Immersion in Place, our first project as a company, aims to investigate how artists translate elements of their native culture into contemporary creation.
Our program combines a range of performance styles from abstract and poetic to more lively, theatrical and sarcastic. The focus shifts between the music and the dance as the work plays with physical and aural relationships.
Who are we?
Sounding Motion is a new company of musicians, dancers, choreographer and composer. Its seven members are graduates from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London Contemporary Dance School, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Laban and the Duncan Centre Conservatory.
Our mission is to demonstrate the relationship between the two art forms: how one informs the other in terms of rhythm, coordination and timing and how the dual focus on musicians and dancers enhances the audience's sensory experience.
Co-directors Stephen Upshaw, Benjamin Graves and Imogen Bland worked together on previous projects and share the same interest in exploring where music and dance meet. They have created Sounding Motion in order to further investigate this interactive process and explore its boundaries in new ways.
This project is supported by Dance Digital as part of the emerging artists scheme.
Find out more about us here:
www.soundingmotion.com
This Project:
Having worked together individually, we are incredible excited to combine our previous experiences to bring our collective artistic vision to life.
Immersion in Place is composed of pieces for viola, percussion and dancers that explore three distinct cultures and how contemporary creators relate to their roots. The chosen musical pieces, Luciano Berio's “Naturale”, Tigran Mansurian's “Taghs” and a commissioned score by our own composer Ben Graves, all refer to folk music of the composers' respective countries - Sicily, Armenia and Britain.
The choreography is influenced by the native dance of each country. At once violent, poignant, playful and austere, the movement reflects on both the attractive and dark sides of each place’s history.
To add an extra challenge, we have incorporated a twist involving public participation. The public can vote online to determine the content of the new piece based on British culture. The questions act as keys to creative decisions. After learning your opinions, the results are collected and Imogen and Ben shape their British piece based on the data.
Join our creative process and cast your votes here!!
www.soundingmotion.com/page-1#!__page-1/immersion-in-place
We intend on performing Immersion in Place in at least three different parts of the UK in order to reach as large and diverse an audience as possible. We are currently working with venues in London, Oxford, Birmingham and Hertfordshire - watch www.soundingmotion.com for detailed performance dates!
How you can help?
In order to make Immersion in Place a successful and professional-quality production, we need your help!
All the funds raised go directly to the production-related expenses. The company members have generously given their time and some personal finances but this alone does not cover the larger costs associated with venue hire, transporting percussion instruments, rehearsal space, lighting technicians, costume and marketing.
If you would like to get involved at any sponsorship level, you will receive something from us in return! Please see the range of rewards available.
If you are unable to donate money you can still helps us out by spreading the word: tell your friends, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter!!!
We hope this is the beginning of many projects to come for the company and are thrilled to be able to welcome you into the Sounding Motion family!
How to get in touch?
Email or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter.
Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you at our shows!
Imogen, Ben and Stephen
Useful websites:
www.soundingmotion.com
www.stephenupshaw.com
www.ideastap.com/People/benjamingravescomposer
www.ideastap.com/People/imogen
The owner of this project has not made any updates yet.
