Footnote Forte 2013: Cloud In Hand

M e d i a R e l e a s e

FOOTNOTE FORTE 2013

Cloud In Hand

Sometimes it seems as if a dance is already there…

Footnote Dance presents Footnote Forte 2013 – Cloud In Hand – a newly commissioned work by Lisa Densem, with music by Andrew Thomas.

“This particular homecoming has been some years in the planning, and it is wonderful to bring Lisa home. She is a very special New Zealander and has made her name so far away.” - Deirdre Tarrant

Footnote Forte is an initiative to bring outstanding Kiwi dance artists home to make work here in New Zealand and to bring their artistic voice to our stages and dances.

In keeping with this tradition, Footnote Dance is commissioning Berlin based choreographer and past Footnote dancer, Lisa Densem. Footnote joined Densem in October at the Ufer Studios in Berlin to develop a new Forte work that will open in Wellington in March, and tour through to the end of April 2013. Music will be by Wellington composer Andrew Thomas.

Densem has worked extensively with Sasha Waltz & Guests, one of Germany's most successful companies, touring the globe with up to 80 performances a year! Her new work for Footnote is a choreography of discovery. Densem is using techniques that explore the body in context with the surrounding space and searching for moments that emerge from this exploration.

“Sometimes it seems as if a dance is already there, inscribed into the air of a room or a space. We need only do what is there, and what is done has to be done in exactly that way and in that particular place.” - Lisa Densem

World Premiere in Wellington as part of the New Zealand Fringe Festival:

• March 6 & 7 / The Opera House / 8pm / ticketek.co.nz

See www.footnote.org.nz for more details

ENDS

LISA DENSEM

Lisa Densem is a New Zealand performer and choreographer who has been living in Berlin since 1999. A graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance, Lisa worked in NZ for 10 years before moving to Berlin, performing with many choreographers, but most regularly with Douglas Wright and Michael Parmenter. Lisa began developing her own projects in the early 90s, and in 1997 she created her first full length work No Sun, No Rain which won the choreographic award at the Wellington Fringe Festival. The next year she received a stipend from Creative New Zealand to study dance in New York, and shortly afterwards she moved to Berlin to work with the company ‘Sasha Waltz and Guests'. She was involved in the creation of the trilogy series, Koerper, S, and Nobody, in the installation work Inside Out, as well as the opera Medea and numerous site-specific projects. In 2004 Lisa left the full-time ensemble to work independently, and in 2005 she returned to New Zealand to create the work, No Such Place. In 2008, after the birth of her daughter, she created the solo Off with her Head, for the Festival How Do You Are in Bordeaux, France, and in 2009 she began collaborating with the director, Laurent Chetouane, working on two projects, Tanzstuck 4 – Leben wollen (zusammen) and Danton’s Tod. Lisa returned to university in 2011 to do an MA in performance (MA SODA) at the UDK in Berlin.

She returns to New Zealand to make a commissioned work for Footnote Forte in 2013. Music will be by Wellington composer Andrew Thomas. Footnote Forte is an initiative to bring outstanding Kiwi dance artists home to make work here in New Zealand.

Alice Macann

Alice Macann began dancing when she was three, studying ballet and then later modern dance. In 2005 she was accepted into the Junior Associate programme for the New Zealand School of Dance as a contemporary major, beginning her fulltime studies in 2009 and receiving the Katrina Todd scholarship. In 2011 Alice spent time with Tasdance, Expressions Dance Company, Sydney Dance Company, Black Grace, and Australian Dance Theatre. She performed in the New Zealand School of Dance 2011 Choreographic Season Sketch, and choreographed a work called Ignite. She danced in works by Maria Dabrowska, Paul Taylor and Ross McCormack in the New Zealand School of Dance Graduation season. Soon after graduating, Alice performed a duet and solo in New Caledonia choreographed by Victoria Colombus. Alice joined Footnote Dance at the beginning of 2012.

Emily Adams

Emily began dancing at the age of five and trained in ballet and American Jazz. In 2004 she studied contemporary full time at the New Zealand School of Dance. She worked as a freelance dancer, dance teacher, and Pilates instructor in Auckland from 2007-2010. She has worked with Tim Gordon (Company Z), Mary-Jane O’Reilly (Inside Out Productions) and in a variety of commercial dance works. Emily toured with The Cuban Groove Company in 2009, and has performed in the World of Wearable Art Awards (2004, 2010-2012). In 2010 Emily toured with Carol Brown’s Urban Devas, and danced for the Urban Soul Orchestra from London as part of the People in your Neighbourhood tour. She joined Footnote Dance in 2011.

Emmanuel Reynaud

Born and raised in Townsville, Australia, Manu graduated in 2006 from the New Zealand School of Dance, as both a classical and contemporary major. Moving to Europe he worked with Disneyland Resort Paris before moving on to the UK to dance as an apprentice with Diversions, The Dance Company of Wales, then freelancing with RancidAnce in London, performing in

H1-N1( London Bridge Festival) and Mixology (The Cloud Dance Festival at Jacksons Lane Theatre). In 2010 Manu began teaching contemporary and ballet for his parent’s dance school in Townsville. He performed in the improvised opening of the See/Hear/Now Festival and the Ulysses Dance Group production of Giselle. Before returning to New Zealand, Manu was invited as a guest artist with Compagnie Mado in New Caledonia for Bijoux. Manu joined the Footnote team in 2011.

Levi Cameron

Levi started dancing in Sydney at the age of sixteen and then went to Victorian College of the Arts. He then trained at the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington, graduating last in 2011. Choreographers he worked with while a student include Craig Barry, Sarah Foster, Ross McCormack, Malia Johnston and

Lina Limmosani. He was also part of the Okareka programme

Nga Hau E Wha. Levi collaborated with Yan Hau Du on a

work Newton’s Cradle for the New Zealand School of

Dance Sketch choreographic season in 2011,

and joined Footnote dance this year 2012.

Lucy Marinkovich

Born and raised in Wellington, Lucy began dancing at age five at Tarrant Dance Studios, and at age 15 was accepted into the Junior Associate programme of the New Zealand School of Dance and subsequently went on to train fulltime as a contemporary major. She has modelled in the Montana World of Wearable Art Awards since 2005, and has enjoyed performing repertoire by Jiri Kylian and Sarah Foster within New Zealand School of Dance productions. In her final year at the New Zealand School of Dance Lucy undertook secondments with Footnote Dance and Spinning Sun, and travelled to Belgium to study at the P.A.R.T.S Summer School. In 2009 she graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance with a Diploma in Dance Performance. Earlier this year she was awarded the Eileen May Norris Dance Scholarship.

Lucy joined the Company in 2010.

Olivia McGregor

Olivia began dancing in Wellington with Bronwyn Bennett, and was a member of both the Junior Associate Programme and the regional Scholars of the New Zealand School of Dance. She studied full time and graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance in 2010. In her final year Olivia was seconded to

Tasdance, and particularly enjoyed being part of

choreographic works programme Kylian in the New

Zealand School of Dance Graduation season.

She was new to Footnote at the beginning of 2011.

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