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Show Reel lasts 1h 45m and loops thoughout the day

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Show Reel lasts 1h 45m and loops thoughout the day

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In AB02 (building next to courtyard)

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An Obscure Camera- An interactive Installation by Flexer & Sandiland

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An Obscure Camera- An interactive Installation by Flexer & Sandiland

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Installation 12.05 to 1.20

With Choreographic Interventions at 12:05 & 12:45

in studio 1 & courtyard

To view the installation- enter Studio 1. The installation can have 8 people in at a time. For What Dance Can Do we ask for you to not stay for longer than 5 mins to allow more people to experience the work indoors.

The fascination with Camera Obscura has captured audience imagination drawing people worldwide from Victorian times to the present day. The spectacle of entering a dark room through which to witness and actively peer out to the surrounding landscape is both theatrically enticing and technically mysterious. An Obscure Camera develops these ideas for a 21st-century context.

We enter a large dark space and are immersed by a multitude of ornate Rococo frames projected onto the surrounding walls and ceiling. Each of these frames contains a close-up view of the live outdoor environment outside of the building. As we walk around the space, the frames move with us, traveling in accordance with our speed and direction. New subjects enter and pass through the frames as their viewpoint changes. We now find that we can begin to scan, track, and follow different features in the outdoor spaces, including its inhabitants, through our motion within the installation.

Evoking aspects of contemporary surveillance culture, the installation gives us the power to explore, seek, and inspect anything and anyone we find interesting. In doing so we navigate the fine line between observer and voyeur, physically enacting the choices made by the countless algorithms that analyse our daily lives.

Choreographic Interventions

An Obscure Camera has been further developed to include a series of choreographic interventions performed by an intergenerational cast which includes set movement and improvisational scores. This situation re-addresses the balance between observer and observed. Highlighting portraiture and composition, performers are given the agency to look back and acknowledge installation visitors, creating a fleeting intimacy mediated by the technology.

Credits

Conceived and Created by: Nic Sandiland

Choreographed by: Yael Flexer & the performers

Performers:

Flexer & Sandiland performers: Luke Birch, Hattie Musgrove, Sarah White, Anna Des Clays

Flexer & Sandiland AOA performers: Lucy Clark, Pauline Hales, Ellie Kavner, Patricia Leitensdorfer, Kate Ormond, Anne Rosenfeld, Rose Ryan, Ruth Tansey, Heather Williams, Bernadett Andalits, Ruth Polden, Esther Polden, Penny Dyer, Nick Pile, Maren, Korina Biggs, Saskia Heriz, Maren Danzglock

University of Chichester MA students: Natacha Aaron, G Anthony, Ellen Coleman, Beth Drury, Sam Hodge, VK Kuronen, Sas Le Vien, Vanda Li, Yishan Liu, Emily Morgan, Amy Perry, Katherine Sarney, Daisy Scrase, Julie Sedláčková, Sahara Shwed, Tilly Skates, Jing Tang, Phoebe Tyler, Xingyun Zhong, Siyan Zeng

Producer: Yael Flexer

AI Tracking Programming: Evan Morgan Paul Hayes, Chris Cowden

Supported by Arts Council England, University of Chichester, The Brighton Dome, The Towner Gallery, Eastbourne, In Space Gallery Edinburgh, Crawley Borough Council, Creative Crawley.

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Weaving a sensitive and poignant exchange between dancers aged 60+ and life-sized paper figures, ‘Embodiment’ by visual artist Nadine Feinson speaks of the passage of time and the human ability to form connections and attune to others, whether human or a different order of being.

Credits:

Director/Artwork: Nadine Feinson

Participants: (in order of appearance) Gill Lipson – Wrestler, Maya Cockburn – Betty, Michael Munday - Big Daddy, Anne Rosenfeld – Gloria, Penny Dyer - Mother

Director of Photography: Kezia Feinson Dwyer

Editor: Andrew Sowerby

Sound Designer: David Thomas

Location: Phoenix Art Space, Brighton

Medium: film (run time 44 minutes)

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Handout_Embodiment_What Dance Can Do_May 2025_Nadine Feinson

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The dancers’ movements are inspired by experiences which made them feel contented and free. They imagined themselves moving in favourite places, doing things they enjoyed with people they loved. Nina Simone’s lyrics ‘Wishing for happiness and freedom’ provided further inspiration. The dance is dedicated to Cathy Mayers who was a member of the group for 10 years.

Choreography: Jane Woolley & the dancers

Dancers: Marie -Jose Loncelle-Burris, Patrician Ratan, Gay Stoltz, Rachel Watkiss, Robert Williamson

Music: Nina Simone - ‘I wish I knew how it would feel to be free’.

