<img src="http://www.ballet-dance.com/200409/imagegallery/logo.gif" alt="" />

NEWS AND FEEDBACK FORUM 2004

Welcome to our forum for news, interviews, reviews and most important your comments, thoughts and whatever about Dance Umbrella 2004. We're delighted to be working with Dance Umbrella for the fourth consecutive year, especially as this year's festival is full of opportunities to see outstanding dance from around the world.

We're going to drip feed introductory material into the forum over the coming week, so it will be worth coming back here regularly. Click on this link to go to the Dance Umbrella website where you can find all the latest news and performance details.

As always there is a wealth of riches to be enjoyed this year and the return of regulars, Merce Cunningham and Mark Morris, will fill the auditoriums without doubt. However some of the smaller events are just as intriguing , including an evening of contemporary dance from Nigerisa and the Cape Verde Islands on 10th and 11th November at The Place [IJODEE DANCE COMPANY (Nigeria) & RAIZ DI POLON (Cape Verde)]. Sue Davies and Kim Brandstrup have new works at The Linbury and at The Barbican's atmospheric Pit Theatre, you can see the Pick Up Performance Company’s new adaptation of Eugene Ionesco’s The Chairs (2 - 4 Nov) choreographed by New Yorker David Gordon.

It's advisable to book early especially for the big names. And remember that the Robin Howard Theatre (The Place as was) rewards early bookers with much cheaper prices.

Enjoy! And Don't forget to POST on Criticaldance. Details of how to do it are in the next posting.

<small>[ 04 October 2004, 02:42 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/whoweare/images/logo-s2.jpg" alt="" />

<big>How To Post on CriticalDance</big>

Now it's your turn. We will be delighted if you want to post a comment about Dance Umbrella 2003.

To post a comment you will need to register, which is easy and free. Click here and follow the steps to register, including agreeing to our Rules, Policies and Disclaimers. You must give a valid e-mail address.

When you have registered, you will be sent a password by e-mail, which enables you to log in. Then to make a posting, you need to click on the "Post Reply" button at the top right of this page; type or copy and paste your comments into the posting box; when you are ready, then press the "Add Reply" button. If you want to edit your posting, you can do so by clicking on the "paper and pencil" icon at the right above your post.

For additional practical information about CriticalDance click here.

Don't worry if you've never written about dance before. Just tell us your reaction to any aspects of the evening, whether good or not.

A few words would be great, but if you want to write more you might like to look at our beginners' guide to reviewing.

Any problems or queries, don't hesitate to contact stuart@criticaldance.com

Don't delay - have your say.

Hopping across the Pond
In The Times Debra Craine welcomes three of America’s top choreographers to Dance Umbrella.


RIGHT from the start, 26 years ago, Americans have been key players in Britain’s Dance Umbrella. It was the avant-garde shenanigans of the New Yorker Douglas Dunn that kicked off the first London-based contemporary dance festival in 1978, and Americans have featured in every Umbrella since.

This year the American lineup is one of the strongest yet, with three of its leading choreographers headed our way. Tomorrow Dance Umbrella opens at the Barbican with Merce Cunningham presenting his latest work, Split Sides, which features commissioned scores from the pop groups Radiohead and Sigur Rós.

click for more

<img src="http://www.ballet-dance.com/200409/imagegallery/logo.gif" alt="" />

Press Release

During Dance Umbrella 2004, over 39,000 ticket-holders saw 17 companies, from 10 different countries, across 7 London venues, making this year’s festival the best attended in Dance Umbrella’s 26 year history. If you were part of this year’s audience, thank you so much for contributing to this all time record.

‘We thought that last year’s celebrations for Dance Umbrella’s 25th Anniversary would be a hard act to follow, so I am delighted that in 2004, we succeeded in bringing quality contemporary dance to more people than ever before.’
Val Bourne, CBE, Artistic Director of Dance Umbrella

During Dance Umbrella 2004 you may have attended any of the 2 world premieres, 9 UK premieres and the UK debuts of 4 international companies featured in the festival. One of these UK premieres was Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut. Performed by the Mark Morris Dance Group at Sadler’s Wells, this spectacular production introduced the best of contemporary dance to thousands of new people. During the height of the festival in London, Dance Umbrella was also on the road with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, bringing the work of the 'Godfather of modern dance' to over 12,000 people in the regions for the first time.

At The Place over half of all performances sold out, with long queues for returns for Yolande Snaith Theatredance (UK), Mal Pelo (Spain) and Philippe Decouflé (France). There were also sell-out performances for Merce Cunningham Dance Company (USA) at The Barbican, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui of Les Ballets C de la B (Belgium/Morocco) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, David Gordon & Valda Setterfield (USA) at The Pit (Barbican) and Carol Brown (UK) at Greenwich Dance Agency. In fact, due to popular demand, extra performances had to be put on for David Gordon and for Carol Brown Dances.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dance Umbrella 2005
Highlights of Dance Umbrella 2005 will include a new duet from Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion, a new piece from Charles Linehan and new work by Michael Clark at The Barbican - all Dance Umbrella co-commissions – along with the return of the Mark Morris Dance Group to Sadler’s Wells with work new to the UK, presented by Dance Umbrella as part of a planned six week national tour. Dance Umbrella 2005 will also feature The French Selection, a diverse programme of small and large scale work by French companies and choreographers, presented in collaboration with the French Embassy and Institut Français in London, and AFAA (Association Française d’Action Artistique). The 2005 festival will run from September to November.

Remember to keep an eye on our plans for 2005 by visiting www.danceumbrella.co.uk in the build-up to next autumn.

Thank you for your support.

With best wishes for 2005,

Dance Umbrella

<small>[ 22 December 2004, 10:48 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>