If Play Is Play…
Following its critically acclaimed debut performance of Three & Four Quarters last year, HeadSpaceDance returns to the Royal Opera House’sLinbury Studio Theatre with If Play is Play… a new programme of dance theatre, commissioned by the Royal Opera House. Directed and curated by Charlotte Broom and Christopher Akrill, the evening’s programme includes three UK premieres from playwright and theatre director, Matthew Dunster; Associate Choreographer at Nederlands Dans Theater, Johan Inger; and Artistic Director of Protein, Luca Silvestrini.
HeadSpaceDance was founded in 2012 by British dancers Charlotte Broom and Christopher Akrill. With over 20 years experience, dancing with Cullberg Ballet, Northern Ballet and in a variety of productions at Sadler’s Wells, ROH2 and in the West End, Broom and Akrill have taken on a new venture as curators and producers.
Matthew Dunster’s work The Days The Nights The Wounds and The Night asks the dancers to consider what it is to be a dancer in a city like London and how it affects the rest of their lives. These ideas are explored through an innovative choreographic process using psychological techniques and theatrical game playing.
Luca Silvestrini’s new work Before the Interval questions the role of performers and their relationship to the stage. With a focus on future ambitions, audience expectations and a missing cast member, the piece marks the end of the first half of the evening and the beginning of the second. Completing the programme is an excerpt from Couple of Moments by Johan Inger; originally created for NDT3 in 1998 Inger has reworked the excerpt for HeadSpaceDance.
The evening’s programme features dancers Clemmie Sveaas, recently nominated for the National Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Best Female Performance Modern for her role in Witch-Hunt for Bern Ballet; Jonathan Goddard, whose credits include performances with Rambert, Richard Alston Dance Company and most recently in Mark Bruce Company’s Dracula; Gemma Nixon, who has performed with Rambert, Russell Maliphant Company and most recently with Company Chameleon. Christopher Akrill completes the line-up in the evening’s programme.