<img src="http://www.randomdance.org/random/content/education/community_and_education/past_projects/icefloe/icefloe.jpg" alt="" />
<small>"ICE floe" - Random Dance, Christmas Youth Dance Project - an annual collaboration between Laban and Greenwich Dance Agency. Image by heure d'été productions</small>

Press Release 30 May 2003

DanceEast to Host British Dance Edition 2004 in Cambridge

In 2004, DanceEast, the National Dance Agency for the East of England, will be hosting British Dance Edition on behalf of ANDA (The Association of National Dance Agencies). British Dance Edition (BDE) is a biannual performance platform showcasing performances for national and international dance promoters and venue managers from across Britain and around the globe. BDE2004 brings the best of British Dance to Cambridge for 3 days: 29, 30, 31 January.

Dance companies and artists who have been invited to participate in BDE 2004 have been selected on artistic excellence and represent a wide range of styles and genres. The full programme will be announced on 1 August.

Companies already confirmed include Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance Company, Rambert Dance Company, Arc Dance Company, Jasmin Vardimon, George Piper Dances (aka TV’s The Ballet Boyz), Scottish Dance Theatre in a new work by Beth Cassani, as well as the companies of Russell Maliphant, Fin Walker, Henri Oguike, Shobana Jeyasingh and Richard Alston. BDE2004 will feature late night programmes of work by Welsh artist Eddie Ladd, and Wendy Houston. ‘Rising Stars’ of British Dance featured in the programme include Jerwood award winner Maresa von Stockert, LeaDance, Sonia Sabri, Mavin Khoo and Robert Hylton. A Futuretec programme will feature Darren Johnston and Tom Sapsford.

Partner venues for BDE2004 include The Corn Exchange, the Cambridge Arts Theatre, the Mumford Theatre, West Road Concert Hall and the Junction CDC.

At BDE2004, the artistic programme will be complemented by a large trade fair in the Guildhall in the centre of Cambridge, providing a central meeting point for BDE delegates, dance artists and the general public. Dance classes and workshops will take place around the city, which will be open to local dancers as well as BDE artists.

New to BDE 2004, are a series of performances reaching out into rural communities in Cambridgeshire. DanceEast is working in partnership with Cambsdance to present performances and outreach workshops at Impington Village College, Comberton Village College and Witchford Village College. These venues will be hosting performances of ‘Alpha’, Random Dance Company’s new children’s work, a mixed bill by Birmingham-based company BareBones in a programme of work by William Tuckett, Kim Brandstrup, Robert Moses, Carol Brown and Frantic Assembly, as well as New Art Club.

As a warm-up to the 3-day event, The Arts Picturehouse will be showing selected dance films in the weeks leading up to BDE2004. The Arts Picturehouse will also be a venue for daily morning ‘Dance for the Screen’ discussions with, among others, Wayne McGregor and Katrina McPherson. The cinema will also be used as a performance venue, with Wendy Houston presenting her new piece ‘Don’t be Disheartened’.

As part of its commitment to wider access, DanceEast is joining forces with The Junction and Anglia Polytechnic University to broadcast all of the Mumford Theatre performances live to screens at various locations throughout Cambridgeshire. These performances will also be broadcast via a live webcast on the internet.

BDE2004 is supported by the Arts Council of England, Arts Council England East Lottery Fund, Scottish Arts Council, the British Council, Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, ANDA (the Association of National Dance Agencies), Cambsdance, the Junction CDC, Queens’ College, Cambridge University, Anglia Polytechnic University, Borders Bookstore and City Screen.

For more information about British Dance Edition 2004 and to join the mailing list please contact Alex Roberts, BDE2004 Project Manager at alex@bde2004.co.uk +44 (0)1223 246 861or Assis Carreiro, Director, DanceEast at assis@danceeast.co.uk +44 (0)1473 639 234.

Mailing Address: British Dance Edition, c/o Cambsdance, 6 The Old Maltings, 135 Ditton Walk, Cambridge, CB5 8PY.

<small>[ 02 June 2003, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

British Dance Edition, which takes place every two years, is one of the most important events for the the UK dance profession, but is little known to audiences.

