David Hughes Dance

Alessandra Mattana

manager — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:44:16 +0000

Alessandra undertook her Royal Academy Dance exams from 1987-1991. She subsequently went on to perform with companies including: Camaleão Dance Group, Brazil 1993-1995; company de Dançe de Minas Gerais 1995-1998 Brazil; Grupo Corpo Brazillian Dance Theatre 1998-2002; Vienna Volksoper, 2003-2004; DV8 Physical Theatre, London 2005; Dance Alias Cie. Danse, Geneva, 2006. From1995-1999 Alessandra also studied Communication Science at the University Catolica de Minas Gerais.

Alan Lambie

manager — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:37:45 +0000

Alan graduated in 2005 from Edinburgh’s Telford College. He has worked in contemporary dance for Scottish Dance Theatre, X Factor Dance Company, Tartan Chameleon, Bonachela Dance Company and DHDP. As well as contemporary styles he works in London as a commercial dancer on TV shows like Children In Need, The Brit Awards and The Royal Variety Performance. From London and beyond he has worked with clients such as Nike, Ann Summers, CULT Clothing, L’OREAL, Ford, Toyota, GM cars, The Pussycat Dolls, Duffy, Leona Lewis and also Kylie Minogue. He is delighted to be returning to DHDP for a 3rd time.

Touring programme 2009 - 2011

kilroyjames — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:08:20 +0000

(Please click link for more information on the quadruple bill programme) David Hughes Dance is proud to be the Associate Dance Company of The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. For more information on the Traverse Theatre please visit their website. www.traverse.co.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- On the 26th November, 2009 David Hughes delivered his acclaimed solo show 'Map' at the Traverse Theatre as part of their autumn festival. This evening included an unpresidented line up of works by Christopher Bruce, Siobhan Davies, Javier De Frutos and Cesc Gelabert. Following the success of this evening, the company intends to tour this programme of work from March of 2010 onwards, taking in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and then UK wide venues. This is an extremely rare opportunity for venues to programme a world-class evening of choreography by one of the UK's finest exponents of dance. 10 years after its original outting to massive critical acclaim 'Map' still stands alone as a unique and unparallelled collection of works. Tour Dates: - 21st April - Aros, Portree, Isle of Skye - 24th April - Sunart Centre, Strontian - 27th April - Mull Theatre - 6th May - Woodend Barn, Banchory - 4th May - Eastgate Arts Centre, Peebles - 10th May - The Byre Theatre, St Andrews - 17th May - Black Isle Leisure Centre, Fortrose ----------------------------------------------------------------------

THE RED ROOM In the summer of 2009, David Hughes Dance completed a hugely successful tour including a run at The Traverse Theatre as part of its Edinburgh Festival Programme. This was the first time in its history that the Traverse have programmed a Dance Company as part of its Festival Season - history was made! The run of THE RED ROOM was an amazing success, receiving rave reviews and sell-out audiences. The company recieved a Herald award for the production and a Total Theatre Special Commendation. www.theherald.co.uk/search/display.var.2525547.0.angels_fly_off_with_awards.php Pestilence, decadence, grotesquery... David Hughes and Al Seed reunite to present a radically reworked version of their contemporary and visually shocking interpretation of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tale The Masque of the Red Death: Barricaded in his opulent abbey-mansion a prince entertains a party of revellers whilst the world outside teeters on the brink of apocalypse. Weaving a multitude of dance traditions with extreme physical theatre this collaboration is a true horror show for the stage…
“Funny, crude and disturbing – this production stands out.” - The Skinny (*****) “Well-crafted, resonates with wit & intelligence… catch it if you can.” - The Herald (****) "Fast-moving, dramatic, performed with demonic energy and sly polish - this is a triumph for all concerned - it has to tour." - The Herald (****) "Intense and complex... performed flawlessly." - The Financial Times (****) “Savage and elegant dance theatre.” - The Guardian (****) "the stage overflowed with diversity...Hughes has struck gold!" - The Scotsman (****) “Highly skilled, visually exciting and sinister.” - EdinburghGuide.com (****) “The performances are masterful in their control…bold, vulgar, decadent and cruel...both serene and visceral...stunning piece of work." – Thom Dibdin, The Stage "It's a daring piece of physical theatre, a new departure and a great homecoming” – Yorkshire Evening Post (****) "Everything contemporary dance should be ….And the truth is, the jerking, staring-eyed zomboids convulsing across the floor like dying slugs...have been stalking my nightmares ever since." - The Highland Free-time ----------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS OF THE RED ROOM www.theskinny.co.uk/article/96437-the-red-room www.allthefestivals.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/review-the-red-room-traverse-theatre/ www.ft.com/cms/s/2/41e63b8e-868e-11de-9e8e-00144feabdc0.html www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/aug/13/the-red-room-edinburgh-review www.theherald.co.uk/features/features/display.var.2524817.0.Fringe_DancePhysical_Theatre.php www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2009/edinburghfringe/theredroom www.edinburgh-festivals.com/viewreview.aspx?id=467 www.hi-arts.co.uk/default.aspx.locid-hianewpl7.Lang-EN.htm www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/25646/the-red-room-david-hughes-dance Download information for Promoters. (This is a PDF file. You will need Acrobat Reader to view it.) www.davidhughesdance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/promo-pack.pdf ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The autumn tour 2009 took us to the follwing venues. 18th September - Macrobert Theatre, Stirling 24th September - Falkirk Town Hall 25th September - Eden Court Theatre, Inverness 26th September - Macphail Centre, Ullapool 1st October - Howden Park Centre, Livingston 2nd/3rd October - The Arches, Glasgow 5th October - Carriage Works, Leeds 7th October - The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen 10th October - The Byre Theatre, St Andrews In 2010 the company will embark on a second phase of UK touring with 'The Red Room' and will also tour the quadruple bill programme with works by Christopher Bruce, Siobhan Davies, Rafael Bonachela and Tanja Liedtke.

