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Thanks for stopping by. This blog is now closed. You can find more information about my work on my new website www.joanclevilledance.com See you there!

Achilles II in Poland



 © Renata Dąbrowska

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to present my work Achilles II at the International Solo Dance Contest of the VII Gdańsk Dance Festival in Poland. Over five intense days, the contest brought together performers from all over Europe and was a fantastic opportunity to meet other artists and connect with the local dance scene.
 

As part of the festival, we had the opportunity to receive feedback from the jury, as well as attending master classes and workshops with Sylwia Hefczyńska-Lewandowska and the contact-improv collective of Piotr Skalski, Paweł Konior and Tomasz Fołtyn.

Testigo Documentary collective was also covering the event, reviewing each night of performances. Here are the impressions of Hanna Raszewska and Renata Dąbrowska on my performance of Achilles II:

MAN IN REFLECTION, EMOTION AND BODY

The second evening of the Solo Dance Contest was opened with the work of Joan Clevillé entitled “Achilles II”. The ancient hero does not adopt a pose of a warrior here, does not present himself mid-battle, does not triumph after another victorious clash. He is outside the battlefield; this is one of the few moments of solitude that can be devoted to oneself. The hero cowers under the pressure of expectations of the society, the pressure exerted by destiny weighs him down, the life amid unceasing violence at times arouses his anger, his sensitivity makes itself heard. With a naked torso and in brocade trousers, the performer revolves around the theme of the divine power of the hero and the human sensitivity of the man. He crosses the space with long strides and spins in spirals, falls down under the pressure of reality and gets up against it, responds to external stimuli and operates internal impulses. Achilles is anxious, torn, full of emotions. He is not willing, however, to escape from his life situation, he knows this is the right path for him – he does not, however, tread it with ease.

 © Renata Dąbrowska

Teaching in Sweden

Skånes Dansteater in The Feeling of Going.

Foto by Malin Arnesson

 

 I have been invited to teach this week at  Skånes Dansteater, Sweden's largest independent dance institution and one of the most prominent repertory dance companies in Northern Europe.

The company is currently performing The Feeling of Going by British choreographer Ben Wright (who is also Associate Artistic Director of the company). The production is back by popular demand after a hugely successful run last year. This week's performances at Malmö's Opera are already sold out!

Featuring live music composed by Jónsi, Sigur Ros's lead singer, the piece takes the audience on a journey into an extraordinary territory where anything can occur. Set in a mythical domain where human and beast measure their strength against one another and lend each other life; this is a landscape where wakefulness and dreaming merge, where time and space float free from one another - un-fixed and ever changing.

Another Scottish-based artist is working with the company at the moment. Dancer and choreographer Caroline Bowditch has had a long standing relationship with the company and is now creating a new outdoor work with an inclusive cast of trained and untrained bodies. Raising questions about equality and visibility, C-me will be performed in the streets of Malmö from 24th to 28th of June.

Plan B for Utopia preview perfomance!

There is something special about First Times. The first time you travel abroad, the first time you kiss somebody, or you drive a car… Next Tuesday 21^st of April will be a special evening for us. We will present a preview performance of Plan B for Utopia, the first full-length work of Joan Clevillé Dance.

The piece will be officially premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and then embark on a national tour during the autumn, including an extensive programme of creative learning activities. We are currently on our last week of creation rehearsals with dancers John Kendall and Solène Weinachter at the studios of Scottish School of Contemporary Dance.

The whole team is very excited and we can’t wait to share the work with an audience! This time the performance will be for an invited audience of community members, dance and theatre students, and professionals from the dance industry. Watch this space for more information on our premiere performances at the Edinburgh Fringe (21^st-30^th August) and our autumn tour.

In the meantime, here's a little taster of what's to come with some 'making of' pictures from our recent photo-shoot session with photographer Nicole Guarino and designer Matthias Strahm:
   

© Vicky Wilson

© Vicky Wilson

 

© Vicky Wilson



© Vicky Wilson

Free Professional Classes in Dundee!

I am delighted to announce that we will be offering a week of FREE professional dance classes in Dundee as part of my creation residency for Plan B for Utopia.

 

The classes will start at 10.30h at Scottish Dance Theatre’s studio at Dundee Rep Theatre (Tay Square, Dundee DD1 1PB) between Monday 30 March and Friday 3rd of April.

 

Spaces are limited. Please email info@joanclevilledance.com to book your space.

 

The classes will be informed by the current creation process of Plan B for Utopia. They will explore the relation between breath, voice and movement, as well as improvisational tasks and set material.

On residency at The Work Room & Dance Base

Two weeks ago it was The Work Room, Glasgow's studio for independent dance artists at the Tramway Theatre. This week, I am on residency at Dance Base, Scotland's National Centre for Dance in Edinburgh, working on the creation of Plan B for Utopia.