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Åsa N Åström

Jeanette Siddall

Steven Barrett

Anna Mortimer

Julia Hall

Debbie Lee Anthony

Debbie Green

Nick Pike

Ruth Polden

Lucia Walker

Marie-Louise Flexen

Rose Ryan

Karen DA Silva

John Darvell

Gabriel Galvez

Susanne Milner

Surinder Tamne

Stella Eldon (Project Manager)

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Saturday 24th May 10-18:15 Sunday 25th May 10-14:45

What Dance Can Do is a two-day symposium on Intergenerational Dance and Dance and Age(ing). The symposium will share practice and offer provocations on:

The aesthetics of age on stage

The improvisatory processes embedded in work with older performers

Digital media as a tool for creative expression in work with intergenerational and over 60s groups in professional, community, work and health contexts

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10:00-11:00 Workshop 1 with: Galit Liss (Studio 2) & Yael Flexer (Studio 1)

11:15-12:15 Workshop 2 with: Galit Liss (Studio 2) & Luke Birch (Studio 1)

12:15-13:15 Lunch (bring your own lunch or sandwiches available in canteen)

13:15-14:15 Workshop 3 with: Nic Sandiland (Studio 2) & Luke Birch (Studio 1)

14:20-14:45Closing discussion

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Molly Wright is a community Dance Artist and choreographer specialising in dance for older adults. After graduating from Trinity Laban in 2008 Molly established her London based over 60’s performing company Damn Fine Dance who have performed across the UK at Sadler Wells, The Place, Dance East, Norwich Playhouse and many more. Since moving to the Midlands in 2018 Molly has established two more performing companies and has worked alongside Choreographer Liz Aggiss to create work on Out of Whack company at Warwick Arts Centre. Molly has created and hosted many community dance events and festivals across the UK, and has a passion for bringing communities together, her most recent work is a intergenerational dance film The Time Between Us funded by The Arts Council 2024. Molly is currently working to deliver and host an intergeneration Day of Dance festival in the midlands also funded by Arts Council due to take place this Spring.

Workshop description (2 workshops Saturday)

Molly’s workshop will be a playful session exploring different ways that we can exist and be together in the space through movement.  During the session we will notice, connect and learn from each other.

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Galit Liss is an independent choreographer, artistic director and founder of the "Gila Project"- an artistic space for mature women. She's a member of the Israeli Choreographers Association. In 2022 Galit received the prestigious Rosenblum Prize for the Performing Arts of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. Her works have been performed in festivals in Israel and abroad. Her performance "Blue Zone" premiered at the Israel Festival 2020.

GILA (1 workshop Saturday and 1 workshop Sunday)

Galit’s practice ‘GILA’ focuses on the presence of the body in the space. It is rooted in discovering the artist within us utilizing the creative potential hidden in each body. The name Gila, in Hebrew means age, joy, and discovery. The workshop will expose the participants to the ‘GILA’ methodology. We will work on movement and improvisation incorporating imagery, sensation, somatic awareness and brain plasticity as an integrated movement practice to instigate our infinite movement possibilities, each person in their own way and according to their ability.

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Dr. Yael Flexer - Co-artistic director of Flexer & Sandiland Yael has created 14 full-length productions for the company touring in the UK and internationally. Flexer & Sandiland have been commissioned to create live and/or interactive works for, among others: Brighton Festival and Digital Festival, South East Dance, Sadler’s Wells and Barbican Centre, London. Current touring projects include the installations An Elevated Platform (Brighton Festival) and An Obscure Camera and the live internationally touring dance works Imagining Otherwise and Acting Our Age with choreographer Galit Liss. Yael has been commissioned to make numerous works for other companies, organisations, students, youth and over 60s companies including: Dance East, London Contemporary Dance School, Motus Festival, Three Score Dance, EncoreEast, National Youth Dance Company Scotland, Trinity-Laban, Maslool, RAS & Stavanger University, Norway. Yael was appointed as Reader in Dance in 2021 and her research focuses on digital dance, intergenerational and over 60s dance practice. She regularly leads workshops, talks and ongoing intergenerational classes online and at South East Dance, where Flexer & Sandiland are a partner company. Flexer & Sandiland will be launching a new intergenerational class at JW3, London in June 2025.

Movement Dialogues (1 workshop Saturday & 1 workshop Sunday)

Yael’s intergenerational approach is rooted in improvisation and contact-improvisation practice. Using somatic principles and imagery to enhance movement awareness and embodiment we develop a connection to our bodies and each other as an evolving environment, ‘an ecology in motion’ (Little 2014). Drawing on Flexer & Sandiland’s recent touring production Imagining Otherwise the workshop will look at the idea of imprint and trace, beginning with individual movement exploration and through gentle touch building towards whole group improvisation and compositional scores.

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Jason Keenan-Smith- is artistic director of Three Score Dance. For over 23 years, Jason has shared his love for dance on stages across the world. As a performer, he has worked with companies like English National Opera, The Featherstonehaughs, Protein Dance, and Siobhan Davies Dance Company, among others. His choreographic work has been performed at The Gate Theatre and The Place, and he has collaborated with and international organisations like Getty Images. Jason is Senior Lecturer in Dance at the University of Chichester, Jason. His teaching extends beyonddance, as he also holds a background in Dance Movement Psychotherapy, deepening his understanding of the emotional power of movement.

Workshop description (2 workshops Saturday overflow-pending numbers)

Grounded in a commitment to creative ageing, this workshop invites participants to explore the body’s innate intelligence through a series of accessible movement tasks that awaken the spine, deepen breath awareness, and unlock creativity from within. Through gentle improvisation, guided imagery, and playful exploration, we will move together to discover how the spine can support freedom, breath can enliven presence, and joy can be found in the simplest of gestures.

