GDIF 2014 | Page 22

DANCING CITY SAT 28 JUNE CANARY WHARF, TOWER HAMLETS The Awakening Big Dance’s Youth Dance Day Hands Down StopGap Dance Co Big Dance Company Chameleon Sat 28 June 13:00, 15:10 Sat 28 June 13:00 - 17:00 Cabot Square FREE Runs approx 20 mins Jubilee Plaza FREE – runs continuously 6 Choreographed by learning disabled dance artist Chris Pavia, The Awakening explores the anxiety of being stranded. Four disabled and non-disabled dancers are trapped in a mesmerising ritual which has elements of a dream. As the dream unfolds, Chris’s hypnotic choreography absorbs you in a very personal world. Last seen at Dancing City with their fast-paced production of Tracking, StopGAP returns with what promises to be yet another absorbing and pioneering piece of integrated dance theatre. I’ve had a lot of experience doing outdoor arts because I’ve performed with Stopgap Dance Company in SPUN Productions and Tracking both of which were part of GDIF. I learnt from this experience that it’s important to make dance material actually outside and not in a studio because we have to get used to the gravelly concrete floor, the sun in our eyes and the wind in our faces. And the atmosphere of the outside is different to working inside. All of these things change the way we dance. We also have to think about the audience and how they surround the performance. The dancers can be seen at all times in the outdoors because there are no wings. From lidos to shopping centres, from parks to palaces, Big Dance is the UK’s largest festival of dance participation and performance. And now, back again after last year’s dance extravaganza, Big Dance’s signature youth event transforms Jubilee Plaza into a massive performance playground for London’s talented young dancers and youth dance companies. Wrens Landing FREE Runs approx 17 mins Sat 28 June 14:20, 15:40 8 Westferry Circus FREE Runs approx 20 mins 9 This mesmerising dance duet by Israeli choreographer Sharon Fridman receives its UK premiere at Dancing City. With stunning contemporary choreography which plays with the tradition of the waltz, this performance emphasises the smoothness of movement and flow in a sensual, intensively physical and lyrical interaction between two people. From urban dance to ballet, kathak to contemporary – an inspiring afternoon featuring the brightest young talent in London, produced by Big Dance. Laterite The Man Who Lost His Buttons Producciones Imperdibles Compañía Sharon Fridman See page 21 for full show details. Hands Down La Mirada Interior Thomas Michael