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Common Ground Archive Past News Artistic Director wins an Award Update Projects Young Roots: The project is now completed and was successful. There were two performances, one at the Green Room in Manchester, and the other at the Pacific Road Arts Centre in Birkenhead. Well done to all four young choreographers, Kaylee Bonnon, Fenfen Huang, Jenny Myatt and Rebecca-Anne Withey! Blackpool Performance Harrow Disability Arts Festival 07 Common Ground visits Sevilla, Spain New Baby Projects 1) Liverpool Deaf Life (Supported by Liverpool Culture Company) - This project is on-going and progressing well. We have just finished filming and are
now editing. The next step is to create dance pieces from the stories shared with the team. 2) Young Roots (supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund)- 4 Young Choreographers are now working to progress this project. Four different communities: Liverpool Music, Liverpool Deaf History, Gay / Lesbian Community in NW, and Chinese Community in Liverpool (the oldest 'Chinatown' in Europe). They will create four different pieces and an integrated show which will be performed next February / March 2008. There may be opportunities to be involved with this project - please let us know if you would like further information. Please keep your eye on this project. Walsall Workshop Oldham Workshop Simeon visited Edinburgh Lithuania Trip Spanish Trip (supported by Arts Council England, North West) North West Tour Our recent tour of the North West was a great success, all the performances went very well and were well received. Audience numbers exceeded expectations. Sadly the performance in Blackpool had to be cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control - we will be returning to Blackpool in the near future - details will be on the website as soon as the date and venue are confirmed. Performance - West Bromwich We were particularly pleased that so many Deaf people attended this performance - although Contemporary dance was new to many, the feedback was wonderful. Simeon Invited to Gallaudet Our Administrative Director, Simeon has just returned from Washington DC. Gallaudet University (the world's only Deaf University) invited him over to give a series of lectures about Social Enterprise and how Common Ground is adopting this business model. He was also their guest of honour for International Awareness Week. New Projects Two new projects will soon be starting.
Tour Begins The mini-tour of the Northwest began on November 16th with the performance of the touring triple bill at Thornton Little Theatre. The three performances were; Breaker, Men and Demon and Places that Pass. UN International Day of Disabled People Common Ground was invited to perform at this festival organised by the Wolverhampton Disability Network. The Company performed only one work, Breaker; which was given very positive feedback from the audience and organisers. Young Common Ground Performance Our group of emerging young choreographers and dancers performed on November 18th at the Visual Extravaganza - part of this year's Dada Fest. The group continue to work together developing their skills - surely a great investment in the future of Common Ground. Denise Wins Award! Denise Armstrong, Artistic Director, won the Artists' Choice Award at this year's Dada Fest Awards Dinner held at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool on November 30th 2006. Denise said, "This was a huge surprise, I am very grateful to everyone who voted - thank you!" Well done Denise! Paris Performance a Hit In early July the Company took performances of Breaker and Men and Demons to the ChanDanse des Sourds, Festival du Silence in Paris. The performances were both well received by the audience which came from around the world. The Company made some very useful contacts and links with organisations from Sweden, France and across Europe with whom we hope to work in the future. Common Ground was very proud to represent the UK at this international event. Martin Lawrance Project a great success Martin created a beautiful new work, "Places that Pass", during his 2006 residency. It features a cast of 8 dancers and intricate, dynamic movement. Talking about the work Martin explained, "Each section or scene has no real connection to the next, although each dancer's own identity is seen throughout in a variety of different scenarios. I was inspired to use a simple stage set, the dancers' memories and a background music score which begins in Paris and travels across the world. Places that Pass is a train journey, a holiday, a love affair, a silent movie, a game of cat and mouse, a maze...." The work was premiered to an invited audience on August 4th at the Cornerstone Theatre, Hope at Everton. Audience reaction: 'A sheer joy to watch' Mimosa Festival 06 The Company was invited to perform at the Mimosa Festival in Newcastle on September 1st. The performance of Breaker took place at Dance City and was well received by the audience and organisers who called the show "spectacular" and "unforgettable". New Patrons Common Ground is thrilled to announce the appointment of four new Patrons. Richard Alston CBE (Choreographer) One of