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Dr. Virginia Farman- is a choreographer and artist-researcher whose practice explores improvisation in site-situated choreography as method for cultivating connections between individuals, communities and environments. She is a long-time collaborator with Three Score Dance and a senior lecturer at the University of Chichester.

Holding (1 workshop Saturday)

In the workshop we will explore the body as a holding place. In particular, we will spend time moving with the things we hold and will explore witnessing and sharing as method for dance making.

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Dr. Maria Kapsali- is Associate Professor in Physical Performance at the University of Leeds and the academic lead of the echome project. Her work, involving theoretical and practice research as well as extensive public engagement, focuses on the interface between digital technology and embodiment, and specifically the development of training practices. Her research has been published in major journals and her monograph Performer Training and Technology: Preparing Our Selves (Routledge 2021) has been nominated for the David Bradby Award.

echome (2 workshops Saturday- limited to 15 participants)

echome, is a wearable technology and participatory pedagogy for sound and movement interaction. Maria’s presentation will consider the relation between sound and movement, as this unfolds in the user's phenomenal experience, and the way it can serve as a plateau for intersubjective encounters. The workshop will then introduce the activities and participatory pedagogy that underpin the use of the technology.

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Luca Braccia (2 workshops Saturday)

Originally from Italy, Luca is a London-based dance artist and academic with over ten years of international experience in performance, education, and choreography. He is the Artistic Director of The Remarkable Dance Company, and currently works for the English National Ballet School, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and DanceEast’s CAT. His teaching portfolio also includes EncoreEast, Trinity Laban, London Contemporary Dance School, National Dance Academy of Rome, DanceCity, FABRIC, TripSpace, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance, Newcastle College, Northumbria University, and the University of Arts London. As a performer, Luca worked for Lila Dance, Luca Silvestrini, Blanca Li, Akademi and Amina Khayyam Dance Company, and performed pieces by Jiri Kylian, Merce Cunningham, Shobana Jeyasingh, Tony Adigun and Adriana Borriello. Since 2015, he has directed BARBERDANCE / lucabraccia&Co, delivering performance and engagement projects in Italy, China, Portugal and the UK. In 2023, he was appointed Visiting Senior Lecturer at the University of Suffolk after leading the first UK’s BA (Hons) Dance in partnership with DanceEast for four years.

A Taste of David Zambrano’s Couple Dancing (workshop 1)

David Zambrano, the creator of the Flying Low technique, redefines the history of partner dancing for the modern era. In this workshop, you will experience the joy of social dancing in a 'more modern ballroom', where the only way to dialogue with partners is with 'eloquent hands’. We will taste a few technical chapters before dancing to a 10-minute playlist.

Movement, Text and Voice (workshop 2 Saturday-overflow pending numbers)

This workshop will explore the relationship between these elements through improvisation, instant composition, and performance. Playing with the provided text and/or personal stories will unlock new possibilities for communicating with the whole self, voice included.

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Gabriel Galvez- Film showing of Bitter Pineapples & conversation

A deeply personal and poetic dance film exploring trauma, memory, and healing through movement. Bitter Pineapples follows Gabriel’s journey through embodied memory and silence, culminating in a moving duet with his 60-year-old mother, Anita. Together, they use dance to confront pain and rediscover connection, inviting audiences into a space where movement speaks when words fall short. After the screening, Gabriel will host a reflective conversation with the audience exploring the role of dance as a healing force, as well as the cultural, intergenerational, and embodied themes the film invites.

key themes & questions:

What does it mean to see age on stage or screen?
How does Anita’s presence challenge expectations about the visibility and voice of older dancers?

How can dance serve as a form of intergenerational communication, especially when language or emotional barriers exist?

In what ways does improvisation appear in the film — particularly in Anita’s movement — and how might that reflect on her relationship with memory, age, and embodiment?

What role does digital media and film play in preserving, transforming, or expanding the presence of older bodies in dance?

How do we navigate aesthetics and ethics when working with personal trauma, family, and dance?

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Luke Birch - began his dance training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and completed his BA Hons degree at Laban in 2008. In 2009 he joined post graduate dance company Edge at The Place/LCDS. Professionally he has performed for Flexer & Sandiland, dybwikdans (Norway), Charles Linehan, Dog Kennel Hill Project, Rosemary Lee, Punchdrunk, Florence Peake, Rahel Vonmoos and Janine Harrington. He has also performed in gallery-based projects with Pablo Bronstein, Martin Creed and Aya Kobayashi for Tate Modern and Tate Britain, a restaging of Yvonne Rainer's Trio A and the Mirror City exhibition both at The Hayward Gallery. His choreographic work has been shown at Canterbury Festival, The Place, Siobhan Davies Studios, Move it and Arts Depot. Luke teaches students & professionals at The Place, ID, Laban, London Studio Centre, SEAD, Shobana Jeyasingh & Candoco. In 2012 he founded Damn Fine Dance with Molly Wright, a performance group for dancers over 60. Thier work has been performed at The Place, Sadler's Wells, Dance East and at festivals and symposiums around the UK.

