Video Features
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This time out with their new work 'Shift' the company bring us one of the most complicated set designs we have ever seen. The on-stage rigging has more ropes and pulleys than the Cutty Sark, at least until it caught fire that is (the boat not the G&L set!)
Published Wednesday, 14 May, 2008 at 12:06 -
'Letlalo', choreographed by Vincent Mantsoe, features about 5 minutes of gentle adage work and 30 minutes of hard core dancing performed at full speed by the cast of six dancers. Work for the faint of heart this is not!
Published Tuesday, 13 May, 2008 at 04:07 -
The recent Big Mission Festival that took place in Swindon last week is living proof that the festival circuit is the best place to look for new hidden gems from dance makers.
Published Tuesday, 13 May, 2008 at 03:13 -
It's predictable isn't it? Last year we brought you Verve 07 and this year we bring you Verve 08. The endless mysteries of the the randomness of the universe shattered by a writer who never was very good at writing the introductions to video features! (you don't say? Ed!)
Published Sunday, 2 March, 2008 at 09:00 -
There is very little in the way of press information for 'Uprising' and after you watch the show you realise there doesn't really need to be any.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 06:37 -
Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company 'Faultline'
Following our interview with Shobana Jeyasingh a happy coincidence means we can now bring you a video feature on one of the company's current touring productions 'Faultline'.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 03:36 -
'Dialogo' means Dialogue and this work was one of several solo pieces on show at the British Dance Edition. Although strictly speaking it's not a solo since Mr Abreu appears on stage with his musician Attab Hoddad throughout the piece.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 10:43 -
Our second video feature for Retina comes in the shape of 'This is not a Body' created by the company's AD Fillip Van Huffel and set to a backdrop of shifting colours and shapes designed by Brian Hartley.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 10:35 -
CandoCo. 'And who shall go to the ball'
CandoCo are now in their 16th year of creating and touring a wide range of creative works for dancers with and without disabilities. Their signature theme is not one seeking sympathy but of performing the best work to the highest professional standard.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 10:33 -
From left field comes a performance you would never expect and on some levels looks like it was designed to test the stamina of the dancers to their absolute limits.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 10:13 -
Jonathan Lunn Dance Co. 'Self Assembly'
'Self Assembly' is the beginnings of a much larger piece and if this small segment is anything to go by then were in for a treat when the thing finally gets finished.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 10:09 -
New Art Club 'The Visible Men'
If you like your dance with virtuoso physicality then New Art Club is not for you. Tom Roden and Pete Shenton have made an entire repertoire of work being as anti-virtuoso as possible. 'The Visible Men' is an hour long show featuring a lot more of the duo's stand-up/contemporary dance routine.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 10:02 -
Often there are times when you go to the theatre for a show and feel a little short changed because all you got was one or two pieces of work and not a lot else. Not so with Probe however who put on no fewer than seven individual works for their evening of dance.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 09:49 -
Liz Lea's 'Quicksliver' is the second of our featured solo works from BDE 08. Often times the solo can be a hit and miss affair usually because the work goes on way to long. 'Quicksliver' does the job right though by keeping the length, pacing and performance at just the right levels.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 09:44 -
When we hear that a dance work is going to be performed in silence we, here in TheLab™, become just a little bit wary. Music, for us, is so intrinsically linked to a choreographic piece of work it's a bit like taking the engine out of a Ferrari and getting excited about pushing it around.
Published Thursday, 7 February, 2008 at 09:33 -
Our first video feature of the new year brings an experienced dancer to the stage with a solo performance of his own making. 'Riff' by Matthias Sperling is, in its own way, the dance equivalent of a music remix. The work takes its lead from samples of three established works by some of Europe's top dance makers
Published Sunday, 20 January, 2008 at 09:34 -
Scottish Dance Theatre 'Tenderhook'
Scottish Dance Theatre's second appearance on Article19 follows a very different path from their last work. 'Tenderhook' by Liv Lorent is not an example of flashy choreography, rather, a more thoughtful study of complex issues. This is dance making for the thinker.
Published Sunday, 21 October, 2007 at 05:45 -
Youth dance projects can be a bit of a mixed bag. They are heavily dependent on the commitment of the choreographers, the enthusiasm and skill of the participants and the organisational skills of the , er..... organisers! When all of these things come together in a positive way you end up with a project that looks a lot like MTK Raw 2007 (sequel to MTK Raw 2006 I believe! Ed!)
