<B>RUSSELL MALIPHANT: WORKING WITH THE FLOW</B><P>WHO: RUSSELL MALIPHANT COMPANY<BR>WHEN: THU 25 - FRI 26 OCTOBER<BR>WHERE: THE PLACE THEATRE<BR>TICKETS: 020 7387 0031<P><BR>Not every choreographer can, nor wants to, describe their work. "Whenever possible I don't," says Russell Maliphent. "I'd rather show someone." Nevertheless, being an accommodating man, he indulges the request. "It's about gravity-based flow, weight and qualities of movement. Classical dance is traditionally light, and contemporary more to do with relating to the earth. I'm trying to draw on and expand that range. It's really a synthesis of forms,'" he sums up, citing contact improvisation, capoeira, t'ai chi and acrobatics as other ingredients in his choreographic melting pot.<P>Maliphant began choreographing during a fairly unrewarding stint as a member of Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet [now the Birmingham Royal Ballet]. It was, he recalls, just a brief workshop solo. "I absolutely hated what I did because it was so cliched. But that was all I knew." A major liberating influence was an award-winning collaboration with veteran independent dancer-choreographer Laurie Booth. "He taught me a lot about the use of space," Maliphant says, "and instantaneous choreography." Another career high was his participation in DV8's unforgettable Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men. When Ricochet [also part of Umbrella 2001] subsequently asked him to make a work for them, he gratefully accepted. <P>Maliphant has since become an established British independent himself, with international credentials. He is also now a qualified practitoner of Rolfing. "It's completely changed how things are for me. I keep the practice going all the time, five to twenty clients per week. Prior to that I would be six weeks rehearsing, six touring and teaching two weeks here and there. I love teaching, and I toured for over eighteen years. But I reached a time where I wanted to have a social life, and more roots in London.' He has also begun to raise a family. Apart from the greater financial stability and lifestyle continuity Rolfing provides, he's pleased to be "still working with the flow, because Rolfing is about how energy moves in people's bodies."<P>Maliphant knows about bodies and their presentation onstage, enough so that he's lost the ability to just sit back and enjoy a dance performance. His critical radar as a dance-maker is always on. He speaks of going deeper into movement patterns used in previous dances, about utilising arms knots ('Like Celtic knots, but with the arms'), the acts of dropping and twisting and the influence video editing has had on his knack for cutting a dance into shape. Working with lighting designer Michael Hulls, he has devised motion driven and partnered by light. He has also received music from smart composers like Matteo Fargion and Andy Cowton.<P>With touring and residency links in England, Canada and France, an Umbrella commission and an Arts Council Fellowship of £30,000 over a two-year period, for Maliphant all systems are go. In early May he had yet to begin work on either a still-to-be-cast men's trio or a duet for himself and partner Dana Fouras, both of which will be seen during Umbrella 2001. The latter is an outgrowth of Maliphant's solo Two, which he and Fouras have each performed. "It was the same vocabulary - extension through the arms and qualities of liquid, fluid movement - but very different. We've worked together now for four years. In size and shape we're well-matched, so the balance between us can be quite good."<P><P>------------------<BR>This interview was posted by Stuart Sweeney on behalf of Donald Hutera.<P>Donald Hutera writes regularly on dance and arts for The Times, Evening Standard, Time Out, Dance Europe, Dance Magazine (US) and Dance Now. He is co-author, with Allen Robertson, of The Dance Handbook.<P>This interview first appeared in either the Spring or Autumn 2001 editions of Dance Umbrella News. <BR> <BR>Join Dance Umbrella's mailing list to receive future editions of Dance Umbrella News. <BR>Call: 020 8741 5881 <BR>Email:
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<BR><small>« Compact physicality and unbelievably weightless, fluent movement... Maliphant walks the fine line between dance and the visual arts (Ballet International Tanz Aktuell)»</small><P><BR>In Continental Europe and North America Maliphant is one of the most sought after UK dance artists. He is greatly appreciated in the UK by the dance profession and most critics, but is not as well known as he deserves. His own astonishingly fluid dance style, his innovative choreography and his ability to collaborate with other artists, especially lighting designer Michael Hulls, makes this ex-Royal Ballet performer something special.<P>If you haven't seen him before, do go. Chances are it will be a treat. <P>Here are the calendar details from the <A HREF="http://www.danceumbrella.co.uk/menu.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>Dance Umbrella website</B></A>. Click on the coloured dates for programme information and on the venue name for theatre details. <P><A HREF="http://www.times-archive.co.uk/news/pages/tim/98/04/21/timartdan01001.html?1376249" TARGET=_blank><B><BR>Debra Craine</B></A> reflects the superlatives that are so often applied to Maliphant.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited September 28, 2001).]