Workshop Description (2 workshops Sunday)

The workshop will be looking at approaches to moving that favour sensation as a way to stimulate our creative bodies. We will explore how movement feels rather that looks to find a rich and tactile relationship to our anatomy and systems of perception.  We will journey through investigations that are sensitive and somatic alongside improvisations that are playful and haptic to connect our internal world with the external space and the other people sharing it.

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Dr. Nic Sandiland- is a UK based artist whose work explores new choreographic forms through installation, performance and film. He originally trained as an electronics engineer before studying dance, and performance. Over the past 30 years, his practice has centred on the presence and actions of the viewer and how, through digital mediation and interaction, we can re-enliven the body, revisiting and revaluing the viewer’s actions through their innate physical presence. Commissions include: Royal Festival Hall; Barbican Arts Centre; Sadler’s Wells Theatre; Brighton International Festival. His film work has been shown worldwide and has been broadcast on UK TV.

Duets with Our Camera-Phone (1 workshop Sunday)

This workshop is intended for movers and viewers who want to explore alternative strategies for filming and find out how the body and the camera can work together to create new synergies for creativity within an improvisational setting. By rooting the practice of filming in the body, we will seek to liberate the camera’s role from a visually-directed device to that of a dancing partner. During the workshop we will play with both the camera’s ‘focus’ (its subject) and ‘locus’ (its placing within the studio). Taking the body as our starting point, we will explore the camera phone as a ‘moving partner’ with weight and momentum. At other times, we will treat the camera as an extension of our senses and as a means to witness and recount action.

Note: that for this workshop, you will need to bring with you a smartphone that can record and play back video, preferably one with both a rear-facing as well as front-facing camera.

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Dr. Yael Flexer (Reader in Dance, University of Chichester, choreographer) & Galit Liss (choreographer)

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Dr. Yael Flexer (Reader in Dance, University of Chichester, choreographer) & Galit Liss (choreographer)

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13:20-13:35

Maybe You Could Close Your Eyes While I Dance: ‘Age’, ‘Ageing’ and ‘In/visibility’ as choreographic drivers in Yael Flexer & Galit Liss’s Acting Our Age

The presentation examines Yael Flexer and Galit Liss’s shared interest in Age, Ageing and ‘In/visibility’ as choreographic drivers, honing in on their recent joint touring production Acting Our Age (2023) co-created with an international and intergenerational cast of performers aged 26-76. Delineating the different ways in which age, ageing and in/visibility manifest as choreographic form and content the presentation will discuss choreographic strategies that engender embodied viewing, unearth autobiographical materials and reference the visible and invisible - what is displayed and what is hidden from view. The presentation touches on notions of ‘the body as archive’ discussing the ways in which dancers’ personal archive is used as choreographic device in relation to the overarching theme of age. Lepecki’s (3013) notions of ‘choreopolicing’ and ‘choreopolitics’ are also discusses noting the ways in which socially constructed conventions of the ‘danceable’ (Laermans 2015) and the disciplining function of dance underlies and frames audiences and dancers’ own perceptions of age and stage performance.

For Biography see workshops

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Prof. Michela Vecchi (Department of Economics, Kingston University) & Ian Marsh (Bayes Business School)

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Prof. Michela Vecchi (Department of Economics, Kingston University) & Ian Marsh (Bayes Business School)

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13:35-13:50

Work is better when you dance

This paper addresses the question of whether workers who practice dance as a form of recreational activity are more productive in their workplace compared to workers who are physically active but do not dance. This question is inspired by the psychology and neuroscience literature documenting that dance as a recreational activity has additional benefits compared to other exercise practices, due to the important impact of dance on cognition and wellbeing; from the economic literature, several contributions have shown a positive relationship between cognitive skills, wellbeing and productivity. Using a unique survey data for three countries (Italy, Brazil and the UK), and measuring productivity with indicators of presenteeism and absenteeism, our analysis shows that recreational dancers have a better performance compared to non-dancer, an effect that is not mediated by wellbeing. This suggests that workplace interventions designed to facilitate regular dance activities for workers, could improve both absenteeism and presenteeism and lead to better productivity performance.

Michela Vecchi- is Professor of Economics at Kingston University. Her main areas of research are skills, productivity and technological change and her work in these areas has been published in several international journals. Next to her interest in Economics, Michela also devotes time to her other passion: dance. She regularly takes classical ballet classes, and she is part of Counterpoint contemporary dance company, a dance company for dancers aged 55+. In recent years, Michela has joined her love of dance with her economic expertise and has studied the relationship between dance, wellbeing and performance in the workplace. The first paper in this innovative research project, “Shall we dance? Dance, wellbeing and productivity during Covid-19” was published in the Journal of International Marketing in 2022.  A summary of a new study was published in The Conversation early this year.  Future work will involve the analysis of interventions in the workplace.  Michela holds a visiting fellow position at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), she is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and the Royal Economic Society (RES).

