Yorke Dance Project

Words Worth – the touring production for 2012

kilroyjames — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:53:02 +0000

Words Worth is our new production for 2012. The global theme for our show is text, or words. Each piece is based on words which ranges from letters and songs to text from books and whatever our guest choreographers are inspired to do. This year we have special guest Anton Du Beke joining us to choreograph something very special just for us. The wonderful Wendy Houstoun will be back with us again creating a new work. We hope to have a piece from the Lewitzky Trust to continue our commitment of bringing Bella Lewitzky’s unique and historical work to audiences in the UK. I will be reviving “City Limitless” and continuing on from last years Research and Development to finish a new work entitled “Noted”.
We were very glad to have received Arts Council England (SW) funding for the Research period, which has allowed us to be ready to go into this production period with some strong work already in the bank.
We have laready confirmed dates in Bath, Oxford, Swindon, Taunton, and are still looking at Plymouth, Bournemouth, London, Warwick amongst others. Keep an eye on the website for updates regarding confirmed tour dates near you…

Research and Development for 2012 performances

kilroyjames — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:47:20 +0000

The company’s R and D work at the end of last year was very successful and I feel that we have a strong beginning for completing the new work in the Summer. We made material based on letters from three historical
figures, Naopleon Bonaparte, Beethoven and Queen Victoria. Each had a very different ‘voice’ and each letter was about love but all had very different emotional content which was very interesting to work with.
We made three phrases based on each letter and then broke those phrases into smaller ones and then coded them with numbers. We then put together new phrases made up of those numbers. After working on these new movements we then decided to make duets, trios and quartets. All of this work was done mainly in silence. We occasionally used
atmospheric sound but we didn’t set the work to anything specific.
We now have a formula to work with and I am very excited about working in more detail on what we already have. Watch this space for more news about the entire programme.

A night at the Ivy with Anton Du Beke

kilroyjames — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:56:39 +0000

Yorke Dance Project presents a night with Anton Du Beke and sporting friends in the Loft Room, at the Ivy on November 15th at 7.30pm. Anton steps out of Strictly Ballroom and into the world of sport, with guests Lawrence Dallaglio, Lee Dixon and Ian Wright.

Anton will be hosting this special fundraising event, which will include a panel of top sportsmen giving their own insight into the world of sport, discussing their sport, past experiences and stories never before told.

The evening will also include a live performance by Anton Du Beke and Yorke Dance Project Artistic Director, Yolande Yorke-Edgell. The night will conclude with an auction to raise money for the Youth Dance Project, which works to reach underprivileged communities in the South West of England, inspiring them and integrating them into the professional world of dance.

If you are looking for that special Christmas present, this auction will include items
that can only be bought at this special event. These include Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Experience, all inclusive 2 days of golf with Lee Dixon, Ian Wright and David Seaman at Loch Lomond, and the chance to caddy for Ian Poulter.
For more details, visit http://andysattic.co.uk/invites/

Gwyn Emberton

kilroyjames — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 08:18:41 +0000

Gwyn Emberton is a freelance dance artist based in London. He has danced with Akram Khan Company, Inbal Pinto Dance Company, Scottish Dance Theatre, Jasmin Vardimon Company and in Matthew Bourne’s SwanLake. He has also performed in works by Wayne McGregor, David Bintley and David Massingham. Gwyn has worked with companies such as Russell Maliphant and Sadhana Dance Companies as rehearsal director and has taught at many leading British and Israeli schools and academies and at many international dance festivals. Currently Gwyn produces, choreographs and performs with cult narrative cabaret theatre series Night Kitchen Cabaret, makes his own work and continues to teach in London and across the UK.

Joe Walkling

kilroyjames — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:03:23 +0000

Joe graduated from the London Contemporary Dance School in 2005, and has since created and toured new works by Wayne McGregor, Frédéric Flamand, Angelin Preljocaj and Arthur Pita, and appeared as a guest artist with The Forsythe Company in William Forsythe’s Human Writes. He has been a guest artist with Cross Connection Ballet in Copenhagen and in 2008 joined Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. In 2009 he became a founding member of the New Movement Collective (newmovement.org.uk), working with the Architectural Association on transforming unconventional performance spaces. Joe continues to work as a web designer and on bringing his DanceSpinner Project (dancespinner.com) into UK schools.

James Cousins

kilroyjames — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:00:12 +0000

James trained at London Contemporary Dance School, graduating in 2010
with a first class honours degree. Whist at LCDS, James performed work
by Aletta Collins, Merce Cunningham and Kerry Nicholls and received
the Robert Cohan Award for most promising dance artist.