The Red Room

kilroyjames — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:42:39 +0000

David Hughes is one of the UK’s most acclaimed dancers, having worked with DV8 Physical Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Company, London Contemporary Dance Theatre and Siobhan Davies Dance Company.

Al Seed is Artistic Director of the ‘Conflux’ project, Creative Associate of The Arches and was the winner of a Fringe First 2004, and a Herald Angel 2008 for ‘The Fooligan’.

David Hughes Dance is supported by The Scottish Arts Council and The Traverse Theatre.

(Parental Caution: contains scenes of mild sex and violence)

“Fast-moving, dramatic, performed with demonic energy and sly polish - this is a triumph for all concerned”
The Herald

“A national treasure… how differently he performs from any other male of his generation”
The Guardian (on David Hughes)

“…one of Scotland’s most respected physical theatre exponents…”
The Scotsman (on Al Seed)

Photo credits: Guy Veale

Choreography David Hughes
Director Al Seed
Lighting Design Alberto Santos Bellido
Sound Design Guy Veale
Costume Design Eve Lambert

» Download the Technical Specification
This is a PDF file, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.

Stuart Bowden

kilroyjames — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:03:55 +0000

Stuart Bowden graduated from the Northern School of Contmporary Dance with a first class honors degree in 2000.

He has since been privileged to work with David Hughes Dance Company, Earthfall Physical Theatre, Diversions The Dance Company of Wales, Gilmore Productions and more. Stuart was recently chosen to be part of the exclusive, National Theatre professional development programme where he has been refining his skills and knowledge in Arts Management. Stuart’s mentor is Deborah Bull,

Stuart is a Gemini, who likes tea and his toast done on one side. Stuart finds inner peace not only on stage but in gardening.

Favourite quote, “Live life before it lives you”.

Seeta Patel

kilroyjames — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:03:27 +0000

Born in London, Seeta began training under the guidance of Kiran Ratna in 1990 and has since worked with a range of Bharata Natyam and contemporary dance professionals including Mavin Khoo, Professor C.V. Chandrashekar, Chitraleka Bolar, Pushkala Gopal, Liz Lea and Darshan Singh Bhuller. She has toured with Kiran Ratna’s company (UK) and the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company (Canada and America). Seeta joined Mavin Khoo Dance as a founder member for Parallel Passions in 2003. She continued with the company in its production Chandra Luna (2005). Seeta has also performed as a company member for Nina Rajarani’s Shristi (UK tour) and Angika (Europe), as well as working for Liz Lea.