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Dr. Maria Kapsali (Associate Professor in Physical Performance, University of Leeds)

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Dr. Maria Kapsali (Associate Professor in Physical Performance, University of Leeds)

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13:50-14:05

Kinesonic Embodiment as a creative practice of moving-listening together

This presentation (paper and workshop) will offer theoretical and practical insights into digitally mediated sound and movement interaction as a form and tool of creative expression in community and creative health contexts.  It will begin with a review of the different areas of cultural practice in which sound and movement interaction products and protypes are currently being developed and the different audiences and needs that are targeted. Against this background, the presentation will focus on echome, a wearable technology and participatory pedagogy for sound and movement interaction. Based on the use of echome with diverse groups, the presentation will consider the relation between sound and movement, as this unfolds in the user's phenomenal experience, and the way it can serve as a plateau for intersubjective encounters. The workshop will then introduce the activities and participatory pedagogy that underpin the use of the technology.

For Biography see workshops.

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14:05-14:20

Dancing against stigma and the aesthetics of ageing

The aim of this presentation is to advance understanding of the stigma that continues to affect professionally trained dancers over 40 who wish to continue performing. To combat this ingrained bias there is a need to embrace change by dismantling the ageist barriers that determine what is deemed culturally appropriate age/ing. More significantly, it aims to honour and flag the remarkable dancers who continue to showcase their flawless artistry, while ignoring their age and dancing on.

Dr. Sonia York-Pryce - Is an Alumna from Griffith University, dancer, researcher, photographer, videographer, and visual artist based in Queensland, Australia. Her research investigates the ageing body of the senior professional dancer and how it is framed within Western dance culture. York-Pryce’s chapter: Too Old to Dance? Says Who? was published In: BURRIDGE, S. & NIELSEN, S., C (eds.) Dance On! Dancing through Life. London & New York: Routledge, 2023. York-Pryce’s book, Still Moving: conversations with senior professional dancers still performing, will be published by INTELLECT in 2025. In February 2025 she commences her Ph.D. at Flinders University, Australia titled: Disregarding the Dance-by-Date: An Institutional History of the Older Professional Dancer.

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Prof. Victoria Marks (UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance and Chair of UCLA’s Disability Studies major)

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Prof. Victoria Marks (UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance and Chair of UCLA’s Disability Studies major)

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14:20-14:35

Action Conversations: Artist as catalyst for civic exchange

In rural Bellows Falls, Vermont, I partnered with Windham County Social Services and the Vermont Performance Lab to ask: could an artist contribute to civic issues within a community?

Bellows Falls had been a paper milling town on the Connecticut River.  When the mills closed in the 1920’s, poverty remained across generations.  In 2014 there was considerable concern about teen pregnancies, followed by these young women dropping out of high school to care for their babies.  With the assistance of the Vermont Performance Lab, I brought a group of older women and teen moms together for a period of 5 weeks in a process I call “Action Conversations”.  “Action Conversations” involve catalyzing conversations that yield movement improvisation that in turn catalyze discussion that then invite moving.  “Action Conversations” bring two groups of people together who do not otherwise share a social anchor.  They yield performance or film that serves as a container for experience.

My hope, in leading an Action Conversation in Bellows Falls, was that when the local librarian bumped into a teen wheeling her infant/toddler crossing main street, they would pause at the side of the road to share photos and ask after one another’s health and well-being. I am interested in the way an artist can enliven, not only the literal town square, but the metaphorical and real spaces of exchange and meaning-making within community.  At the heart of this is the question, “how can art help?”

Prof. Victoria (Vic) Marks- is an Alpert Award-winning choreographer, Guggenheim and Rauschenberg Fellow, and Fulbright Distinguished Scholar, who has been making dances for stage and film for the past 44 years. Her work migrates between choreo-portraits and action conversations for individuals who don’t identify as dancers (veterans, dads, moms, sorority and fraternity students) -- and dances for and with disabled and non-disabled dancers that fuel Marks’ inquiries into movement. Recent projects include the Dancing Disability Lab at UCLA, a gathering of dance artists who work together to challenge “ability paradigms,” and The Disability and Ecology Performance Exchange (also at UCLA), a group of artists, poets and scholars who gathered to consider the way unique corporealities shift our understanding and connection to the natural world.  Upcoming: a performance project entitled “A Deer Walks into a Dance.”  Marks is a professor in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance and Chair of UCLA’s Disability Studies major.

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14:35-14:45

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12:30 - 12.40 studio 2

4.30 - 4.40 studio 2

Smorgasbord (working title for a work in progress) is an improvised dance lecture that tests the notion that dance is, in fact, a universal language.

Choreographer: Virginia Farman

Dancers: Christy Adair, Korina Biggs, Amanda Bolt, Ian Cunningham, Paul Harrington, Kate Ormond and Annie Rosenfeld.

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3.40 Basketball court outside the Sports Hall

Using a 20-metre jute rope as a tool to inspire, connect, dance to and with, JUTE forges connections between the dancers. Through playfulness and imagination, a community is created and all are invited to join in!