Published Tuesday, 4 September, 2007 at 05:35 -
Summer is usually not a good time for dance, the theater's are all closed and most of the good company's are on holiday or filling out 400 pages of funding applications. However, it's also the time for the new companies to come to the fore and show what they're made of. The summer months are the time for the new to push the old out of the way and say 'look at me'!
Published Thursday, 19 July, 2007 at 10:53 -
Scottish School of Contemporary Dance 2007
After a long hiatus the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance return to Article19 with their latest end of year performance, a showcase of choreography new and old from all three years of the schools students.
Published Thursday, 14 June, 2007 at 10:57 -
Filmed by Neil Nisbet Following on from the sand and slings tale that was 'Perfect', Motionhouse Dance Theatre return to the touring world with their latest work 'Driven'. No sand this time but we do have lots of flying...
Published Monday, 28 May, 2007 at 12:58 -
Jasmin Vardimon Company are back on the road after a long break with their brand new work 'Justitia' which brings court room drama to the stage along with some acting and a lot of high quality dance.
Published Tuesday, 1 May, 2007 at 01:01 -
Verve 'The Self & Bitter Ripples'
Verve follow EDge and Transitions onto Article19 and complete the trio of graduate dance companies from the major dance schools in England. As soon as SSCD sort out their graduate company our collection will be complete.
Published Thursday, 22 March, 2007 at 08:33 -
If you get a certain amount of deja vue while watching this video feature of Ultima Vez then fret not because not only is Spiegel a retrospective on some of the company's work from the last two decades but a lot of the movement style you see here has found its way into hundreds of works by many companies over the years.
Published Sunday, 18 March, 2007 at 02:19 -
[ BDE 2008 Feature Home Page ] Filmed by Neil Nisbet Historic times once again here on Article19 as Vincent Dance Theatre receive their third, count 'em, video feature to follow 'Punchdrunk' and 'Broken Chords'. Up this time is...
Published Sunday, 21 January, 2007 at 10:42 -
Vincent Dance Th. 'Broken Chords'
We first featured footage from Vincent Dance Theatre's 'Broken Chords' over a year ago along with our second video interview with Charlotte Vincent. This coming January the work takes to the stage again to kick of the company's winter tour of this heady mixture of dance, drama and comedy.
Published Sunday, 17 December, 2006 at 06:49 -
Two kinetically named dance companies in as many weeks, what are we to do? Ricochet Dance Productions, the renamed Ricochet Dance Company, have been in the mix for for 17 years now commissioning works from old and new dance makers alike.
Published Monday, 4 December, 2006 at 02:32 -
Normally, here in TheLab™ we are not big fans of kinetic names for dance companies but we can let 'Collision' go because we like the idea of smashing things together, just don't judge us for it!
Published Tuesday, 28 November, 2006 at 12:08 -
It is fitting that one of the final video features we will be carrying this year is also one of the best new works we have featured. Wired Aerial Theatre's work 'Handmade/Manmade' is a stand out creation because not only is it very clever, superbly performed and crafted it's actually entertaining.
Published Sunday, 19 November, 2006 at 01:19 -
Loretta Yurick is the Irish-American co-director of Dance Theatre of Ireland with Robert Connor. The company based in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin is now in its 17th year of producing contemporary dance work.
Published Friday, 17 November, 2006 at 06:16 -
Filmed by Neil Nisbet Another overseas hidden gem reveals itself in the form of Dance Theatre Ireland, based in the Republic of Ireland, no more than a stones throw away from the English coast but isolated, sort of, by...
Published Friday, 17 November, 2006 at 05:47 -
When we told one of our contemporaries that Article19 had been to Edinburgh to see Scottish Dance Theatre and the performance was rather good, said contemporary looked slightly bemused as to why these particular hardened foot soldiers had enjoyed lots of sword skipping and reels!
Published Monday, 28 August, 2006 at 07:29 -
Northern Youth Dance Company 06
Rumours of Northern Youth Dance Company's (NYDC) demise would seem to have been premature as the company is currently in the middle of a creative period before launching into a tour of venues far and wide. We feature one of their touring pieces 'Flip Flopping Between Agony And Ecstasy', a strong contender for the 'Eh?' Award in our end of year review!
Published Thursday, 10 August, 2006 at 05:12 -
Contemporary dance is rife with new work from dance makers at the tail end of the funding scale, for now at least. A recent festival, New Vibes, hosted by DanceXchange in Birmingham was one such showcase of new work for the emerging talents and we're going to bring three of them here to you, right now, right this second!! (calm down, Ed!)
