The weeks are ticking past, the programme notes are coming together, and final arrangements are (still!) being made to make The Cottier Dance Project's first year the best it can be...
The Cottier Dance Project is the new strand to Glasgow’s
popular West End Festival and will take place from 22nd-27th June 2014. It aims
to champion Scottish-based choreographers and dancers, to provide a platform
for new work, and to encourage collaboration across the artistic spectrum. As well as contemporary, commissioned work,
we revisit inspirational work from the past with archival dance footage.
On the 22nd June, The Cottier Dance Project opens
with a special screening of the 1975, BBC broadcast of Kenneth MacMillan’s
playful ballet ‘Elite Syncopations’, shown in the
glorious Grosvenor Cinema, with an introductory talk from a highly respected
ballet specialist. With music by Scott
Joplin and virtuoso performances from The Royal Ballet, we recommend that anyone who enjoys Sir
Kenneth MacMillan’s work get their tickets and get ready to be inspired! At 5pm the same day, The Grosvenor will be
showing the iconic 1937 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film, ‘Shall We Dance?’, which will take
us back to the golden age of musical cinema. There will be a live dance
demonstration before the film to get everyone in the mood, and there is a
complimentary drink with every ticket. Definitely not a Sunday to be missed…
For the first of the live performances (23rd-25th,
6.30pm), resident company High Heart Dance Company are teaming up with
multi-award winning Scots’ singer Emily
Smith and musician Jamie
McClennan and band, to bring a new collaboration of traditional music
and contemporary dance to Cottier’s Theatre in ‘Footprints’. This joyous and poignant piece explores,
through music and contemporary movement, the identities of the performers who
have all been influenced by Scottish culture.
With equal focus on music and dance, this is an ideal show for fans of
both.
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For those interested in a diverse evening of dance and
discovering new choreographic talent, Watch
This Space (26th-27th, 8.30pm) provides a platform
for choreographers and dancers to show excerpts of their work, and this year we
have five pieces by freelance artists and dancers from Scotland’s national
companies; Daniel Davidson, Diana Loosmore, Matthew Hawkins, Tamsyn Russell and
Fuora Dance Project (Giulia Montalbano & Federica Esposito). Expect an eclectic
mix of brilliance!
The Cottier Dance Project is also joining forces with
partner festival The Cottier Chamber Project on 14th June at 11am,
with High Heart Dance Company collaborating with Daniel’s Beard for their
Family show ‘Complete
Nonsense and The Lady of Shalott’.
This sees ‘The Owl and The Pussycat’, ‘Jabberwocky’ and the
‘Quangle-Wangle’s Hat’ skip into existence, with music by Lenny Sayers and
narration by BBC Scotland’s Jamie MacDougall.
These brilliant settings were picked for BBC Radio 4’s ‘Round-Up’ show
when they premiered, so this is your chance to catch them again in all their
glory. MacDougall will then tell the
tragic tale of Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shalott’, with stunning, specially
commissioned, music by Sayers and gorgeously descriptive movement from High
Heart Dance Company. The beautiful
setting of St Silas Church provides the backdrop for this Saturday morning of
fantastic comedy, music and the world premier of ‘The Lady of Shalott’; one for
all the family.
For those who enjoy dancing, come and take class with dancer
and Cottier Dance Project curator Freya Jeffs on the 26th and 27th
at 10.30am in Cottier’s Theatre. The
class will use a mix of ballet and contemporary techniques to get you warm and
strengthened for the day ahead.
Tickets are on sale online at www.cottierchamberproject.com
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