Choreographer: Takeshi Matsumoto

Music Credits: Water Music Suite No.2 in D major by The English Concert, Andando Pela Africa by Barbatuques, Blue Hawaiian Moonlight by Gabby Pahinui, Summer (L'Estate)Op.8 No. 2 G minor: Presto by Baroque Festival Orchestra, Feel the Way I Do (Northeast Party House Remix) by The Jungle Giants

Dancers: Gill Lipson, Julian Howell, Bob Kingsley, Vicki Crowther, Kate Perry, Rosie Chapple, Christy Adair, Penny Dyer, Helen Tate, Ian Cunningham, Michael Munday, Mark Linford, Sarah-Jane Wren, Maya Cockburn, Aneta Holder-Veazey, Stuart Woodin, Rebecca Harley, Lydia Le Bas, Esther Polden

Artistic/Rehearsal Director (TSD): Jason Keenan-Smith

Producer (TSD): Hayley Ovens

Exec Director (TSD): Kyla Booth-Lucking

Takeshi Matsumoto-is a dance artist and founder of Seven Circles. Growing up in Japan his practice, both in life and the performing arts, is influenced by Wa: harmony, peacefulness, quiet and contented ways of living and balancing with others and the environment. He is co-director of Ichi Ni San, which creates dance performances for children inspired by British and Japanese cultures, together with Makiko Aoyama and Robert Howat. They created Club Origami, commissioned and produced by Little Big Dance which has been touring to 16 countries. Alongside his choreographic work, Takeshi has been committed to work with/for stateless refugee children in Thailand to create dance films, tackling issues around social injustice and the rights of children since 2016.

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Action Conversations: Bellows Falls- Victoria Marks

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Action Conversations: Bellows Falls- Victoria Marks

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In rural Bellows Falls, Vermont, I partnered with Windham County Social Services and the Vermont Performance Lab to ask: could an artist contribute to civic issues within a community?

Bellows Falls had been a paper milling town on the Connecticut River.  When the mills closed in the 1920’s, poverty remained across generations.  In 2014 there was considerable concern about teen pregnancies, followed by these young women dropping out of high school to care for their babies.  With the assistance of the Vermont Performance Lab, I brought a group of older women and teen moms together for a period of 5 weeks in a process I call “Action Conversations”.  “Action Conversations” involve catalyzing conversations that yield movement improvisation that in turn catalyze discussion that then invite moving.  “Action Conversations” bring two groups of people together who do not otherwise share a social anchor.  They yield performance or film that serves as a container for experience.

My hope, in leading an Action Conversation in Bellows Falls, was that when the local librarian bumped into a teen wheeling her infant/toddler crossing main street, they would pause at the side of the road to share photos and ask after one another’s health and well-being. I am interested in the way an artist can enliven, not only the literal town square, but the metaphorical and real spaces of exchange and meaning-making within community.  At the heart of this is the question, “how can art help?”

A project produced by Vermont Performance Lab In association with Youth Services of Windham County Rockingham Music and Arts Project Town of Rockingham

Credits:

Choreographer/Director: Victoria Marks

Cinematographer and Editor: Ann Kaneko

Featuring: Amber Foster, Margaret Grisczenkow, Alexis Harris, Helen Hildreth, Melissa Laverack, Kathleen Michel, Rachael Shaw, Laura Simoneau, Jenna Smith, Kaitlyn Tullar

Producer: Sara Coffey

Project Coordinate: Katherine Partington

Composer: Doug Wieselman

Project advisory committee: Bianca Barry, Kate Guerrina, Cynthia Larsen, Samantha Maskell, Robert McBride, Barbara Ternes, Allyson Villars, Frances (Dutch) Walsh

Town of Rockingham: Tim Cullenen, Dutch Walsh, Chris Lincoln, Rick Angers, Raymond Perry, Chip Stearns, Kerry Bennett, Don Hashem

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Trigger warning: Bitter Pineapples contains references to violence, sexual abuse, and trauma. This content may be distressing for some viewers. You are welcome to step out at any time, and we encourage anyone affected by these themes to seek support.

Bitter Pineapples is a deeply personal and poetic dance film that explores trauma, memory, silence, and healing through movement. Created by Gabriel and artist/film-maker Anna Cady, the film offers a layered narrative of lived experience and the transformative power of dance. The film is presented in two parts:

Gabriel’s Dance- Gabriel dances with shadows of his past, confronting memory and trauma through projected images and narration. The sequence includes archival and found footage and is a meditation on a childhood marked by both joy and violence.

Anita’s Dance- Gabriel’s mother, Anita, age 60, appears in this segment, which was filmed in Gabriel’s home in Southampton. This section is about silence—the unspoken realities shared between mother and son, and how dance offers a space beyond words for connection and release.

Anna Cady: "We set out to make a film that reveals the therapeutic value of both dance and film, guided by Roland Barthes’ idea of describing interiority without disclosing privacy."

Credits:

Direction & Performance: Gabriel Galvez

Film-making & Editing: Anna Cady

Featuring: Anita (Gabriel’s mother)

Co-created in Southampton, UK

Supported by: Hansard Gallery and City Eye Southampton

Duration: 32 minutes

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Maggie is a member of a group of people living with MS who have met via zoom since the covid pandemic in 2020.  As the world re-opened following the end of lockdown the group decided to continue working via zoom as it is easier and safer for them to do so. After 4 years the participants decided they needed a challenge, some were more ambitious than others, therefore we devised a project which enabled people to be involved at a level comfortable for them. For some this was through the weekly class, trying some of the new movements and working with the project artists who led several weekly classes throughout the project. Four women, who had been members of the group from the start, embraced the opportunity and became full members of the artistic team. They created their own movement and shaped it through choreography under the guidance of mentors Emma Clayton and Emma Hindley.

