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Dear All
Some brief news about some things I’m involved in over the coming months …
Booth: A Dance Fair has been commissioned by The Place and Bloomberg SPACE as part of COMMA40. I’ve been working with Amy Watson and Heather Caruso to develop six dance booths: Solo, Social, Photo, Video, Talk and Lecture. The project includes work by (among others) Rosemary Lee, Katrina McPherson & Simon McPherson, Becky Edmunds, Lucy Cash, Doug Rosenberg, Stephanie Jordan, Erica Stanton, Bloom!, Luca Silvestrini, Dianne Reid, David Corbet, Mårten Spångberg, Sherril Dodds and Eva Recacha, plus I’ll be having a bit of a groove (think Patsy Cline, Chuck Berry, KC and the Sunshine Band …). Friday 25 November 2011, 11am to 2.30pm, Bloomberg SPACE, London EC2A 1HD (free). Details at skellis.net/booth and further information about COMMA40 at theplace.org.uk/11403/whats-on/simon-ellis-luca-silvestrini-filipe-alcada-darren-ellis-dance-on-film.html
Recovery (alias, the never-ending project) has another set of legs (and they are very exciting), and the team — Nat Cursio, Shannon Bott, Pete Brundle, Ben Cobham (Bluebottle), Ben Cisterne and Byron Scullin — are currently inhabiting the rehearsal space at Napier St in Melbourne. I’m doing a bit of ‘directing from a distance’ and we’ll pick up some more time in March 2012. A première is not far off (but I’ve written this before).
Colin Poole and I spent two weeks bookending the summer in Choreodrome (The Place’s biennial choreographic research project) and Colin, Simon & I is close to being ready to present. We showed 10 minutes in Touch Wood and are currently meeting to continue the project’s development. On Wednesday 11 January 2012 @ 6pm, we’ll present a pre-première of the work at Michaelis Theatre, Roehampton as part of Roehampton Dance’s Dance Diary programme. We’ll then première the work (proper) at The Place in Spring 2012. During the project’s development and rehearsal we’ve had timely input(s) from Bob Whalley, Lee Miller, Chris Bannerman and Amy Watson. www.colinsimonandi.com
In late August I traveled to Findhorn, Scotland to participate in Deborah Hay’s Solo Performance Commissioning Project. I’ve wanted to participate in the SPCP for some time, and have long been inspired by artists such as Ros Warby, Rachel Krische, Atlanta Eke and Joe Moran who have worked with Deborah. Deborah developed a solo I think not which she taught us, and since then I’ve been practicing it daily in order to première the work next year. At this stage I’ll be showing my adaptation of Deborah’s choreography in Leicester, UK on 8 March 2012, and then again in Auckland, NZ in the week leading up to Good Friday (day to be confirmed). I’ll also be presenting the work in London sometime in late February, and will look to show it off (never could words be more wrong) in Melbourne when I am there in the Antipodean Autumn. Details and research blog at skellis.net/spcp. Thanks again to everyone who commissioned the project — my singing may mean you wished you hadn’t.
Lastly, I’m in Melbourne and Auckland in March and April for a number of projects and workshops, and hope to catch up with my Australian and Kiwi dancing friends.
That’s it for now.
All the very best, Simon
Twitter: @simonkellis Blog: http://skellis.posterous.com
