Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Sell out warning! An enthralling selection of movement-let performances curated by Mayfest and the Mount Without’s boundary-smashing in-house physical theatre troupe, Impermanence. Expect spoken word dance poems, symbolic explorations of sneaker culture, Rasputin in drag and more! "
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A event held at The Mount Without on Saturday 18th May. The event starts at 20:00.
Mayfest and IMPERMANENCE present Communion
Overlooking the city from the slopes of St Michael’s Hill, the beauty of this ancient church-turned-creative space is the perfect setting for Communion: a programme of intimate, movement led performances curated in collaboration with IMPERMANENCE.
Directed by Roseanna Anderson and Josh Ben-Tovim, Impermanence is an award-winning dance company resident at The Mount Without. Over the past five years they have worked to build a thriving dance scene through presenting the work of local, national and international dance artists as well as creating their own work for stage and screen. We’re thrilled to be working with them to present these wonderful short works…
Death of the Bachelors
Choreographed by BlacBrik
Performed by Nahum McLean & Mukeni Nel
Duration: 20 minutes
Death of The Bachelors follows two older men who form an unlikely friendship as they reminisce about their younger days as bachelors. Through their conversations, they reflect on the choices they’ve made and the paths their lives have taken, both good and bad. As they come to terms with their past and the inevitability of aging, they celebrate the power of friendship and the beauty of life’s journey.
@nahummclean
Thick & Tight by Edd Arnold and Oxana Panchenko
Duration: 20 minutes
Thick & Tight present two short works from their show Tits & Teeth; a riotous night of famous and notorious figures revived through dance, mime, drag and satire. Coming to The Mount Without are Marlene Dietrich and Rasputin, performed by knockout dancers Edd Arnold and Oxana Panchenko.
thickandtight.com
@thicktightdance
"Proximities" by Jane Mason and Jason Singh
Duration: 20 minutes
Performing together for the first time, beatboxer/sound artist Jason Singh and choreographer/performer Jane Mason draw on experiences of closeness and distance, the universality of breath and the multitude of unseen rhythms that shape us. Crafted live in the moment, 'Proximities' is an unfolding dialogue between sound and movement, attraction and release.
AND by Charlotte Mclean
Duration: 20 minutes
Charlotte Mclean’s solo dance poem ‘And’ is about being alive and all the worries and wonders that come with that.
The work weaves spoken word, political commentary and personal anecdotes with fierce and empowering bursts of dance.
Jay Yule will perform their version of ‘And’ at Mayfest 2024. The work first started in a park with Charlotte and Jay in 2017.
These performances are part of Mayfest: Bristol's international festival of contemporary theatre and live performance, curated and produced by MAYK. Check out the full programme at https://www.mayk.org.uk/mayfest / @mayfestbristol
About BlacBrik
BlacBrik is a dance company co-founded by Nahum McLean, originally from Manchester, and Darius Drooh from California. Their collaborative journey began in New York, where they both trained and took early steps in choreography, notably contributing to the NYC Jazz Choreography Festival. Despite branching out as movement artists, the duo maintained their commitment to their shared choreographic vision. The essence of BlacBrik lies in its unique approach to dance, utilising it as a medium to explore and depict the complexities of relationships and reality.
About Jane Mason
Jane is a choreographic artist based in Devon. She danced for Wayne McGregor's Random Dance before dancing freelance, most recently performing in Jeanine Durning's 'Last Shelter' for Candoco. She works in varied community contexts, collaborates widely (Quarantine, Lone Twin) and has created several interdisciplinary touring projects including: 'Same Room Same Time' with Grace Surman, 'Night Flying' with David Williams and 'Life Forces' with Phil Smith. Jane is excited to return to Mayfest following 'The Two Day Show' in 2022. Her practice is broad and evolving, always collaborative, and rooted in a desire to increase human connection through movement.
http://www.jane-mason.co.uk/
About Jason Singh
Jason Singh is musician, composer, sound artist, creative facilitator, producer and performer. He works across all art forms and his work is an ongoing exploration and collaboration between the voice, body and music technology.
As well as being a solo artist, Singh also collaborates with a wide variety of organisations, artists and festivals, some of which include the BBC, V&A Museum, British Council, Tate Britain, BFI, Serious, PRS for music, Aldeburgh Music, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Royal Exchange Theatre, ENO, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Sage Gateshead, Nitin Sawhney, Rokia Traore, Aidan O Rourke, Seb Rochford, Scanner, Tim Exile, Stuart Macallum, Arun Ghosh, Soumik Datta, Shabaka Hutchings, Celtic Connections, Glastonbury festival, Jaipur Literature Festival and the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, to name a few.
http://jasonsinghthing.com
@jasonsinghthing
About Thick & Tight
Thick & Tight is a dance theatre company based in the UK. The company creates a mix of dance, mime, theatre & drag, taking influence from a wide range of historical, political, literary & artistic subjects.
Thick & Tight is co-directed by Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry.
About Charlotte
Charlotte Mclean amalgamates dance theatre, improvisation, voicework, imagination, self-celebration, radical listening and joy. Charlotte is a contemporary dance artist from Arbroath. She trained at London Contemporary Dance School and The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance. She has worked in the UK and internationally with companies including Barrowland Ballet, Curious Seed and Eva Recacha. She is co-founder and creative producer of badbodychaoscode and Die Berner Band, movement bands based in London and Bern. The bands have been worked with The Place, Dazed and Confused, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, V & A London, TANZhAUSBern, Dampfzentrale and more.
Duration: 80 minutes. No interval
Age guidance: 14+
ACCESS
The Mount Without is a wheelchair accessible venue.
