All Rise… make way for 2019 festival of dance

The best contemporary dance by artists and companies from ‘around the globe to just down the road’ is coming to Moray, thanks to Rise 2019.

Curated by Dance North Scotland, Rise 2019 is Moray’s annual contemporary dance festival held at the Universal Hall in Findhorn.

From Friday 3 until Sunday 5 May 2019, audiences will be treated to the best in contemporary dance and performance from Scotland and around the world.

International focus

With a strong international focus this year, the programme includes the critically acclaimed 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit, Bon 4 Bon, by Taiwan’s Chang Dance Theatre; the clever multi-artform humour of Montreal’s Mandoline Hybride; and the beauty of the Scotland-Québec dance film collaboration from Katrina McPherson (Scotland) and Harold Rhéaume (Québec). 

The 2019 programme follows themes of landscape, dance for the screen, the every day and relationships. Some of the works have a tangible narrative, such as the articulate Crystal Zillwood’s These Hands, which has been described by London dance critic, Donald Hutera as a performance that“conjures worlds out of thin air.”; some revolve around thematic content, such as Julie Cleves & Robbie Synge’s low tech and often humorous approach to disabled access challenges; and some are simply hypnotic and alluring, for example Screensaver Series by Janine Harrington.

Under the banner Scotland-Québec Connects, Dance North is partnering with artists and cultural organisations from Montreal, MandolineHybride and the Québec-Scotland screendance collaboration. This would not have been possible without the support of The British Council (Québec-UK Connections Fund), the Québec Government Office in London, Creative Scotland and The Work Room.  

Classes for babies to adults

Over the weekend, Rise 2019 will also include dance classes for all ages from babies through to adults. With something for everyone, audiences are certain to see something different, beautiful and unexpected at this year’s festival.

Karl Jay-Lewin, Artistic Director, Dance North Scotland said: “While some of the performances include familiar and easily recognisable themes, other pieces play with beautiful visual imagery and music inspired patterns. I believe the programme will have something to suit all tastes. My invitation to seasoned dance audiences and first timers, is to try something new and take a punt on something different.” 

He added: “Findhorn and the Moray coastline is incredibly special with the landscape rich both geographically and culturally. While you are here, why not explore it in between shows”

Programme

Friday 3 May 2019 – 7pm – £10/£6 under 26s

Singeries Mandoline Hybride – Catherine Lavoie-Marcus and Priscilla Guy

Trapped in the middle of a videographic fresco in which their image is multiplied and shattered, two women try to stay true to themselves, aping and compulsively replaying their own image so that they don’t completely dissolve.

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Friday 3 May 2019 – 8.45pm – £10/£6 under 26s

Bon 4 Bon – Chang Dance Theatre

From subtle memories of family life to their profound relationship with dance, Bon 4 Bon is a heart-warming story of four brothers and their memories of growing up together in Taiwan. It is a piece about family, relationships, trust, home and mangoes. 

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Saturday 4 May 2019 – 2.45pm £10/£6 under 26s 

Passing Through – Julie Cleves & Robbie Synge

Passing Through tells the story of Julie and Robbie’s friendship and artistic experimentation. Leaving the studio behind, the duo attempt to push the limits of what is physically possible as a partnership, bringing materials and their bodies together to create novel solutions to physical access challenges.

World Premiere

Saturday 4 May 2019 – 4pm – £10/£6 under 26s

Paysages Mixtes & Dix Commandements – Katrina McPherson & Harold Rhéaume

Two new screendance works; Paysages Mixtes – a series of duets and solos that, filmed in evocative rural and urban landscapes, move through nuanced versions of the duo’s relationships; and Dix Commandements – an exploration of morality in the 21^st century, working with artists from different backgrounds.

Double bill

Saturday 4 May 2019 – 7pm – £10/£6 under 26s

These Hands & Ritual Echoes – Crystal Zillwood

A celebration of the every day – These Hands is inspired by observations of those working on the land and with machines. Ritual Echoes explores the commonality of different forms of religious practice and devotion.

Talented young dancers from around Moray will perform a pre-performance curtain raiser which was made and choreographed by Zillwood during Dance North Scotland’s annual Easter Dance School.

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Saturday 4 May 2019 – 8.45pm £10/ £6 under 26s

Screensaver Series Janine Harrington

A hypnotic kaleidoscope installation of sound coding and dance performance, the Screensaver series is inspired by the screen-saving programmes of early computing. Offering activity within inactivity, much like meditation, the perpetual movement references the natural world and metamorphosis. 

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Sunday 5 May 2019 – Talk – 12 noon – Free

Into the Mountain – Simone Kenyon

Following on from her second Dance North workshop Moving Between: Sensing Body and Environment (1-3 May), Simone Kenyon gives an insight into her remarkable place sensitive performance project, Into the Mountain. Developed in collaboration with women who walk, work and live in the Cairngorms, the project is informed by Nan Shepherd’s lyrical and embodied prose to suggest alternative approaches to being with the mountain.

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Sunday 5 May – 2pm – £10/£6 under 26s

Bon 4 Bon – Chang Dance Theatre
See Friday 3 May.

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Sunday 5 May – 3pm – £10/£6 under 26s

Extremely Pedestrian Chorales – Karl Jay-Lewin & Matteo Fargion

Fresh from the Manipulate Festival, Extremely Pedestrian Chorales presents the prosaic and commonplace experience of the pedestrian as an act of beauty, meaning and gentle comedy. A beguiling mix of high and low art, taking its form and structure from JS Bach’s famous choral harmonies. 

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Sunday 5 May – 4pm – Free

The Human Clock – Janine Harrington

This human sized digital clock is animated only by the performer’s embodied sense of time passing. The Human Clock is a playful endurance test where the act of ‘keeping time’ is rigorous and captivating, with a wee bit of help from the public.
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Tickets: by telephone: 01309 691661 or online: dancenorth.scot. You can also book in person from Dance North Scotland office or on the door at each performance.