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A new production Available for booking from September 2008 Dances For A Lost Traveler represents an intense departure for Signdance away from the biographical framework of recent work and into something personal and from the heart. Drawing on collaborations with Sardinian director Ornella Dagostino from Carovana SMI, Primoz Bayzak from Slovenia's Batontac Dance plus a range of musicians, film and dance artists.
"Coup de Teatre" Bucks Preview "The four pieces - Listen, Here, The Words and Travelling are passionate expressions of the Signdance oeuvre, using diverse styles and techniques to give an insight into the approach the Collective take to making work. This is performance territory akin to other styles of dance-theatre firmly rooted in Europe, but with little precedent here in the UK. There were similarities to work by Alain Patel's Les ballets C de la B and the Seven Fingers, in that elements of the performers' lives and personalities become intimately and dynamically woven in layers, into the construction of the work. What makes Signdance so totally unique, is that their lives are informed by disability and deafness - and so their approach is based on a process of how to incorporate those aspects into their work." Colin Hambrook Dao Editor These pieces are available for booking from April 2009. We can perform in theatres, at outdoor festivals, in gallery spaces and showcases. Landscape and language are the two main themes running through Dances For A Lost Traveler.
'Listen' (23 minutes)
choreography : Isolte Avila 'Here' (25 minutes) is lyrical - the movement consisting of a carefully dramatised piece of dance made up of signed dialogue. The performance takes place on the floor, with a live projection of David Bower and Isolte Avila onto the wall, telling the story of a relationship in flux. The detail is in the signing, but beyond that Here describes an emotional landscape - one that is again contained within a box.
choreography : Primoz Bayzak
The Words (20 minutes), locates the movement in written and spoken language. Using a series of responses to architecture.. A random bucket of sentences is played and spilled like rain on the performers heads. They are pulled arbitrarily in front of a live camera and are signed furtively. The energy builds to a crescendo, describing the confusion, frustration and ultimately the beauty of language in its relationship to disability and deafness.
direction : Carla Onni Travelling (35 minutes) tells the story of how it is to live a life of constantly crossing boundaries - geographical and physical boundaries as well as existential boundaries relating to disability and deafness. Isolte offers the audience a chance to go to 'the Happy Place'. She takes on the role of a travel agent offering holidays in the sun. But how does the movement of peoples' around the world, as tourists, migrants, or as artists, affect indigenous communities? How does political conflict affect the traveller? What does it feel like to live the nomadic lifestyle of the artist? The piece unravels with a series of journeys through film, dance and song. David Bower takes on a comic role inspired by his experience of officials at customs. He acts out the often-bizarre demands made of the traveller, who is forced to dance through hoops on in order to get permission to cross a border. Isolte plays out the dichotomies she has faced, having lived with a dual identity of being Cuban and Puerto Rican American. 'Ultimately the piece leaves its audience with a powerful image of travelling through the palm of the hand. At the core of Signdance's work is the beauty of using sign language as a form of dance and of expression. I hope Dances For A Lost Traveler gets taken on by venues across the UK' Colin Hambrook DAO
direction : Ornella Dagostino Carovana SMI Programming Dances For A Lost Traveler The pieces can be programmed in any combination, and we can adapt to different performance environments. Please contact us if you are interested in booking these pieces. Education and Showcasing SDC is pleased to offer a programme of work into schools and educational settings for 10+ audience. The School can choose to have 'The Words' or 'Listen' plus a workshop or both pieces with a discovery talk after the performance. But Beautiful - TOURING 2007-09 Arts Council England Southeast Inspired by the life and music of jazz legend, Art Pepper (1925 - 1982), a new fusion of signdance, jazz, voice and improvisation, exploring how an extraordinary legacy of music grew from a painful and chaotic period of his life. 'SDC and jazz go together like silk and pearls ' Mellissa Motsyn DAO 07 Alongside performers David Bower and Isolte Avila, the show features talented jazz musicians Luke Barlow and Mark Holub, winner of the 2005 Peter Whittingham Jazz Award for his group, Led Bib. Making up the artists for the full programme are musicians Alex Ward and Santiago Horro Concept and Original Direction- Garry Robson Intitial movement training & development- Ornella D'Agostino Further Development Luke Barlow , David Bower , Isolte Avila Music- Luke Barlow (Music Director) Mark Holub & The Luke Barlow Band Signdance performers & Signdance -David Bower Isolte Avila Film - David Bower
Short Films These are films by SDC's Artistic Director David Bower in collaboration with several individuals and organizations that can be shown in small demonstrations or as part of a film Festival . Also Available from Roaring Girl Productions www.roaringgirl.com is Liz Crow's 'Frida Kahlo's Corsett' which stars Isolte Avila (SDC's dance director) as Frida Kahlo, and the 'But Beautiful Documentary' by Sarana Merha available from filmpro sdc@filmpro.net Secret Signs - 2005 A Signdance Theatre film in collaboration with BBC Birmingham and Ruby Rocks. contact Firesign - 2005 A film collaboration with Mindy Brown, Talking Hands, Denhague, NL, Caglar Kimyoncu and Frederiq Spigt and Band. Relics - 2003 Two 18th Century robots are found in the streets of Soho, London, and are brought back to life at Beat Wax. A Signdance film and installation in collaboration with Adam Reynolds, Ruby Rocks, DaDa South, Beat Wax, Soho, and Picture Productions. Prices and information available at filmpro: sdc@filmpro.net
Past Work Named Space - 2003/04 Based on the writings of Brandon Astor Jones, a prisoner on Death Row in America for a crime he did not commit. The dance theatre flows between real life and dreams - being in prison does not stop us from dreaming. the songs are original Black American children's songs from 1940's New York. Dramateurgy: Goro Osojnik Supported by the Barlow Family and Rodriguez Foundation You hide and I'll go blow up the Generator - 2002/03 A Signdance romance in space using beautiful imagers of our planet, signdance and new dance work from the Mediterranean. Concept and film: David Bower Aisha Rising - 2001/02 Based on David and Isolte's travels in Southern India. A comparison between Mudras and sign language, a journey into the heart of a beautiful land, contrasting and surprising. Director: Garry Robson Caliban and Miranda - 1999 The prequel to Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', depicting the childhood of Caliban and Miranda . The piece includes giant puppets, Turkish / Anatolian music, and haunting sign theatre. "The play Shakespeare almost wrote", DAIL Direction and concept: Garry Robson
The signdance repertoire from 1987 is available from Signdance Collective. Signdance Collective is a registrered trademark  |
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