Preview: (In)visible Dancing at Stockton town centre

Award-winning dance company Protein returns to Stockton to bring together local residents through a series of outdoor dance performances Luca Silvestrini’s Protein presents a Stockton International Riverside Festival production: (In)visible Dancing Stockton town centre, various times and locations Wednesday 1st – Sunday 5th August 2018 Directed by Luca Silvestrini

Luca Silvestrini is the sharpest of comic choreographers." Guardian

Commissioned by Stockton International Riverside Festival, Luca Silvestrini’s Protein will take over the town centre with their celebrated outdoor show (In)visible Dancing, a series of immersive performance pieces culminating in a flash mob style finale and incorporating non-professional dancers based in the region and members of the local community.

Photo: Daniel Martin

The show, which aims to reconnect individuals with the town and each other in a celebration of dance and community, will see Protein’s professional company take residency for two weeks, working with and performing alongside local apprentice artists and dance groups from the Tees Valley. During the five days of outdoor performances the company will immerse themselves in the day to day town activity, appearing as random, incidental occurrences. The mini-performances will grow in scale, becoming increasingly visible before culminating in a fully-formed finale performance involving over 100 dancers, including any passers-by who have learned the steps.

Councillor Norma Wilburn, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Arts, Culture and Leisure, said: “We’re very excited to welcome Protein’s thrilling dance performance to Stockton in August. SIRF never ceases to amaze and this performance is just one of the many exciting acts you can see at this year’s festival – with around 100 talented performers involved in In(visible) Dancing, including those from local dance groups, it’s going to be an exhilarating spectacle to see on the town centre.”

Luca Silvestrini, Artistic Director Protein said, “We are really excited to come back to Stockton and reconnect with artists and communities we have met through our previous shows and projects in the region. This time, we invite everyone to join us on the high street for (In)visible Dancing, a fantastic celebration of dance and local talent as part of Stockton International Riverside Festival.”

The company aims to make this show one of their widest reaching project yet with performers of every kind, from dancers to jugglers, all from Stockton-on-Tees and the surrounding areas participating. Local talent joining Protein for the show include Dance Jam, Latin in Line, newly established cheerleading squad Limitless Allstars and Stockton celebrities Urban Kaos. 

SIRF’s Artistic Director, Jan Doherty, said: “The SIRF team is delighted to be working in partnership with ARC to welcome (In)visible Dancing to Stockton. It such a wonderful project involving emerging local dancers, a wide variety of community dance groups and a fantastic inclusive flash mob finale. I’m so pleased to have Invisible Dancing as part of this year’s SIRF programme and I’m sure our audiences will give Luca and the Protein team a warm Stockton welcome and enjoy dancing in the streets of Stockton.”

Protein has previously toured to ARC Stockton with their immersive dance performance May Contain Food in 2016, their acclaimed show Border Tales in 2017 and May Contain Food May Contain You in 2018. Also last year the company worked with students at Bishopton Secondary, a local Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), for three weeks finishing the residency with a show performed by the students at ARC.

First staged at International Dance Festival Birmingham in 2010, (In)visible Dancing has been seen by over 122,000 people on the high streets of the UK and Dublin, and most recently in Hull as part of the UK City of Culture celebrations in 2017. Local residents will be treated to a free dance workshop in the street after each performance where they will be taught the flashmob routine and encouraged to join in the finale performance on Sunday 5 August.

Apprentice Dancer Abbi Henderson said ‘I have been a fan of Protein’s work for a long time now and was ecstatic when I found out they were coming back to Stockton to perform (In)visible Dancing! I am really excited to perform with the company and have the opportunity to be working right at the heart of creative process. It is going to be such a thrill to perform in front of family and friends, in my home town!’

Formed in 1997 and currently one of the most distinctive voices in British dance theatre, Protein uses a blend of original choreography, humour and music to entertain and provoke audiences. The company’s idiosyncratic dance theatre is provoked by the everyday and its repertoire includes B for Body, a Place Prize Finalist in 2006, and the award-winning LOL (lots of love), which has toured extensively since its 2011 debut, winning acclaim from critics and audiences alike.

Artistic Director Luca Silvestrini's desire to connect theatrical experience with real life stories results in witty shows, both on- and off-stage, that reflect the absurdity in everyday situations and experiences. Born in Jesi, Italy, Silvestrini trained at Bologna University and Laban, and has worked on a number of large-scale cross-generational and participatory events, including the world record-breaking Big Dance Class, East London (which won a Visit London Gold Award) and Big World Dance 2010. He has won a Jerwood Choreography Award, a Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award and The Place Prize 2006 Audience Award, and was one of the first recipients of a Rayne Fellowship for Choreographers (2006). Protein was awarded the Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Best Independent Dance Company 2011, and was nominated again in 2016. Protein is Associate Company with People Dancing, Resident Company at Greenwich Dance, Partner with Yorkshire Dance and ARC Stockton. Luca Silvestrini is a Work Place Artist at The Place, London.

On The Web:

@proteindance

#invisibledancing

#proteindance

www.proteindance.co.uk

Cast & Creatives

Directed by: Luca Silvestrini                

Company: Thomas Goodwin, PJ Hurst, Miranda Letten, Rachele Rapisardi and Matthew Winston

Details:

Wellington Square, Stockton town centre

1-5 August 2018 (Finale Performance 5 August)

Wednesday 1 August: 15:30

Thursday 2 August: 12:30 & 15:30

Friday 3 August: 12:30 & 15:30

Saturday 4 August: 15:30

Sunday 5 August: 15:00 – 16:00 (Finale Performance)

Running Time: Finale performance 60 minutes

Suitable for all ages

FREE

Commissioned by Stockton International Riverside Festival and Supported by ARC, Stockton.

(In)visible Dancing is an International Dance Festival Birmingham production.