The piece is a new full- length work with dancers Solène Weinachter (Scottish Dance Theatre, Lost Dog, Gecko) and John Kendall (balletLORENT) exploring the cycles of hope and failure that drive our personal and collective lives.
 


After an initial period of research in summer and autumn 2014, this is our second week of creation and we have invited playwright Ella Hickson to come into the studio as dramaturgy advisor. I met Ella working in a project at Nuffield Theatre (Southampton) with choreographer Ben Duke. She has won several awards (including a Fringe First for Eight, her first play back in 2008) and currently writes for some of the major theatre companies in the UK, including the National Theatre in London and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Join us for work-in-progress sharing and Q&A session with the creative team on Friday 6th of March at 4pm. Dance Base, 14-16 Grassmarket, Edinburgh EH1 2JU.

Achilles II fotos and reviews!

I am very excited to share Nicole Guarino's pictures from my performance of Achilles II at Resolution! last January.

This is a new version of the solo originally created in June 2013 for the RepNet Hothouse choreographic platform in Malmö, Sweden. This extended version also featured a new striking lighting design by Emma Jones, which Nicole captured brilliantly in these shots.

The work was warmly received by the audience at The Place's Robin Howard Theatre. Here are some of the reactions from audience members and the reviewers Hailey McLeod and Sanjoy Roy:

'A portrait of anguish. Tender, extreme, astonishing', audience member.

'I was mesmerised and moved. Brilliant and thought provoking - beautiful', audience member.

'a powerful performance', Sanjoy Roy.

'I was joyously mesmerized by his other worldly gold and glittery trousers', Hailey McLeod.

© Nicole Guarino

© Nicole Guarino

© Nicole Guarino



© Nicole Guarino

© Nicole Guarino

Winter Again (Again)

© Maria Falconer

A few weeks ago I was invited to perform with Scottish Dance Theatre in Jo Strømgren's Winter Again. The piece was created in 2013, when I was a member of the company and part of the original cast. Dancing it again felt like stepping into your old shoes, but the performances at Dundee Rep and Edinburgh Traverse were actually an unexpected opportuity to discover new facets of this dark, slightly surreal, Nordic tale...
 
The work is part of a double-bill programme with Dreamers, a brand new work by Anton Lachky, one of the founding members of the Belgian collective 'Les Slovaks'.

You can catch the rest of the tour at Dance City (Newcastle) on 23 and 24 of April and at the Taliesan Arts Festival (Swansea) on 30 April. More info HERE.

Below is a 4-star review by Kelly Apter at The Scotsman:

Making a welcome return, Jo Strømgren’s Winter, Again bears a repeat viewing. Nine distinct characters, few of whom you would deem trustworthy, see out a winter together. In the absence of fresh snow, everything is a dirty, spattered grey. The music – Schubert’s Eine Winterreise – sounds pure of voice, but there is little purity on stage.
 
Guns are brandished, animals are killed and one poor girl even loses her eyes. Yet Strømgren has a lightness of touch that turns such macabre content into easy viewing. Once again aided by the current strong crop of performers, and in particular guest dancer, Joan Clevillé and his almost Vaudevillian sense of melodrama.

Teaching in Dundee

This month I will be teaching different classes in Dundee organised by Scottish Dance Theatre:

The adult technique classes are aimed at professional dancers or students in full time dance education. They combine elements from contact improvisation with set exercises and combinations. Through the use of imagery, they encourage movement from within the body and a sense of organic flow. Attention is also given to movement articulation and the efficient use of weight (individually and with partners).

The master class on 26th of February will be an introduction to contact improvisation. Working with different partners, we will explore touch, weight, gravity and momentum. Tuning into the inner sensations of the body, we will learn to release excess muscular tension and abandon a certain quality of wilfulness to experience playfulness and the natural flow of movement.

Spaces are limited, book your place on sdt@scottishdancetheatre.com or by phone at Dundee Rep's Box Office 01382 223530 

THIS SATURDAY 'Achilles II' at Resolution!

This coming Saturday 24 of January I will be presenting my solo work Achilles II at The Place (London), as part of the 2015 edition of Resolution!.

Recently chosen by dance critic Judith Mackrell, (The Guardian) as one of this year's five 'names to watch out for' during the festival, I am delighted to take part for the first time in this classic of British choreography.

I am also delighted to be working again with designers Matthias Strahm and Emma Jones, who are creating a new costume and lighting design for the piece.

Achilles II will be part of a triple bill programme with works by choreographers Jayne Port and Estela Merlos. BOOK NOW and get up to 30% discount when booking multiple shows!