DanceXchange Autumn Season - Dracula, Hip Hop and Little Match Girl

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Thu 25 Sep 2014 - Sat 29 Nov 2014

Gothic horror is a highlight of the exciting new autumn season from Birmingham's ground-breaking DanceXchange.

Award-winning Dracula by the Mark Bruce Company will be performed at The Patrick Centre - but if that sounds too scary, there will also be fun for all the family with Arthur Pita's The Little Match Girl or hip hop as you've never seen it before.



A double bill of dance performances by Alexander Whitley also takes place during the Autumn dance season from September 25 to November 29.

DanceXchange, based at a studio theatre in the Patrick Centre at Birmingham Hippodrome, has grown its reputation for performing ground-breaking and award winning dance and this year will be no different.

Paul Burns, DanceXchange's Director of Programming and Production, says: "DanceXchange has put together possibly our most eclectic line up ever this season! There really is something for everyone – dark gothic dance theatre, hip hop fused with contemporary dance and work that will appeal to young families."



The Black Album

The season opens with a hip hop flavour for Avant Garde Dance's triple bill The Black Album from September 25 to 26.

Under the artistic direction of Tony Adigun, three distinctly different hip hop choreographies are seamlessly woven together like a concept album.

Among the trio is A Classical Break, which humorously merges break dance with the classical tones of Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn. There is also the abstract performance of Dark Matter, choreographed by Tony Adigun - winner of best choreographer at the BEFFTA Awards in 2011 & 2012 and artistic director on Sky One's Got to Dance programme.

UK premieres for the Fierce Festival

During October, DanceXchange will reveal UK premieres of two two international movement artists as part of Birmingham's Fierce Festival celebrating performance and live art.

Miguel Gutierrez's Heavens What Have I Done, from America, has a premiere on October 5, while Canadian Dana Michel's Yellow Towel makes its UK premiere on October 10.

Migeul Gutierrez is a provocative choreographer from New York who is unafraid to use "bold and ferocious dance". This piece of work sees the movement set against music sung by renowned soprano Cecilia Bartoli.



The story behind Yellow Towel is a personal one as dancer Dana Michel takes us back to her childhood when she would drape a yellow towel on her head to resemble blonde girls at her school.

Now an adult, Dana takes the audience into her imaginary world using buffoonery and grace to turn stereotypes of black culture upside down.

Dracula

Mark Bruce Company's award winning production of Dracula follows from October 15-18.

Bram Stoker's haunting, erotic tale is brought to life through intricate choreography in the produciton billed as a "heart wrenching and magical piece of dance theatre".



Jonathan Goddard takes the lead role as the infamous Vampire Count whose sinister and ruthless ambitions challenge the very fabric of Victorian society.

This production won the prestigious South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance in 2014 and features an eclectic mix of music from Bach and Mozart to Ligetti and Fred Frith.

The Measures Taken

One of the country's most exciting young choreographers - Alexander Whitley - brings his latest work to DanceXchange from October 23 to 24.

The South Bank Award nominee, who was behind Birmingham Royal Ballet's Kin, airs two dance productions.

The Measures Taken is a visually striking and kinetically charged collaboration with digital media artists Marshmallow Laser Feast. The work is said to be both a dialogue and a duet between human movement and the digital world.

The second production - Grit in the Oyster - will be performed in Birmingham ahead of its world premiere at London's Sadler's Wells. It features the music of British contemporary composer Thomas Adès.



Beauty of the Beast

Following their hugely popular performances at DanceXchange in 2012 and 2013, Company Chameleon return to The Patrick Centre on November 13 and 14 for Beauty Of The Beast.

This is a dance that explores masculinity, identity and male group behaviour, delving into how far peer pressure can go and examining competitive rivalries within a group of friends.

The show was commissioned by The Lowry, DanceXchange and Live at LICA with support from the John Feeney Charitable Trust.

The Little Match Girl

It's a fairytale ending to the season as it concludes with a dance production based on Hans Christian Andersen's classic story, The Little Match Girl.



Celebrated director & choreographer Arthur Pita is behind this production, which takes place in the run up the Christmas period from November 27 to 29.

It's a family-friendly tale of an impoverished young street girl's hopes and dreams told through dance and song and featuring original live music by Frank Moon.

Arthur Pita was nominated for this year's Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his choreography for Ballet Black - A Dream Within A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House.
Ticket Info
For tickets call 0844 338 5000 or book online at the DanceXchange website .

Listings

Please note there are age restrictions on some productions.

Avant Garde Dance // The Black Album
Thursday 25 & Friday 26 September // 8pm
DanceXchange, The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
Tickets: £12/£8 concessions
Age: 14

Miguel Gutierrez // Heavens What Have I Done (in partnership with Fierce Festival)
Sunday 5 October // 7pm
DanceXchange, The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
Tickets: £12/£8 concessions
Age: 16

Dana Michel // Yellow Towel (in partnership with Fierce Festival)
Friday 10 October // 8pm
DanceXchange, The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
Tickets: £12/£8 concessions
Age: 16

Mark Bruce Company // Dracula
Wednesday 15 – Saturday 18 October // 8pm
DanceXchange, The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
Tickets: £15/£10 concessions
Age: 14

Alexander Whitley Company // The Measures Taken & preview The Grit in the Oyster
Thursday 23 – Friday 24 October // 8pm
DanceXchange, The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
Tickets: £10/£6 concessions
Age: 10

Company Chameleon // Beauty Of The Beast
Thursday 13 – Friday 14 November // 8pm
DanceXchange, The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
Tickets: £12/£8 concessions
Age: 14

Arthur Pita // The Little Match Girl
Thursday 27 – Saturday 29 November // 1.30pm & 7pm (Thurs & Fri), 3pm (Sat)
DanceXchange, The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
Tickets: £12/£8 concessions, £30 Family Ticket
Age: 5

#ballet
#birmingham_city_centre
#central_birmingham
#dancing
#family
#theatre
#september
#october
#november
!date 25/09/2014 -- 29/11/2014
%wnbirmingham