Published Thursday, 10 August, 2006 at 02:50 -
Bare Bones 'The Five Man Show'
Camera: Neil Nisbet As promised we bring you full coverage of Bare Bones latest touring production featuring works by Liam Steele, Arthur Pita and David Massingham performed at the more than posh Linbury Theatre, Covent Garden (yes that one!)...
Published Friday, 14 July, 2006 at 10:35 -
Camera: Sally Hossack We have featured some works with really long titles but our latest video feature has probably one of the most improbable yet. Retina Dance Company's "Eleven Stories for the Body, Distance to our Soul" is the...
Published Sunday, 25 June, 2006 at 06:45 -
Camera: Neil Nisbet Almost all of the major dance schools in the UK, the contemporary ones that is, have their own graduate company and London Contemporary Dance School is no different, theirs is called EDge and we have them...
Published Sunday, 11 June, 2006 at 11:54 -
'Perfect' Camera: Sally Hossack | Interview Camera: Neil Nisbet In June everybody's favourite sandbox will be packed away permanently as Motionhouse Dance Theater bid farewell to their current work 'Perfect' having toured the piece across the UK, alongside its...
Published Wednesday, 24 May, 2006 at 05:20 -
Camera: Neil Nisbet When you're looking for high class contemporary dance companies from around the world your average joe public will go through a list of several countries and Norway will probably not be on that list and that...
Published Thursday, 18 May, 2006 at 11:21 -
Now in its fifth iteration the Bare Bones company has moved along to an all male ensemble for their new touring programme featuring choreography by Arthur Pita, David Massingham and Liam Steel. We bring you an exclusive first look at...
Published Thursday, 30 March, 2006 at 11:39 -
Adding to the eclectic mix of work at the British Dance Edition we have Freshmess, the Scottish breakdance/hip-hop company performing side by side with such luminaries as Michael Clarke and Rafael Bonachela. Featuring six dancers and one live DJ the...
Published Monday, 20 February, 2006 at 11:59 -
In every festival there is a quirky piece of work that stands out for all the right reasons. Re-Inventing the Wheel strikes you right between the eyes because of the dancers superb interaction with hulking metal wheel that, more often...
Published Monday, 20 February, 2006 at 11:26 -
Jasmin Vardimon Company returns to Article19 once again with a slice of their current touring work 'Park' performed as part of British Dance Edition in Leeds. If the Lab was picking favourites then this company would be one of them...
Published Monday, 20 February, 2006 at 11:01 -
'Cult' is the second work we have featured from the Shechter stable of choreography. A quick browse of the archive reveals a solo pice called 'Untitled' by Barebones Dance Company a piece, like 'Cult' that demonstrates this dance makers ability...
Published Sunday, 19 February, 2006 at 03:00 -
When looking at 'Big Sale' we would probably describe it as more theatre than dance which is often true of this off the wall company's work. Protein, with their choreographer Luca Silvestrini, have derived an often chaotic look at our...
Published Sunday, 19 February, 2006 at 02:38 -
We last featured Phoenix Dance Theatre two years ago with an altogether more sombre piece in 'Planted Seeds'. This time out we have some pure dance choreographed by former Rambert dancer Didy Veldman with her work 'See Blue Through'. What...
Published Sunday, 19 February, 2006 at 12:03 -
If the work featured at the British Dance Edition can be broken down into sections then Charles Linehan's work can go firmly into the 'Ultra Technical but Thoroughly Relaxed' category. Allow us to explain! While some choreographers use the technical...
Published Saturday, 18 February, 2006 at 11:40 -
Featured here, in the Lab, for the very first time we bring you Diversions, the national dance company of Wales no less, with perhaps the most improbably titled dance piece in the history of, well, dance. "Chase the Glowing Hours...
Published Saturday, 18 February, 2006 at 11:19 -
Charlotte Vincent returns to Article19 with an interview covering her new work “Broken Chords” During her chat with Susan Cunningham prior to the company’s show at the Traverse in Edinburgh she discusses her work, live music, Polish dancers and what...
Published Monday, 28 November, 2005 at 11:18 -
In keeping with our tradition of bringing you the new along side the old we have Being Frank Physical Theatre with "Pandora's Box" created by David McKenna. This is the company's third piece and they have just completed a short...
Published Monday, 7 November, 2005 at 10:32 -
A little slice of history makes it's way into the hallowed corridors of the Lab today with an exclusive video of both 'White Man Sleeps' and 'Bird Song' from the Siobhan Davies Dance Company. The former has not been performed...
