Urgent search for dancers

As part of the Benchmark project, I will be creating a short piece to be performed as part of ResTec, an evening of dance to raise awareness of AIDS and HIV. For this piece I will need some dancers who are prepared to work fairly quickly and collaboratively. A background in contemporary dance styles is necessary.

Dancers will need to be available for the following dates and times:

Research, creation and rehearsal:
October 17th (10-1pm), 24th (10-1pm), 28th (2-5pm), 29th (10-1pm), 31st (10-1pm)
November 7th (10-1pm), 14th & 21st (time TBC), 28th (10-1pm)

Pre-performance sharing:
Wednesday 16th November OR Thursday 17th November (TBC) (5:30-8:30pm)

Tech and Dress:
Monday 28th and/or Tuesday 29th November (time TBC)

Performance:
Tuesday 29th November (matinee and evening)

Most rehearsals will take place at Space@Clarence Mews. The performance is at Stratford Circus.

Travel expenses within London will be covered and there is an additional (modest) fee available - this will be agreed and finalised upon selection.

If you are interested, please email me at piecebypiecedance@gmail.com with a short introduction of yourself and your availability as soon as possible, preferably before Sunday 16th October.

Despina
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Benchmark

I have been lucky enough to be invited to be part of Benchmark 2016 - 2017, an artist development project supported by NewVIc and Arts Council England. The project will culminate in performances at Stratford Circus Arts Centre (29th November, part of ResTec) and NewVIc (January/February 2017 at the launch of the new theatre).

I am using this opportunity to re-launch Piece by Piece. Although never completely gone, there have been periods when the company has been dormant recently - for many reasons - as well as a recent focus on solo work. But this changes now! For the aforementioned performances, I am creating a short group piece for which I require dancers. This post outlines what I'm looking for, time commitment and what is on offer in exchange.

Choreographic workshops

Despina is opening up her choreographic research process through a series of 3-hour choreographic workshops.

A chance to enhance your own creative process and explore starting points for generating and composing movement. Suitable for those with some dance, movement and/or performance experience.

About the research: following pregnancy and childbirth, Despina underwent an extensive period of recovery culminating in a hysterectomy. The physical, psychological and emotional effects of this process have informed her latest research on the relationship we have with the womb as an organ and as a concept, the impact a dysfunctioning organ can have on the body, the perceived/assumed relationship between womb and womanhood and the impact this can have on people who do not fit the assumption.

All workshops are free and can be taken individually although participation in multiple dates will allow you to develop and build on ideas further in-depth. These are not drop-in sessions - booking is essential.

All questions are encouraged: before, during and after!

To reserve a place or ask a question, please email piecebypiecedance@gmail.com

Dates:
 
May
Monday 9th (1-4pm)
Monday 16th (2-5pm)
Saturday 28th (1-4pm)

June
Wednesday 1st (1-4pm)
Thursday 2nd (1-4pm)
Friday 3rd (1-4pm)
Monday 13th (1-4pm)


Location: Clarence Mews, Hackney, London E5

Audition Notice

Piece by Piece company are seeking dancers for upcoming projects in 2012 which include: 

• A research project (March to May) followed by an intensive 7-day residency (2nd week of May)
• A fundraising event (May/June)
• An overseas project/performance (July/August and subject to funding)
• A performance/series of performances (October/November)

Applicants must have a good grounding in dance technique whatever the style, and they should be open to playing an active part in the creative process. All shapes, sizes and ages welcome. Current students and recent graduates are encouraged to apply. Rehearsals are held in Hackney and North London, and we are committed to being as flexible as possible around our dancers' other commitments. It is completely acceptable for dancers to only be able to commit to one or some of the above projects, details will be given following the audition.

What you get:

• Performance opportunities in London and internationally
• Experience of Piece by Piece's style of creating and performing
• A chance to network with other dancers and choreographers
• Support and assistance for other projects you wish to undertake

This is currently an unpaid role, however there are plans to raise funds to cover travel and expenses. 

The audition will be held on Saturday 31st March at 11:30 am in North London, details will be given to successful applicants.

Please send us your bio/CV at piecebypiecedance@ymail.com by the end of Wednesday 28th March. You will be notified by the end of Thursday 29th.
Do contact us if you have any questions.

You can find out more about Piece by Piece here: http://www.facebook.com/piecebypiecedance

 

Forever 27 - Fans, you are needed!

Piece by Piece choreographer Despina Mavrou has started a new and exciting choreographic project, for which she needs lots of input. Here's what she's doing and what she needs from you:

I am at the early stages of research for my new choreographic project. The starting point for this is the Forever 27 club, the group of musicians that died aged 27. The club includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain (and more recently Amy Winehouse). More specifically, I am looking at the fans’ points of view.

As a Doors/Nirvana fan I’m focusing more on Jim and Kurt, but all stories and contributions are absolutely needed! So here is what I would like from you, friends and fellow fans:

• Do you remember where you were, what you were doing, how you felt, when you heard Kurt Cobain died? (or any of the others)
• Have you ever visited Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris? What happened? What was it like? (the more detail the better)
• Do you have any personal stories, experiences or anecdotes relating to any songs by any members of the Forever 27 club? Anything, no matter how big or small will do - you can always keep it anonymous if you want!
• Which song is your favourite? Why? Which songs/lyrics do you find are the most significant to you? What exactly do they signify?
• Do you think being a fan has had an effect on your attitude to, or outlook on, life and death? How?
• What is your attitude/feeling towards other fans? Were you ever influenced by other fans or did you influence them in any sort of way into feeling, thinking or doing something in a different way?
• Do you have any other thoughts about the club as a whole, or about any of the individual members? 