Upon graduation, James joined the cast of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake
for a national and international tour including New York and Italy. He
also features in the new 3D film version of the show, filmed at
Sadler’s Wells, London, to be released this summer.

James has also danced professionally for the Marc Brew Company and
with choreographer Rachael Mossom.

As a choreographer, James has created numerous works that have been
performed throughout London and abroad to great acclaim, including
performances in Verona, Italy; the VIII International Burgos-New York
Competition, Spain; the opening of The Place’s 40th Anniversary
Celebrations, London; and Buckingham Palace, for the Duke of York’s
50th Birthday.

Amy Thake

kilroyjames — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:59:16 +0000

Amy was born in Hertfordshire and began her ballet training with Caroline Wright and Nicola Bowden. She went on to train at the Royal Ballet School where she performed and toured with both The Royal and Birmingham Royal Ballet. During her schooling she was a semi finalist in the 2003 Adeline Genee and won the Barbara Fewster Award in the same year. In 2004 Amy joined Vienna Festival Ballet dancing various roles including the “Dawn” solo from Coppelia. She then joined Ballet Ireland in 2005. Prominent roles include the Waltz girl solo from Les Sylphides, Tchaikovsky’s variation and Pas de Deux and Nutcracker’s Sugar Plum Fairy. Amy has also had a number of more modern roles created on her. Touring abroad Amy has performed and created works for various projects and companies in Choreographic Platforms and has been a guest artist with Staatstheater Bonn and Reach4Dance. More recently Amy has coached and rehearsed Ballet Ireland as Ballet mistress as well as performing more neo-classical and contemporary works in Resolutions! and now with Yorke Dance Project.

Yolande selected as resident artist.

kilroyjames — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:18:29 +0000

Artistic Director Yolande Yorke-Edgell has been selected to be a resident artist at the prestigious Djerassi Resident Artists Program in Woodside, California, during the 2012 season. The Program is a true artists’ retreat. Artists will be working in an atmosphere of professional support among a small group of artists of various disciplines from across the United States and around the world. The ranch is located on a 580-acre former cattle ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains, south of San Francisco. The ranch facilities provides a unique opportunity for each resident artist to concentrate fully on their creative work free from the routine and distractions of daily life. The ranch is in a secluded, rural setting with spectacular scenery and views of the Pacific Ocean. Because of the isolated environment, the Programme’s emphasis is on serious concentration on one’s work, and the collegial fellowship that develops among the residents. Yolande is looking forward to taking part in this fantastic opportunity and (broadband depending!) will send us updates during her residency.

What’s next – Autumn 2011

kilroyjames — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:56:50 +0000

The company is planning on getting back in the studio later this year to start some research and development for our new production in 2012 with the working title of “Words Worth”. As we have done in the past with our productions, there is a theme that runs through each of the four works we create.

Words will be the theme for our next production and we are in the process of pulling together potential ideas. At the moment we are talking with the wonderful Wendy Houstoun about making a new work for us. I am in discussions with the Lewitzky Trust about the possibility of reconstructing another Lewitzky work and the final two works will be a new creation by myself and I will be re working City Limitless and spending a little more time character developing that work as it is so character driven.

We will be holding two national competitions, one for a young writer to create a story for my new work and the other for a young composer who will compose an original score for the new work. More details on all of this to follow. We will of course be running our Youth Leaders Programme with new ideas and a new format to enrich the whole experience. For more information please email us.

California Touring

kilroyjames — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:40:36 +0000

The company is very busy right now planning for our residency and performances in California this coming December. We will be sharing an evening of work with our Lewitzky collaborator and fellow dancer John Pennington and his company Pennington Dance Group, The evening is entitled Across Connections. Both companies will perform a work from their repertory (we’ll be doing City Limitless) and the third work entitled Overlay will be a collaboration between the two companies. Performances are now confirmed…

Saturday, December 3rd, 8:00 PM*
At the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater
*Supported in part by the CSULB Department of Dance

Saturday, December 10th, 8:00 PM
Sunday, December 11th, 3:00 PM
At ARC Pasadena.
Book your tickets on the Pennington Dance Group website.

We will also be doing a residency together at Riverside College working with students who will be involved in the performance. The companies will be delivering a Lecture Demonstration at California State University LA, on Tuesday the 29th November at 11.30 for an hour and 45 mins. Both companies will be involved in this event.