The short film shown at What Dance Can Do is with Maggie and her granddaughter Charlotte’s. Maggie lives with MS and is more used to being told what she can’t do rather than supported to take on new challenges. The material that Maggie and Charlotte created was explored by a group of women aged over 50 who, although not all experienced dancers, like to move. They created their own duets using Maggie’s ideas and movement material. Their duets became celebrations of the friendships between them. The film is an extract of a larger film I like to Move; I Move What I Can the result of a nine-month long project with members of Hull Dance Flourish Groups

To see the three other short films created as part of the project:

http://www.hulldance.com/home/flourish/

Credits:

Creative Director: Keyna Paul

Dance Mentors & performers: Emma Clayton and Emma Hindley

Choreographers and dancers: Maggie and Charlotte, Anna, Caroline, Diana and Maggie

Composer & Performer: Georgina Jakubiak, State of Georgia

Film Maker: Kirstie Henderson, Brave Day Productions

Funded by The People's Postcode Lottery and Hull City Council

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On the site of a medieval settlement,

the past shares its story with those that live there today. Amid the grief of loss, three women turn brewster, a livelihood reserved for widows of those times.

Credits:

Choreography, Filming and Editing: Paula Bailey

Music: Lola Perrin and Cocanha

Performers: Denise J Clough, Miya Bailey and Deb Watts

Costumes: Paula Bailey with the performers

Sculptures: Phil Bews and Diane Gorvin

Mentor: Luca Braccia, Artistic Director of The Remarkable Dance Company

Supported by The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury

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Stuck is a playful expression of the web of interdependencies that underpin everyday life.  The dancers are stuck to each another in a commingling of body parts, their individual struggles continually transformed into an emergent and amorphous group expression.

“To Live, every being must put out a line and in life these lines tangle with one another”

Tim Ingold, A Life Of Lines.

Choreography: Molly Wright

Dancers: Bob Williamson, Veronica Roberts, Karla Ptacek, Maggie Scanlan, Linda Foster, Silvana Desira, Surinder K Tamne, Rachel Watkiss, Pauline Caveney, Jen Kahawatte, Phillipa Morgan

Music: Sukhyi Dub by DakhaBrakha

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A Duet for Dancers and Wind Quintet

Choreography: Sarah Jackson

Composer: Julian Jacobson

Dancers: Sarah Jackson, Amanda Benjamin, Siobhan White, Sara Augieras

Musicians: Pavlova Winds

Artistic Director: Judith Curry

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An excerpt from Every Three Days' by Function of X- 3 

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An excerpt from Every Three Days' by Function of X- 3 

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A reaction to the cold statistic that in the UK a woman is killed by a man every three days.

Full work premiered at the Critical Moment production at The Place in Nov 2024.

Choreography: Linda Foster in collaboration with the dancers

Dancers: Silvana Desira, Linda Foster, Katy Murphy-Bobkova

Music: Wedding March, from Spectacular Sound Effects; Every Breath You Take, performed by Imaginary Future, written by The Police, Stranded performed and written by Novixe, Acceptance performed and written by JJD

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We’ve Got Your Back by 'The Art of Movement' group (part of Twin Arts)  

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We’ve Got Your Back by 'The Art of Movement' group (part of Twin Arts)  

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Choreographic score: Vivienne Hamblin and Dancers

Music:  Excerpts from Cassandra Miller, 'Hardanger', and voice

Dancers: Fiona Rankine, Emily Cassidy, Cazimi Millar, Juliet Lofthouse, Marybeth Haas, Vivienne Hamblin

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What remains when all goes in flames? Do you give up or we rise and renew?

Choreography: Simona Scotto

Music: California Dreaming by Sia

Dancers: Rosalind topping, Gay Stoltz, Michela Vecchi, Ann Clifford, Diane Greene, Eileen Gillen, Mary Impei, Kathy McEwin

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Leaving The Ground invited the artists of EncoreEast to explore why they dance. What keeps them coming back to the studio, what moves them beyond physical or psychological resistance, to continue to speak through movement. This work traces the tenderness of ageing and honours the quiet strength found in moving together, dancing in communion. It is a tribute to the beauty, the resilience, and the preciousness of dancing side by side, amidst the uncontrollable and often devastating world around us.

Choreography: Hannah Rudd

Music: Interview questions and musical composition : Quinta

Featured track ‘Rapture’ - ANOHNI

Dancers: Nicola Blackmore, Donna Brenchley, Pam Candler, Carol Johnson, Bobbie Clarke, Diane Gooding, Elizabeth Long, Lyn Matthews, Anna Mortimer, Jeanette Siddall, Sue Sinclair, Ju Williamson, Margaret Williamson.