Use the comments to answer one, some or all of the questions, or to ignore them and just say what you want! You can post anonymously if you want. All comments welcome!

As some of you are already aware, online contributions often form a crucial part of my work. I would like to recognise your contribution to my research in any future showings of the work I create, so if you want your name included, do let me know!

Despina

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New for 2012

A longer update will follow, but for now this is what will be happening with Piece by Piece in (the rest of) 2012:

• An audition for dancers (March)
• A company relaunch (April)
• A research project (March to May) leading into an intensive 7-day residency (2nd week of May)
• A fundraising event (May/June)
• An overseas project/performance (July/August and subject to funding)
• A performance/series of performances (October/November)

The next update will give more information on the audition and the research project.

New year, new project

A collection of incredible images has inspired my new project. The general theme is abandonment, to leave or be left behind.

• I am looking for dancers of all ages, genders, sizes. Some contemporary dance training and a willingness to participate actively in the creative process are necessary. You need to be available from Sunday 10th to 17th April every day (about 4 hours a day, mostly afternoon and early evening excluding Monday 11th). The piece will be developed in Hackney, London in the space of a week, culminating in a studio performance. There might be possibilities for future performances.

Please send an email to piecebypiecedance@ymail.com by the end of Saturday 9th April with a short paragraph about yourself and your previous dance experience. Feel free to also email any questions you may have. Do make sure you include a mobile number so I can text you the address of where we will be working.

As we are not funded, sadly there is no money - even for travel expenses. However it will be a great opportunity for gaining further dance/performance experience and working in a truly fantastic space for a week!

The Big Three... oh.

Work is under way to bring all the ideas I've had, along with your stories, thoughts and general input, onto the stage. I have been rehearsing with Rachel Drew as part of a ten week creative residency at Space@Clarence Mews, and we have already come up with a structure for the piece. Here's the blurb for it:

"Perceptions of age, combined with issues of unfulfilled career potential, insecure housing, the dreaded biological clock and the way all these things affect women in particular invade the stage while Despina and soon-to-be-thirty Rachel try to make their way through life's hiccups to get to that mythical place of happiness/ stability/ accomplishment (delete as preferred). Will they make it? Does this place exist, or is the whole project one big circular argument?"

30

Some of you may be aware that last September I turned thirty. "So what?", you may ask. "Big deal". Well, that's what I thought until it happened. It's just a number and it shouldn't affect me really. But it did. So I decided to deal with it by turning it into a positive thing, i.e. create a piece about it. Here's what I'm asking of you, dear friends, family and colleagues:

Have you recently turned thirty? What difference did it make in how you see yourself or how you see the world around you? What did you expect before turning thirty and to what extend were your expectations met? How much do you think conventional ideas about youth and age have affected you in relation to being thirty?

Is thirty a distant memory? How do you remember behaving when you first passed the threshold of thirty? What advice would you give me or anyone else turning thirty? Does being older really make you wiser? If yes, how?

Are you so young that thirty seems ages away? Have you set yourself goals to achieve by the time you turn thirty? What are they? What's your understanding of age? How do you view people who are thirty and over?

Same deal as always, you can post anonymously if you want. Stories and anecdotes are especially welcome, as are thoughts, ideas and all sorts of philosophical ramblings.

xxx
Despina

time and other pressures....

... mean that a blog is at the bottom of a very long list of things to do! However, I feel there should be a brief update as to what we did with the information we asked you to provide. So here goes:


We have (pretty much) put together a piece called "How Far Are You Willing To Go?" - it's a short dance theatre piece that will be performed as part of Cloud Dance Festival: Dream On on Sunday 28th September at Chisenhale Dance Space. The company now consists of 6 performers, Meaghan Brister, Iris Calheiros, Berit Kuennecke, Despina Mavrou, Paula So Man Siu and Emily Waits. We are using music by my dear friend Sudha, whose work inspired the piece's title as well as its tempo.


Following the performance, we will probably be taking a break for a while. I am about to start a PGCE (teacher training), which is pretty much a full-time thing X2 for a year. But Piece By Piece will be back sooner or later, so don't you worry!

Thanks for reading, now go to the Cloud Dance Festival website and buy your tickets!

xxx
Despina

in the name of beauty...

Welcome to this, the first post on our blog! Primary reason for starting it? Other interactive sites (I won't name any names, you and I know what they are) don't allow for anonymous comments. Why, you ask, would we want that? Read on...

Piece By Piece Company (aka Berit and Despina, plus various other lovely people) are back in action! We're in the beginning stages of creating a new piece (unnamed as yet) and we need your help! Here's the deal:

As women, we have various habits - or rituals - that we go through daily, or regularly in the name of beauty (or health and fitness, or losing weight etc.) Some are generally widespread, e.g. plucking eyebrows, putting on make up, or shaving legs/bikini line, and some are less so (does anyone remember the Sex and the City episode when Charlotte wanted privacy so she could look at her pores through the magnifier?).

What we'd like is to hear from all you women out there about what your rituals are. Sincerity is key - hence the option to stay anonymous. We would like anything from a couple of sentences to a paragraph, and just keep it simple and descriptive (e.g. "Every morning before breakfast I run 6 times up and down the stairs, and then drink 5 glasses of water. I then have 20g of bran flakes with 175ml of milk and two and a quarter strawberries.")

Men are welcome to contribute, either by sharing an outsider's observation of such rituals or by pointing women from family, friends or colleagues to this blog.

We will keep you updated on the progress of the piece!

xxx
Despina