There is a ramp leading to the crypt through the gardens on Lower Church Lane. The path wraps around the whole venue so you can access the Main Hall from the same path if you come up from St Michaels Hill loading bay.
Old Park Hill is the best route to go, if going straight to the Main Hall and a ramp is difficult.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)
Overlooking the city from the slopes of St Michael’s Hill, the beauty of this ancient church-turned-creative space is the perfect setting for Communion: a programme of intimate, movement led performances curated in collaboration with IMPERMANENCE.
Directed by Roseanna Anderson and Josh Ben-Tovim, Impermanence is an award-winning dance company resident at The Mount Without. Over the past five years they have worked to build a thriving dance scene through presenting the work of local, national and international dance artists as well as creating their own work for stage and screen. We’re thrilled to be working with them to present these wonderful short works…
Death of the Bachelors
Choreographed by BlacBrik
Performed by Nahum McLean & Mukeni Nel
Duration: 20 minutes
Death of The Bachelors follows two older men who form an unlikely friendship as they reminisce about their younger days as bachelors. Through their conversations, they reflect on the choices they’ve made and the paths their lives have taken, both good and bad. As they come to terms with their past and the inevitability of aging, they celebrate the power of friendship and the beauty of life’s journey.
@nahummclean
Thick & Tight by Edd Arnold and Oxana Panchenko
Duration: 20 minutes
Thick & Tight present two short works from their show Tits & Teeth; a riotous night of famous and notorious figures revived through dance, mime, drag and satire. Coming to The Mount Without are Marlene Dietrich and Rasputin, performed by knockout dancers Edd Arnold and Oxana Panchenko.
thickandtight.com
@thicktightdance
"Proximities" by Jane Mason and Jason Singh
Duration: 20 minutes
Performing together for the first time, beatboxer/sound artist Jason Singh and choreographer/performer Jane Mason draw on experiences of closeness and distance, the universality of breath and the multitude of unseen rhythms that shape us. Crafted live in the moment, 'Proximities' is an unfolding dialogue between sound and movement, attraction and release.
AND by Charlotte Mclean
Duration: 20 minutes
Charlotte Mclean’s solo dance poem ‘And’ is about being alive and all the worries and wonders that come with that.
The work weaves spoken word, political commentary and personal anecdotes with fierce and empowering bursts of dance.
Jay Yule will perform their version of ‘And’ at Mayfest 2024. The work first started in a park with Charlotte and Jay in 2017.
These performances are part of Mayfest: Bristol's international festival of contemporary theatre and live performance, curated and produced by MAYK. Check out the full programme at https://www.mayk.org.uk/mayfest / @mayfestbristol
About BlacBrik
BlacBrik is a dance company co-founded by Nahum McLean, originally from Manchester, and Darius Drooh from California. Their collaborative journey began in New York, where they both trained and took early steps in choreography, notably contributing to the NYC Jazz Choreography Festival. Despite branching out as movement artists, the duo maintained their commitment to their shared choreographic vision. The essence of BlacBrik lies in its unique approach to dance, utilising it as a medium to explore and depict the complexities of relationships and reality.
About Jane Mason
Jane is a choreographic artist based in Devon. She danced for Wayne McGregor's Random Dance before dancing freelance, most recently performing in Jeanine Durning's 'Last Shelter' for Candoco. She works in varied community contexts, collaborates widely (Quarantine, Lone Twin) and has created several interdisciplinary touring projects including: 'Same Room Same Time' with Grace Surman, 'Night Flying' with David Williams and 'Life Forces' with Phil Smith. Jane is excited to return to Mayfest following 'The Two Day Show' in 2022. Her practice is broad and evolving, always collaborative, and rooted in a desire to increase human connection through movement.
http://www.jane-mason.co.uk/
About Jason Singh
Jason Singh is musician, composer, sound artist, creative facilitator, producer and performer. He works across all art forms and his work is an ongoing exploration and collaboration between the voice, body and music technology.
As well as being a solo artist, Singh also collaborates with a wide variety of organisations, artists and festivals, some of which include the BBC, V&A Museum, British Council, Tate Britain, BFI, Serious, PRS for music, Aldeburgh Music, Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Royal Exchange Theatre, ENO, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Sage Gateshead, Nitin Sawhney, Rokia Traore, Aidan O Rourke, Seb Rochford, Scanner, Tim Exile, Stuart Macallum, Arun Ghosh, Soumik Datta, Shabaka Hutchings, Celtic Connections, Glastonbury festival, Jaipur Literature Festival and the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, to name a few.
http://jasonsinghthing.com
@jasonsinghthing
About Thick & Tight
Thick & Tight is a dance theatre company based in the UK. The company creates a mix of dance, mime, theatre & drag, taking influence from a wide range of historical, political, literary & artistic subjects.
Thick & Tight is co-directed by Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry.
About Charlotte
Charlotte Mclean amalgamates dance theatre, improvisation, voicework, imagination, self-celebration, radical listening and joy. Charlotte is a contemporary dance artist from Arbroath. She trained at London Contemporary Dance School and The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance. She has worked in the UK and internationally with companies including Barrowland Ballet, Curious Seed and Eva Recacha. She is co-founder and creative producer of badbodychaoscode and Die Berner Band, movement bands based in London and Bern. The bands have been worked with The Place, Dazed and Confused, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, V & A London, TANZhAUSBern, Dampfzentrale and more.
Duration: 80 minutes. No interval
Age guidance: 14+
ACCESS
The Mount Without is a wheelchair accessible venue.
There is a ramp leading to the crypt through the gardens on Lower Church Lane. The path wraps around the whole venue so you can access the Main Hall from the same path if you come up from St Michaels Hill loading bay.
Old Park Hill is the best route to go, if going straight to the Main Hall and a ramp is difficult.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)
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