Momentum Articles

Overture 2012

2008-09-26T09:24:28+00:00

Over the last three decades Dance Umbrella has gained an international reputation for producing unique dance events, with its declared mission to “bring dance to people and people to dance.” This November, they will bring 120 young Londoners to the stage of the legendary Royal Albert Hall, in its most ambitious project to date.

The 8 to 17 year olds are drawn from 31 of the capital’s 33 boroughs, with a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with a world-class choreographer and a world-renowned orchestra. In a matter of a few weeks under the tutelage of Royston Maldoom and his creative team, the youngsters will have become a cohesive, disciplined dance company ready to deliver two remarkable performances on the vast stage of the UK’s most iconic venue.
The piece is set to Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony, a complex 50 minute work exploring the composer’s turbulent relationship with Stalin and the Soviet State, performed live by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Maldoom is considered one of the founders of community dance in the UK.
Anyone in doubt of Maldoom’s ability to turn such a challenge into an overwhelming success should look at the inspiring documentary Rhythm Is It!.
The film documented his work with Sir Simon Rattle – another artist well known for his passionate and successful community outreach work –, the Berlin Philharmonic and 250 young people in Berlin. The individual transformative journeys of the young people taking part are astounding to watch, as is their final performance of The Rite of Spring.
His perception of ‘community dance’ is “to dance with anyone, anywhere, at any time” regardless of their experience, age, gender or social or ethnic background. He particularly enjoys working with groups that are intercultural, differently-abled, and inter-generational.
Of Overture 2012 he says, “It’s great to be working in London again. Dance Umbrella and Youth Dance England have between them created an extraordinary project, which allows me to do what I enjoy most: create challenging, serious dance for young people. It’s not easy. I am extremely demanding. But I also have an unshakeable belief in the potential of every young person and they never let me down.”

With support ranging from the City of London to over one hundred individual donors, this world premiere event has been especially commissioned by Dance Umbrella as part of the festival’s 30th anniversary celebrations. Dance Umbrella’s Artistic Director Betsy Gregory is emphasising the role of dance in London’s Games and their legacy: “In the year that the Olympic flag passed from Beijing to London, Overture 2012 will make a major statement about the impact dance can have on the lives of young people, providing them with a physically demanding, rigorous, non-competitive alternative to sport. Dance Umbrella received almost 500 applications for the 120 available places and I want to congratulate London’s youth for their commitment, enthusiasm and dedication in coming forward.”

OVERTURE 2012
Sat 1 Nov 2008 @ 7.30pm and Sun 2 Nov 2008 @ 3pm

Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7
Dance Umbrella Ticket Line: 0844 412 4312
Tickets: £5 - 35

http://www.danceumbrella.co.uk

The Momentum Disabled Dance Networking Day

2008-09-25T16:17:13+00:00

An article following a very successful networking event in Brent.

In time for the Beijing Paralympics here is our account of the Momentum Disabled Dance Networking Day:

The event was held in one of Brent’s Leading Arts Venues The Patidar House. The event offered an introduction to disability equality training and a forum of discussion around disability and the arts. A session was led by Arts and Disability consultant Lynn Cox provided attendees with an insight into different models of understanding disability, presented questions around the social conceptions of disability across the dance sector and the Arts. Attendees were given information on ‘best practice’ when facilitating dance projects and working alongside individuals with disabilities.

Guest speaker Luke Pell, Education Manager at Cando Co Dance Company acquainted attendees with the background of Cando Co and its aims to produce creatively ambitious and exceptional contemporary dance performances that entertain and inspire audiences as well as introduce the Education project work he leads on. The second part of the day was a dance workshop, run in association with Everybody Dance as part of the Dancing Wheelchairs project. The project, funded by Brent Council, enabled two Brent residents to become Wheelchair Dancesport instructors with the UK Dancesport Association who have gone on to become the first people in London to set up a wheelchair dancesport group in Ballroom and Latin dance.

Workshop leaders Ruth Burgess and Layla Smith led 5 dancers from Brent’s Day Care Centres in their performance of Ballroom and Latin wheelchair dance. Additional wheelchairs were provided so the non disabled participants taking part in the workshops had the option of dancing with a wheelchair dance partner or trying out wheelchair dancing for themselves. Momentum would like to thank all those who attended the Disabled Dance Networking Day and contributing to the overall success of the event, we hope you found the day useful, enjoyable and informative.

Galina Kalicin/Mala CHERGA, Momentum Dancer in Residence Project

2008-09-17T17:30:09+00:00

Harrow Arts Centre is the host venue for the Momentum Dancer in Residence, Mala CHERGA, led by Galina Kalicin.

This year, as part of Harrow’s participation in the Momentum Dancer in Residence scheme, young people in Harrow were offered places on an exciting project at Harrow Arts Centre, starting on May 1st 2008. This has been a unique opportunity for young people age 11-18 to take part in the Creative Contemporary Dance Project with our Momentum artist-in-residence. The young people worked with Galina Kalicin over a period of 11 weeks, learning about contemporary dance technique, developing theatre performance skills, making their own dance. These dance workshops led to performances in ‘Under One Sky’ and Brent ‘Respect’ (Brent is another of the partner boroughs in Momentum). The aim of the project has been to introduce young people to contemporary dance and theatre performance whilst helping them to improve and develop their confidence, creativity, co-ordination, fitness, musicality, problem solving and interpersonal skills.