As a freelance dancer, choreographer and teacher, Seeta endeavours to deliver a high quality of dance and dance education to a wide range of audiences both nationally and internationally. She has been involved in numerous projects that challenge both the classical dance form she has trained in, as well as contemporary themes and narrative. The world of contemporary South Asian Dance is constantly growing and developing as an integral part of the international dance world and Seeta Patel aims to be a part of producing high quality and thought provoking work.

Lina Limosani

kilroyjames — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:00:29 +0000

Upon graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1999, Lina became a member of Garry Stewart’s AUSTRALIAN DANCE THEATRE (ADT) from 2000-2005, where she performed in Birdbrain, The Age of Unbeauty, Nothing, Plastic Space, Attention Deficit Therapy and Held. Lina toured extensively nationally and internationally with the company. In 2004 she was nominated for a GREEN ROOM award for her performance in The Age of Unbeauty at the Melbourne Festival. In 2003, she was awarded the EMERGING ARTIST award by the Adelaide Critics Circle for her works in ADT’s in-house choreographic seasons of “IGNITION”, and has gone on to create her own works independently. Since leaving the company, she has performed in works such as Narelle Benjamin’s ‘Out of water”, Lucy Guerin’s “Structure and Sadness”, Troy Mundy’s “Green Demon”, Gideon Obarzanek’s “Glow” and Shona McCullagh’s (NZ) “Mondo Nuovo – A glimse of a new world”. Lina recently received funding to develop her dance film title “This time”.

Lina’s involvement with David Hughes Dance is supported by OzCo, The Australian Council for the Arts.

Al Seed

kilroyjames — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:59:14 +0000

Al Seed is a director, writer and performer. He is also the Artistic Director of the Conflux Project, head tutor for The Diploma in Physical Theatre at The Adam Smith College and Creative Associate of The Arches, Glasgow. He was the winner of a Herald Angel Award 2008 and a Fringe First 2004, and enjoys ongoing collaborations with such companies as David Hughes Dance and Moscow’s Blackskywhite. His work involves the combination of physical theatre and dance, often with original text. More info at www.alseed.net

Matt Foster

kilroyjames — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:02:54 +0000

Administrative Director
Matt Foster is a self-taught breaker by trade. He co-founded Random Aspekts b-boy crew in 2001 and continues to compete and perform, both nationally and internationally, with the group. He first experimented with contemporary dance under the direction of Frank McConnell when he joined Freshmess in 2003 - he remained a core-member of this company for four years. He established his own company Cypher with good friend Tony Mills in 2004 and together they continue to explore the connections between b-boy movement and contemporary vocabulary. In 2007 Matt was invited to join David Hughes Dance as a performer and is now also the Administrative Director of the organisation. He also operates as a freelance artist having choreographed for the Traverse Theatre, Aida Karic and Birds of Paradise Theatre and has collaborated as an independent artist with individuals including Sarah Slijfer, Christine Devaney and Michael Popper.

David McInnes-Hughes

kilroyjames — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 10:57:45 +0000

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
David M. Hughes trained at the London Contemporary Dance School from 1983-86. In David’s’ 23 Year career, and to name, but a few, he has worked with DV8 Physical Theatre, Phoenix Dance Company, Siobhan Davies Dance, Rambert Dance Company, Adventures in Motion Pictures, London Contemporary Dance Theatre and Janet Smith and Dancers.
Since 1996, David has toured and performed solo commissions from Christopher Bruce, Robert Cohan, Siobhan Davies, Wayne McGregor, Javier De Frutos, Cesc Gelabert and Pit Fong Loh.
In 2005, David Hughes Dance was formed and, has since commissioned works from Rafael Bonachela, Tanja Liedtke, Al Seed and Hughes himself.

‘I would like to take this time and opportunity to give thanks to my own mentors/superheroes; Marion McInnes-Hughes (my mother), Janet Smith, Bob Cohan, Moshe Romano (my coach), Patrick Harding-Irmer and Anca Frankenhauser (my inspiration), Christopher Bruce, Siobhan Davies, Lloyd Newson and Cesc Gelabert (a man who is incredible, wholesome, generous and spiritual with a heart and knowledge larger than life itself). If anybody feels that they have been unjustifiably excluded give me a call!’ - David M. Hughes, July 2009

Siobhan Davies Dance has created, along with Coventry University, a new online archive of Siobhan Davies’ works. It contains full length films of the work/rehearsals, together with images, text, and commentaries on 36 key dance works. www.siobhandaviesarchive.com