touchdown dance

OUR PERFORMANCES

"The dancers work as a team, guiding, supporting and inspiring each other."Touchdown Dance works with performance projects in various ways within three categories.

Performances as a culmination of community, education or health projects.
Performances with venues where we collaborate with a resident group.
Performances with Touchdown Dance Company taken on tour.

The community projects will involve a group that collaborates with an artist from the company towards a public sharing. The sharing can be anything from a performance at a local arts centre, at a school, or at a venue as a curtain raiser or part of a longer evening programme. We have also done projects for a specific "in house" purpose for organisations, such as an AGM or company gathering, working with a theme that is current such as "partnership".

The present TOUCHDOWN DANCE COMPANY started in 1998 following the residencies with Ray Chung, and later with Lisa Nelson and Karen Nelson. The work was inspired by scores that involve talking whilst moving, or using sound cues and touch to connect the visually impaired dancers to the sighted, in a dance environment that provides the freedom for everyone to move. Since then the work has evolved further using live music and projection to enhance the sensory nature of the work, the depth and layers within it and to enrich our collaboration across art forms and new media. The dancers join the company from a variety of backgrounds and contribute their strengths and ability to the current project requirements. This enables dancers to have the opportunity to work with us and to have the freedom to work elsewhere too. The projects have taken longer in development than a traditional repertory dance company, until recently when we decided that we are improvisers working with improvisation in performance and have worked with experienced international artists Julyen Hamilton and Angus Balbernie. We do not demand homogeneity, which comes with the territory when a company recruits at auditions and has the expectation of technical experience and ability. In Touchdown we all work together to establish working scores that enable the visually impaired dancers to be free on stage. We have the security of a framework or score, a structure of pre-decided themes and atmospheres for the improvised performance to evolve within.

CLOSER (2005-7)

Closer was devised by the company with Julyen Hamilton and Angus Balbernie. Closer is a natural continuation from TACT. We work with clear spatial relationships and with the underlying themes of "closeness", distance and relating across space. We explore ways to sustain awareness of each other without sight as the predominant connection. We explore relationships in duets, trios and full company dances, using layers of movement qualities and atmosphere, with sound, video projection and light, with coloured and textured tactile costumes defining the transition from one score to the next. Closer has original music scores by Scott Smith with some concrete sounds from Angus Balbernie. There is a pre-show video by Becky Edmunds with a personal statement from each dancer whilst in rehearsals, and short atmospheric video clips for the show itself. Lighting design by Alan Jackson, costume design by Alke and tour management by Ed Higginson. Dancers; Katy Dymoke, Robert Andersen, Janee Hall, Holly Thomas, Patrick Beelaert and Stuart Jackson.

Audio Description. We have ensured that Closer is audio described and we require that each venue provide this service, however it is up to the venue to cover the additional costs.

Touring; Barrow in Furness Nov 4th, 2005

Nuffield Lancaster Nov 9th, 2005

Touring to other parts of the UK in 2006.

TACT (2002-2004)

TACT is a theatrical dance performance involving text, video projection and
movement ranging from the energetic and resistant to the softer almost
motionless sensitivity. Using Contact Improvisation, simultaneous
description, stories, and textured layers of video and live music, this is a
groundbreaking piece of work. Six dancers, three visually impaired and three
sighted, with two live musicians, create a rich spectacle involving strong
individual and personal moments along with a sense of group interaction that
is intimate and persuasive. Touchdown strive to challenge the art form,
Dance, to stretch your perceptions and held assumptions and to celebrate the creative potential of integrated practice.

Venues

Summer 2002 - Royal Festival Hall residency.

Autumn 2002 - Frankfurt in Germany.

Spring/Summer 2003 - Northwest and National Tour.

Dancers

Patrick Beelaert, Alan Foster, Janee Hall, Holly Thomas, Katy Dymoke, Jovair Longo (Robert Anderson under-study.)

Music

Scott Smith, Jim Parris, and Barnaby O'Rorke at the Royal Festival Hall.

Video & projection

Katy Dymoke, Becky Edmunds and Nick Fry.

Sense-8 (2000-2001)

Film funded by a Capture Award from the Arts Council of England. Co-produced by Katy Dymoke and Katrina McPherson (G0 AT productions) for Touchdown Dance.

Location

Yorkshire Dance Centre Leeds 2001.

Dancers

Alan Foster, Holly Thomas, Scott Smith, Jovair Longo, Rick Nodine, Katy Dymoke, Mary Prestidge, Jo Blowers.

Camera Direction

Katrina McPherson.

Movement Direction

Katy Dymoke.

Production

Vicky Dymoke.

I-Radiate (1999-2001)

"Surfing the senses into movement"

Using space, touch and the individual qualities of the dancer we have created scores that explore communication of movement through energy and non-visual cues. We explore simultaneous description within the performance and projection of enlarged images to provide added depths and insights into the multi-sensory nature of the work.

Venues

The Place.

The Contact Theatre Manchester.

The Green Room Manchester.

Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

Romiley Forum.

The Courtyard Theatre.

Tameside College.

Dancers

Alan Foster, Patrick Beelaert, Anna Zee, John Hurley, Katy Dymoke.

Music

Scott Smith.

Projection & Digital Imagery

Nick Fry of Undercover Design.

Booking Information

If you would like to find out about booking tickets for a performance, please click here. Fill in your details and a customer service representive will contact you as soon as possible.

BACK TO TOP

© 2003 Touchdown Dance all rights reserved. Designed & created by Catch Fire Design Ltd.