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An excerpt from Four Seasons (No More) by The Remarkable Dance Company

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An excerpt from Four Seasons (No More) by The Remarkable Dance Company

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The Remarkable Dance Company presents excerpts from its last creation about Vivaldi's masterpiece and climate change:

What makes us human is the air that we breathe, the land we walk upon, the oceans we dive into, the trees under which we shelter. The riches of this planet are not luxuries; they are the essence of life. And without them, we are lost.

Choreography, Direction & Costumes: Luca Braccia with the performers

Music: Shadow 1 from ‘Recomposed by Max Ricther: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons’ (2014) by Max Richter, Daniel Hope, Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin, Andre De Ridder; Autumn 2, Spring 0, Spring 1, Summer 2, Autumn 3, Winter 3, and Winter 2 from ‘The New Four Seasons - Vivaldi Recomposed’ (2022) by Max Richter, Elena Urioste, Chineke! Orchestra; Whale Sample 1 by Sounds of Ice; speech recorded by Colette Quartermain (edited by Luca Braccia)

Performers: Steve Walker, May Gosgriff, Mary Coyte, Marilyne Le Monnier, Deb Watts, Denise J. Clough, Paula Bailey, Justine Williams, Louise Norton, Jo Green, Libby Griffin and Trudie Woods

Costumes and lighting: Luca Braccia with the performers

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Pushing Boundaries is the first intensive residency in the UK by the world-renowned choreographer and teacher Galit Liss. The project is produced by EncoreEast and continues their aim to challenge expectations and raise ambitions for older dancers.

19 selected dancers embarked on a four-day ‘laboratory’ exploring body research through the ‘Gila language’, seeking to uncover the unique movement portrait of each dancer. Moving individually and collectively, engaging in dialogue and raising questions about the presence of the body within the performative space and the creative process.

About Galit Liss

Galit Liss is an independent choreographer and teacher, and the founder and artistic director of Gila School of Movement and Stage Art. As part of her artistic and social agenda, Galit seeks to push the boundaries of stage-based dance beyond conventional societal perceptions and stereotypes, rethinking the relevance of any — and every — body. Her work aims to create an artistic space for aging women and to promote a vision of a society that supports self-realization and growth within the aging body.

Alongside her artistic work, Galit lectures at professional conferences and events dedicated to challenging stereotypes, particularly around ageing, while exploring creative processes and the connection between art and society.

Galit Liss is the recipient of the prestigious Rosenblum Prize for the Performing Arts by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality in the category of Artists with Promising Achievements for 2022 and was chosen as one of the 'Heroes of the Year' for 2022 by Keshet (Israeli Channel 12) and Mifal HaPais (The Israeli Lottery). She is a member of the Independent Choreographers’ Association, a graduate of the 'Artists for Social Change' program 2008 from Musrara School of Photography, Media and New Music, and holds a M.Mus from the Academy of Music and Dance, Jerusalem. www.galitliss.com

About EncoreEast

EncoreEast is a performance company of older dancers, ambitious in promoting creative, artistic and performance innovation and excellence, we blur boundaries between professional and community practice. https://encoreeastdance.co.uk/

Pushing Boundaries is produced by EncoreEast working in partnership with Galit Liss, Flexer & Sandliand, DanceEast and University of Chichester. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

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10:00-18:00    Installation & film showings (Studio 6 or AB 0.02 tbc)

10:00-10:15    Tea, Coffee & welcome talk (Studio 1)

10:20-11:10    Workshop 1 with: Molly Wright (Studio 1), Galit Liss (Studio 2), Yael Flexer (Studio 4), Jason Keenan-Smith (Studio 3- overflow workshop)

11:15-12:00    Workshop 2 with: Luca Braccia (Studio 2), Virginia Farman (Studio 1), Maria Kapsali (Studio 3) & Jason Keenan-Smith (Studio 4- overflow workshop)

12:05-13.20    Flexer & Sandiland, An Obscure Camera installation-ongoing, with performances at 12:05-12:25 and 12:45-13:05 (LUNCH)

12:30-12:40    Virginia Farman Performance 1 (LUNCH)

12:45-13:05    Flexer & Sandiland, An Obscure Camera installation-ongoing, performance 2 (LUNCH)

13:20-14:45    Presentations by Yael Flexer, Micaela Vicchi, Maria Kapsali, Sonya York-Pryce, Victoria Marks. Tech: EncoreEast, Unlimited Dance, Quercum, Remarkable (Studio 1)

14:50-15:35    Workshop 3 with: Molly Wright (Studio 2), Luca Braccia (studio 4) Maria Kapsali,

(Studio 3) + Flim showing & talk with Gabriel Galvez (studio 6 or AB 0.02).

Tech: The Art of Movement, Function of X, Counterpoint (Studio 1)

15:40 - 16:05   Three Score Dance Outdoor Performance/Tea break. Tech: DFD (studio 1)

16:15-17:20    Community Showcase

1st half: Damn Fine Dance, Quercum, Function of X, EncoreEast.

2nd half: Unlimited Dance, The Art of Movement, Counterpoint, Remarkable Dance Company.

16.30-16.40   Virginia Farman performance 2, DS2

17:30-18:15    Galit Liss intensive informal showing and closing panel (Studio 1)