Here is the link to our coverage of British Dance Edition 2002

<img src="http://www.ballet-dance.com/200401/articles/images/images/clip_image001.jpg" alt="" />
<small>Random Dance in "Alpha", image by Ravi Deepres</small>

Monday 24 November 2003

Press Release

STAGE SET FOR BRITISH DANCE EDITION 2004 IN CAMBRIDGE:
A THREE DAY SHOWCASE OF THE BEST OF BRITISH DANCE

DanceEast is finalising the preparations for 30 of Britain's finest dance companies to perform in Cambridge at British Dance Edition 2004, from the 29th to 31st January. This is the first event of its kind in Cambridge, and the 2004 Edition is the largest British Dance Edition to be held in recent years. The timetable includes eighteen performances across six different venues in Cambridge, a trade fair at the Guildhall, a professional development programme for local dancers and BDE artists, and a programme of dance workshops and performances suitable for flexible spaces and young audiences in rural Cambridgeshire.

BDE is a showcase for dance promoters and venue managers from across the UK and around the globe and will include performances open to the public at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, Cambridge Arts Theatre, West Road Concert Hall and Comberton Village College.

Cambridge Arts Theatre will host 3 matinee performances. On Thursday 29th January TV's The Ballet Boyz (aka George Piper Dances) will perform works by leading choreographers Matthew Bourne, Michael Clark, Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant and Christopher Wheeldon. Friday 30th January sees a triple bill of new South Asian dance by Sonia Sabri, Mavin Khoo and Liz Lea - rising stars in the new generation of artists making their mark on the UK dance scene. On Saturday 31st January there will be a mixed bill of new work from CandoCo Dance Company, Maresa von Stockert and Scottish Dance Theatre.

The Cambridge Corn Exchange will be host to a triple bill every night of BDE2004 featuring performances by many of the leading names in British dance. Highlights include a new quintet from Russell Maliphant Company, Arc Dance Company's duet Afsked, featuring the Royal Ballet's Zenaida Yanowsky, and Richard Alston Dance Company's Overdrive. Henri Oguike Dance Company presents a new work White Space and Random Dance performs Wayne McGregor's virtuoso Polar Sequences. Also featured at the Corn Exchange is Rambert Dance Company's Linear Remains by Rafael Bonachela, who returns to create his 3rd work for Rambert, following his success choreographing Kylie's world tour Fever.

As part of the programme of work in venues outside of Cambridge, DanceEast is presenting Random Dance's Alpha at Comberton Village College. Alpha is a work for children aged 8 years and over and their families, set in a virtual animal sanctuary where forgotten species live on, and combines digital imaging with Wayne McGregor's striking choreography.

West Road Concert Hall will be transformed from Concert Hall to dance space especially for BDE2004 in a partnership with British Harlequin PLC. Walker Dance Park Music will perform Silence of the Soul, with choreography by award-winning Fin Walker, and live music by composer Ben Park.

DanceEast will be working with local technology company Camart, to make performances at the Mumford Theatre available on the web and on screens around Cambridge. Performances will be broadcast and webcast live at
12 noon and 11pm daily. DanceEast is also working with Anglia Polytechnic University to produce a compilation video of all 30 companies performing at BDE2004, which will be available on the BDE website, www.bde2004.co.uk from January.

A daily programme of classes and workshops will be lead by choreographers and dance artists: Liz Lea (LeaDance), Martin Lawrance (Richard Alston Dance Company) and Fin Walker (Walker Dance Park Music). Classes will be available free to BDE2004 artists and local professional dancers in the Fitzpatrick Hall, Queens' College.

BDE2004 is supported by Arts Council England, Scottish Arts Council, Cambridge City Council, South Cambs District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, British Council, ANDA, Cambsdance, The Junction CDC, The Mumford Theatre, The Corn Exchange, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Queens' College (Cambridge University), Anglia Polytechnic University, Kettle's Yard, British Harlequin PLC, workindance, Camart LTD, Homerton College (Cambridge University), The Arts Picturehouse, Homerton College (Cambridge University), Borders Bookstore, Addenbrookes Hospital.

<small>[ 15 December 2003, 05:58 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

BDE2004 kicked off today and over the next 3 days will present the cream of UK dance to a worldwide collection of producers, bookers and folk like me.

The first day's programme gives you some idea of the range of companies performing here:

Protein Dance
George Piper
Random Dance
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company
Phoenix Dance theatre
Richard Alston Dance Company
Wendy houston Madame Gallina

and that's just the first day!!

George Piper in the guise of Michael Nunn even made a little video for the occasion and said that they had got some bookings from their last appearance at BDE2002. So it does work.

More later - another performance beckons.

I hope some of those bookers will book performances in the San Francisco Bay Area - I certainly enjoyed the most recent UK export that I saw (Akram Khan).