Chelmsford, Essex. The model is Italian dancer, Irina Baldini, see post of January 12th, also Huddle, January 14th.

New Etchings

January 16th, 2011

 

Lines of desire

 

 

 

 

 

  Lines of Desire

 

 

You are my sweetest downfall

You Are My Sweetest Downfall

Limited edition of 20 prints only