Published Wednesday, 2 November, 2005 at 10:24 -
If want to talk about those who have a legacy in dance then Siobhan Davies is certain to be at the very top of the list of influential dance makers in the UK. From playing her part in the creation...
Published Tuesday, 1 November, 2005 at 11:17 -
As well as being a dancer with Motionhouse Dance Theatre and some time writer for Article19, Helen Parlor is also a prolific choreographer creating dance theatre orientated work for her own projects. We previously featured Full Force Dance Company, another...
Published Sunday, 18 September, 2005 at 11:38 -
Following a long running battle with Arts Council England to gain access to the footage from the Capture 3 series of films we have finally managed to secure a copy of GOLD by Rachel Davies, just one of the films...
Published Sunday, 24 July, 2005 at 09:28 -
BareBones, the Birmingham based dance company born of DanceXchange, continues to innovate with their latest idea of creating a special touring programme aimed at kids from ages 6-10. We bring you an exclusive video feature of 'Any Which Way' and...
Published Sunday, 24 July, 2005 at 09:18 -
Getting a new company off the ground and touring is no easy task in the current arts climate but Fleur Darkin, AD of the Darkin Ensemble has done just that. The company has an extensive tour on the go across...
Published Monday, 27 June, 2005 at 06:53 -
A central point of the recent election in the UK was health care and hospitals in this much maligned land of ours. The politicians from all sides could have done themselves a big favour and taken a long hard look...
Published Sunday, 8 May, 2005 at 09:38 -
Jasmin Vardimon has just achieved something fairly historic. She has just become the first choreographer to be interviewed by Article19 twice in our very short but illustrious history a fact we feel sure will warrant inclusion in her biography and...
Published Sunday, 8 May, 2005 at 07:24 -
When most people want to play in the sand they make their way to the beach. Motionhouse on the other hand prefer to cart it around with them on tour for their new show 'Perfect'. Sand, slings, paper, water and...
Published Monday, 18 April, 2005 at 10:12 -
All of the UK's big contemporary dance schools have a graduate company. Laban in London has Transitions a group of 10 young dancers taking their first steps (dreadful pun but get on with it, Ed!) into the wide world of...
Published Tuesday, 22 March, 2005 at 10:19 -
The recent Big Mission festival for new black choreography hosted by DanceXchange in Birmingham revealed a wide variety of choreography and creative ideas. Today we bring you Irven Lewis and 'Ignite' performed on Thursday 3rd February 2005. Festivals can be...
Published Saturday, 12 March, 2005 at 10:28 -
In our attempt to get someone on camera from Arts Council England (ACE) to discuss the reasons deciding not to help fund Article19 we eventually managed to get Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Arts Council England North East in front...
Published Wednesday, 16 February, 2005 at 09:02 -
Charlotte Vincent 'Punchdrunk' Interview
For out very first video interview we turned to Charlotte Vincent, one of the bright creative stars in contemporary dance, prior to a performance by her company of 'Punchdrunk'. "PUNCH DRUNK celebrates Vincent Dance Theatre’s tenth anniversary with a sensational...
Published Tuesday, 8 February, 2005 at 12:52 -
Vincent Dance Theatre 'Punchdrunk'
There are lots of dance theatre company's around, more and more it seems every day, so we bring you Vincent Dance Theatre and their latest production 'Punchdrunk'. It may well be 'theatre' but is it art dear reader? Watch and...
Published Monday, 7 February, 2005 at 10:38 -
When we last featured BareBones Dance Company, late last year, the video was one of the most popular on Article19 and continues to be so to this very day. So we bring you today snippets from three of the company's...
Published Friday, 17 December, 2004 at 10:48 -
'Kismet' premiered at The Customs House Theatre in the North East a few weeks ago. This performance was a shortened version for the Connections 7 choreography platform hosted by Dance City and 'Kismet' was by far the strongest work on...
Published Friday, 22 October, 2004 at 11:22 -
After many recent misfires with dance performances we have been covering Article19 ventures about as far south as you can get (Portsmouth) to bring you an excerpt from 'Headcase' by brand new company Full Force. Full Force are a little...
Published Thursday, 30 September, 2004 at 11:09 -
Way back in February we filmed this company in Perth, Western Australia. For various reasons we have been unable to get it online until now, better late than never though. Strut are the only dance company of their kind in...