Sam Quy, Momentum Dancer in Residence Project

2008-09-17T15:11:14+00:00

The Momentum Dancers in Residence scheme has allowed each borough to match six Associate Artists with six West London host venues or organisations. The focus on cultural diversity and diversity of dance styles showcased the wealth of different dance artists working in the area: the chosen artists styles encompass Caribbean, Street, Flamenco, South Asian, martial arts and western Contemporary Dance.

Each artist receives free space to develop and create their own work, a £1,000 commission towards the creation of a new work, and further £1,000 for a Momentum project for young people, developed together with the host venue. Sam Quy is working with Dormer’s Wells High School in Southall, Ealing:

Sam is delighted to be the Momentum/London Borough of Ealing Flamenco Dance Artist in Residence this year. The aim of her project is to explore continuities and diversities between two forms of dance with which Sam has always been fascinated: Indian and flamenco dance. Uniting the two distinct yet historically linked forms in a modern context for young people aims to give them access to a new form of dance, develop their dance skills, and broaden their understanding of cultural dance. The percussive rhythmic continuities will also be explored professionally in the piece entitled “Compás Taal” or “Rhythm Rhythm”. The project is just underway at Dormer’s Wells High School in Southall, with a group of very enthusiastic teenagers, and we very much hope to reach the stage of the London Mela Festival over the Summer!

Tomorr Kokona - Culture and Arts

2008-06-10T13:04:50+00:00

Tomorr Kokona’s Dance Challenge held at Wembley Arena continues to grow from strength to strength with record numbers in 2007.

Tomorr Kokona was a young man with passion and a big idea when he left his home in Albania in 1991 to seek a better life in the West.

After spending 3 years in Spain working for Spanish National Theatre and Classical ballet of Madrid, Tomorr came to study contemporary dance at Laban Centre in London.

Tomorr brought with him to England an entrepreneurial spirit and – having trained as a dancer in the Albanian National Ballet - a great talent for dance. He immediately began to use his skills to help young people in London – including refugees and asylum seekers, and those at risk of offending, often working with the Home Office to help them fit into their new home.

Dance Challenge 2007

Soon, he saw how dance could be used as a way of helping all children not just to lose weight, get fit and enjoy artistic movement, but also to encourage the kind of personal expression which made them enthusiastic and positive about life, and reduced delinquency.

Working with schools in the London area, Tomorr was already planning bigger things. Gathering a group of professional dancers and visual artists around him, he formed a company and started to build his dream: an extravaganza for children from schools all over the country who would choreograph, train and present their routines to a panel of professionals on the stage of Wembley Arena.

On July 18, for the third successive year, Tomorr’s Dance Challenge descended upon Wembley Arena. Each show has been bigger than the last, and at this year’s event over 800 children from 60 London schools and community groups had the opportunity to present their own performances on the boards normally trodden by pop megastars.

Hiring a venue as big as Wembley was an expensive risk, but Tomorr is relaxed: the first year was do-or-die, but he has been impressed with the enthusiasm of the children, and so pleased with the success and growth of Dance Challenge that he believes the only way is up:

“I have been lucky because Dance Challenge has coincided with a national interest in fame and talent shows, things like Strictly Come Dancing on television. But this is a way for every child to become involved in showing their talent, and getting fit in a way that is not boring for them. And they get to dance on the big stage where usually their pop heroes perform. The schools are fantastic in getting the teams together and rehearsing the dancers, and then this is a big, big day out for them.”

It doesn’t end there, however. Graduates of Dance Challenge have were invited to attend open auditions and 8 of them joined a company of professional dancers who work with them intensively and preformed as guest artists at the Dance Challenge. This has now become the bases for a semi-professional company called ‘Dance Prodigies’ which will perform for different schools and community groups across London.

“The thing is, it is competitive, but it’s healthy competition. The kids all enjoy the dancing, but those who take it most seriously and want to go further can also have that opportunity now. It’s not that anybody loses, but instead each child can go as far along as he or she wants.”

Working with young people with funding from English Heritage

Dance Challenge 2007

Dance Challenge is open to all children, but given Tomorr’s background as an arrival from Eastern Europe, and as somebody who grew up under the worst communism there was, his interest is in helping children get on the right track and make the most of themselves. Many immigrants are arriving in the UK now, both from new EEC countries and further afield. Tomorr’s work, thanks to a National Lottery grant made through English Heritage, now also involves using elements of dance and visual art to help integrate new young arrivals to British shores, helping them to understand and adapt to British ways – but also helping the local children to see what the immigrants and refugees have been through, and to see them as less strange, more human, and as friends for the future.

“My idea is to have the children talk with refugees from another age – in this case evacuees from the Second World War – to see that their experience is not unique, and that other people, older people, have things to say that can help them to cope with what they are going through. We encourage them, with the help of our dancers and artists, to make sense of their experiences. It works. You end up with happier, healthier children who feel positive about their new home, and get on well with the other kids already here. It saves a lot of trouble later down the line.”

So Tomorr is a busy man, but also a happy one. His partner Mariela, a concert pianist also from Albania, will give birth to their second child in a few months’ time. Until then, he is the entrepreneur, rushing around, chasing contacts and suppliers, then popping into various schools to check on the progress of the dance teams.

“I don’t have much time to spare. I guess you could call it my own dance challenge. But it is for the kids. It is good.”

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