the top choreographers in Britain with an exceptional international reputation, Richard not only runs his own dance company, The Richard Alston Dance Company, but is also the Artistic Director of The Place, London. Dr. Paddy Ladd (Academic) A leading researcher in Deaf Studies and Deaf culture, Paddy held the Doctor Chair in Deaf Studies at Gallaudet from 1992-3, and obtained his PhD in 1999. Dr Ladd now works at the University of Bristol specialising in Deaf communities, history and culture, minority cultures, anthropology, cultural studies, post-colonialism. Carl Proctor (Director) Carl has a long and distinguished career in both Theatre and film. He has been a long-term supporter of Common Ground (he is an ex-chair of our Board of Trustees) and we are privileged that he has agreed to formalise his support by becoming our patron. Martin Lawrance (Dancer, Choreographer) Martin has become a good friend of Common Ground over the last two years. He has been the principal dancer with the Richard Alston Dance Company for eleven years and is recognised as an outstanding choreographer in his own right. As both Martin's parents are Deaf he is a natural user of sign language and has played a crucial part in the Company's recent development. Martin Lawrance Residency Underway! From well-attended auditions at the beginning of June, Martin selected a group of 7 dancers (a mix of Deaf and hearing) to work with him during his summer residency with Common Ground. Rehearsals and technical classes are now underway and Martin's new choreography promises to be another wonderful exploration of movement and meaning. The style of the new (as yet untitled) work will be in contrast to last year's piece, "Breaker". Martin's new work will have its debut performance in front of an invited audience in Liverpool on August 4th 2006. If you would like your name to be put on the stand-by list for tickets, please email info@signdance.com. Tickets will only be available if invited audience members are unable to attend. Don't worry if you can't see this performance, the Company will shortly be announcing details of their forthcoming tour. Short Courses in Association with LIPA (Liverpool Institute for the performing Arts) Common Ground is considering running short courses (in association with LIPA) in Contemporary Dance/ Signdance. These courses would be designed to be accessible to both Deaf and hearing people. Before we can go ahead with the courses we need to know how many people would be interested in courses like this. If the short courses are popular and well attended it may mean that we are able to set up an accredited, foundation degree course (2 years, full time). This would be a crucial step in enabling Deaf people with a passion for dance to become qualified and make their careers in dance. If you are interested and would like more information, please email info@signdance.com. Martin Lawrance 2006 Residency We are delighted that Martin Lawrance (choreographer and principal dancer with the Richard Alston Dance Company) is continuing his close association with Common Ground. He begins a six week residency in June until August and will choreograph a new piece for the company which will be part of the Autumn/Spring tour. Open auditions for this project will be held in May and June. Annual General Meeting Common Ground will hold its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday March 15th, 2006 at its studio. The meeting is open to anyone interested, please let us know if you would like to attend in order to ensure sufficient refreshments. AGM will begin at 2pm. New partnership with The Leaveners Common Ground will be working in partnership with The Leaveners on a project in Birmingham running from 13th – 16th February 2006. The project will give young deaf people and their siblings an opportunity to explore dance, physical theatre and working with masks through a series of workshops. (www.leaveners.org). The project will run in Birmingham. Tales of The Boy Nancy The Company will be working in partnership with the Dead Good Poets Society to produce a stage version of The Boy Nancy, a new work by Cath Nichols. Tour dates and venues will be announced when confirmed. The completed stage show will be used as the basis for a film project. Martin Lawrance Project Great Success
Richard Alston CBE was in the audience and called the performance “beautiful”. After the performance the company invited questions from the audience and a lively discussion followed. The Company hopes to develop “Breaker” further and perform again in November 2005. Excerpts from audience feedback: “creative, emotional and sensual: a brilliant expression of identity and talent” “Fantastic! I felt related to this piece!” “balanced, centred, focused, intense” Further images can be found on our Repertoire page. Return to Cumbria The Company is thrilled to be returning to Cumbria again. Following the success of the workshops held in April this year in Carlisle and Whitehaven, the Cumbria Deaf Association has invited Common Ground back to deliver more workshops as part of their Balloon Project with Deaf and hearing children. The workshops will be held over the weekend of 16/17 July, in Whitehaven with Cumbria Deaf Association.