Published Tuesday, 31 August, 2004 at 11:27 -
In July of 2004 we travelled to ImPulsTanz in Vienna, Austria for the second time. Previously we visited for a week and Mona McCarthy was the protagonist of the video diaries. This time out Vanessa Cook took the chair and...
Published Tuesday, 3 August, 2004 at 11:49 -
Here in the Lab we have been trying to get Ms Stockert's work on camera for a long time now. We finally got the chance in Birmingham last week at the Patrick Centre and the results are here for all...
Published Saturday, 15 May, 2004 at 12:17 -
Way back in January 2003 we brought you the first look at BalltLORENTS unique dance work 'The Ball'. This year we bring you a first look at 'La Vie des Fantasmes Erotiques et Esthetiques' or La Vie to its' friends...
Published Monday, 10 May, 2004 at 12:36 -
An exclusive feature just for Article19; We bring you the very strange 8IQ - No Woman No Cry a dance piece featuring dance (you don't say! Ed!), singing, live music and some very funny moments. This may come as a...
Published Monday, 10 May, 2004 at 12:26 -
They're called BareBones because they dance on a bare stage and well............ the dancers do have bones in their body! (not sure that's the real reason for the name but get on with it! Ed!) Our video feature brings you...
Published Monday, 22 December, 2003 at 12:50 -
This work was originally created in 1998 by Darshan Singh Bhuller on his own company Singh Productions. Planted Seeds returns in 2003 with the larger Phoenix Dance Theatre under the direction of Bhuller for a winter tour. Based on events...
Published Friday, 28 November, 2003 at 12:51 -
Following on from our interview with the Artistic Director of Motionhouse, Kevin Finnan, we bring you an exclusive look at Volatile the company's current work touring this winter to a theatre near you (or at least within driving distance). Volatile...
Published Thursday, 20 November, 2003 at 01:17 -
There are times when you start to forget why you liked dance to begin with. Too many performances seem to sap all the enthusiasm you ever had for the art form. Then there are those pieces of work that bring...
Published Saturday, 1 November, 2003 at 03:14 -
Our first visit to Vienna for the ImPulsTanz festival was a week long experience of good shows and good workshops with Mona McCarthy at the helm for the video diaries this was a very different experience to the following year....
Published Friday, 15 August, 2003 at 03:23 -
RASA was created by S4one Dance Company (now consigned to a very small part of the history of contemporary dance) in 2001. It was created specifically to be presented online at a time when the availability of dance on the...
Published Tuesday, 15 July, 2003 at 03:33 -
Scottish School of Contemporary Dance
The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance is the youngest of the four dance schools in the UK training dancers specifically for contemporary dance. Here we bring you three excerpts from the students excellent end of year performance held in the...
Published Sunday, 8 June, 2003 at 03:42 -
In our first new video feature for a while we bring you The Flex, an integrated dance company (professional dancers working with dancers who aren't trained professionals in case you were wondering) based in County Durham in the North of...
Published Tuesday, 15 April, 2003 at 03:50 -
Following on from out interview with the group of 5 girls we now bring you exclusive video footage from their first performance in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK. The company are; Josie Lucas, Tertia Underhill, Imogen Bostock, Kellie Wilson...
Published Thursday, 10 April, 2003 at 04:01 -
Last year the Lab featured several stages of the rehearsal period for this work. Now we bring you Moznayium live (almost, Ed) and on tour and it may well be coming to a theatre near you if there is any...
Published Tuesday, 1 April, 2003 at 04:17 -
In our end of year review we speculated that this performance may be the most unique thing this year and we were not disappointed. In fact is was difficult to know where the performance ended and the party started for...
Published Wednesday, 1 January, 2003 at 04:26 -
November 2002 - After many months of classes, choreography and rehearsal Northern Youth Dance Company finally arrived at Newcastle Playhouse on the final stage of their regional tour of Northern England. The dancers performed superbly throughout all of their pieces...
Published Monday, 25 November, 2002 at 06:15 -
In another exclusive presentation Article19 bring you an exclusive video of some of the most outstanding local breakdancers from the bitter North. Stormforce, Junior Stormforce and Newcastle City Krew collaborated with Article19 to make this 6 minute film which may...
Published Friday, 21 June, 2002 at 06:24


The Big Mission Festival reveals a superb new dance maker and some top notch performances from all concerned.
An outdoor show in Birmingham, of all places, proves that dance can appeal on a large scale, sans cheap tricks and useless celebrities!
It's another festival, it's huge, it's in Vienna and this is the last festival we are ever going to write about!



