Its a wet February Saturday in Newlyn and dynamic Cornwall youth dance group All Boys Dance and Panta Rei Danseteater, the Norwegian dance company are about to perform the outcomes of the ground breaking mini-residency on the Wharves and in The Centre in Newlyn.
Panta Rei Danseteater are now regular visitors to Cornwall thanks to Carn to Cove – they have performed “I Wish Her Well”, “House Gran Nabo”, “We Fiction & Private Rite” in spaces from the Liskerrett Centre, to the Guildhall St Ives and Wadebridge Town Hall. This time they performed with three male dancers and two brilliant live musicians cellist (Gustavo Tavares) and pianist/composer (Sverre Indris Joner) on stage a work called “Lullaby”.
“Lullaby” explores the prickly relationships that men and boys develop in their friendship groups….joshing, messing about, facing off, fighting. The male subject matter of the dance “Lullaby” was the springboard for Rob Mennear and Suzy West – dance leaders of All Boys Dance to start working with their group on a curtain-raiser for the show. Johnny (based in England) one of the Panta Rei dancers visited Plymouth and had a pre-tour exchange of themes and dance routines workshop. Suzie, Rob and the boys developed their own work and also work they could perform in the streets and harbour of Newlyn as a open air performance to attract people to the evening show, as well as performing a curtain raiser to the evening.
This visit was supported by the Rural Touring Dance Initiative, a project funded by the Arts Council Strategic Touring Initiative and managed by the National Rural Touring Forum. As part of Carn to Cove’s project Panta Rei also spent Sunday morning working with a further 47 dancers drawn from #HFC Youth Dance at St Austell College. Also Panta Rei have hosted Falmouth University dance students Interns in Oslo to shadow their work.
“The Panta Rei workshops were fantastic. Really well pitched and taught and a fantastic opportunity for the groups to learn the rep. It’s fantastic having 3 strong male dancers lead the sessions. Thank you for bringing them to Cornwall” said Helen Tiplady of Hall for Cornwall youth dance.
As an integral part of top performers’ visits to Cornwall, Carn to Cove works with all loads of partners to offer opportunities for learning and for the public to take part. The next such opportunity we are offering is 5-7th April in the Easter Holiday when Lila Dance will undertake their residency (also in West Penwith at The Centre, Newlyn) with their show “The Deluge”. This is an opportunity for older people to take part in a community dance project and a younger group too – the company will come on Wednesday and Thursday and work with two separate groups (daytime and evening) to explore what happens when a flood interrupts our lives (how apposite in Cornwall). Then on Friday everyone will come together for a dress rehearsal and performance. Villagers and school children in Portreath took part last October in this show and sold out the Memorial Hall …..so get your tickets for Newlyn early and join in.
For further information and to take part (whether you have dance experience or not) sign up with Jerry Drew, the Newlyn Centre or go to our taking part page. Tickets for the performance alone can be bought from Cornish Riviera Box Office.