Denise has just returned from a three day visit with SAMPAD in Birmingham. Over the three days some new and exciting future project and development ideas began to emerge. Common Ground is very much looking forward to working in close partnership with this exciting Asian dance company in September/October. JAW JAW performance Success This evening of poetry expression and music was a great success. A full house enjoyed all the performances, including Common Ground’s “Red/Blue”. Common Ground hopes to begin work on a new project with the Dead Good Poets Society in Autumn 2005. Award for Denise! In March, Denise Armstrong, Common Ground’s Artistic Director was recognised for her inspirational work with young people. She was presented with a Merseyside Women Making a Difference Award by Cherie Booth at a ceremony held in the Mersey TV studios. Congratulations to Denise from everyone at Common Ground. Martin Lawrance Project Underway! Seven dancers joined Common Ground for a three-day audition. Martin Lawrance, principal dancer with the Richard Alston dance company, selected 4 dancers to train with him for a month building to a performance of a new “work in progress” choreographed by Martin on the four selected dancers. This is a very rare and exciting opportunity for Deaf dancers to access high-level professional dance training. The work will be premiered to an invited audience on May 20th at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool Cumbrian Project a Great Success Common Ground led a series of Community Dance workshops in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The three workshops were a tremendous success and the Company has been invited to return to do more development work in the future. The project ended with a performance of three works by the Common Ground Sign Dance Theatre Company. DARE (Dance Resource Ltd), the organisers, were pleased with the full house at the final performance. The audience expressed their enjoyment at seeing three such contrasting pieces performed. Big Buzz in the Neptune Common Ground has been working with the Big Buzz after school Club in Everton to create a short dance piece to be included in their production of “Alice in Wonderland”. The show will be performed at the Neptune Theatre, Liverpool on May 27th – contact the Neptune Theatre (0151 709 7844) for ticket information. Spring 2005 Common Ground has had a very busy year! The company has now moved into its new premises in the heart of Liverpool. We are thrilled to now have our own dedicated dance studio. During the Spring the company will also be working with Birmingham based Asian Dance Company Sampad. |
Past Performances and Workshops Festival Escena Mobile 2008 April 22nd - 24th, Seville Spain NW / Nationwide Tour February 24th 2007 Unity Theatre, Liverpool Box office: 0151 709 4988 / text 07840 659 807 March 10th 2007 West Bromwich Town Hall March 16th 2007 Red Brick Theatre March 21st 2007 Contact Theatre Visual Extravaganza, DaDaFest 06 Performance by Common Ground at the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre. Performance in Paris Common Ground has been invited to perform at the International Deaf Dance and Music Festival in Paris. The festival runs from July 5 - 8, with Common Ground performing at the Theatre Monfort on Friday July 7th. For further details visit www.chandanse-sourds.org. Thursday Feb 23rd, Thursday 23rd March, Thursday 20th April JAW-JAM Following the success of the Company's performance of "Red/Blue" at the JAW-JAM event in May, we have been invited to perform at three future events. These will all be held at The Head of Steam (in Liverpool Lime Street Station). Doors will open at 7.30pm and performances will start at 8.30pm. Sign language interpreters will be present. Tickets are £1 and are available on the door. Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August 2005 Common Ground will attend the Dance, Drama, Music Extravaganza 2005, at the NEC Birmingham. The company will be both exhibiting and performing. Tickets - £10 adults £6 children are available from Common Ground. Tickets must be booked before August 7th. 16 & 17 July Workshop for Balloon Project - Cumbria Deaf Association at the Rosehill Theatre, Whitehaven. If you are interested in booking a performance by Common Ground please contact us by email at info@signdance.com. 25 May 2005 8.30 – 10.45 pm Unity Theatre, Liverpool Performance at JAW JAW – a night of poetry, expression and music in different forms. The evening will also have performances from the Dead Good Poets Society and WIMfest (Women’s International Music Festival in Liverpool) 20 May 2005 “In Progress” - Performance of the work created with Martin Lawrence (of The Richard Alston Dance Company) and Common Ground trainees at Unity Theatre Liverpool at 2pm. This performance is by invitation only. 5-6 May 2005 9 April 2005 Hope at Everton Starting 4 April 2005 Starting on April 4th Common Ground will be working for one night per week with the Big Buzz After School Club in Everton. A short piece of sign dance theatre will be created and performed as part of “Alice and Alex in Wonderland”, on May 27th at the Neptune Theatre, Liverpool. 19 March 2005 Workshop and performance at the North West Deaf Association (British Deaf Association) - BSL. Daytime performances will be held at Greenbank Theatre at the University of Central Lancashire. In the evening, performances will be held at Fosters Theatre. February 19 2005 Common Ground perform at Tsunami fundraising show organised by Greater London Deaf Association (BDA) at Drill Theatre, London. To visit their website please go to www.drillhall.co.uk. February to 18 March 2005 Work begins on performance piece with LEMDA (London Ethnic Minority Deaf Association). Performance by LEMDA, choreographed and directed by Common Ground. Starting 15 January 2005 Weekly Sign Dance classes continue every Thursday evening 6-8pm. Open to anyone with an interest in exploring sign dance. Please go to Contact Us.
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 Copyright © 2005 Common Ground Sign Dance Theatre Company |
Four of the company members performed “Breaker” the new work choreographed by Martin Lawrance to a full house at the Unity Theatre Liverpool on May 20th.
Partner with SAMPAD