Premiere UK Premiere	Ballet Basel, 2007 New English Contemporary Ballet 2007
Choreography	Richard Wherlock
Music	Franz Schubert	Symphony No 7 (Unfinished) 1 Allegro Moderato 2 Andante con moto
Costumes	Heidi de Raad
Lighting Design	Paul Taylor
Rehearsal Director	Cristiana Sciabordi

Wherlock’s first source of inspiration for S(c)ent was Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony which has long held a fascination for him, and which provided him with the start of an idea for his choreography. But it was a chance encounter with a manager from the perfume industry which was the trigger for this piece. Wherlock was intrigued to learn that not only did the perfume firm produce exclusive and expensive scents, but that it also manufactured a wide range of smells, everything from car aromas to the smell of ground coffee, for use in all kinds of situations where the illusion created by a particular odour could alter perceptions and even influence situations.

As his ideas for the piece evolved, he realised that as well as being interested in the evocative power of smell, he was also drawn to the idea of the senses more generally, and especially how they relate to human experiences and emotions.  How does one person interpret the sensory signals that another emits? And what about the sensory signs that others associate with us when we are no longer present?  A specific aroma or a taste on the tongue has the power to remind us of a past but unforgettable presence.

Dancers

Claudia Czyz Linda Duclos Julia Kostka Marina Sanchéz Garrigós Jonas Correa Kyle Davey Eddie Pezzopane Alastair Postlethwaite

 

ADRIFT IN SOFTNESS

World premiere	New English Contemporary Ballet 2007 Tour
Choreography	Patrick Delcroix
Music	Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto	Avaol (Insen) Siisx, Mur (Revep) Trioon1 (Vrioon)
	Murcof	Unison (Murcof Mortes)
Costumes	Heidi de Raad
Lighting Design	Paul Taylor

This essentially abstract piece plays with the idea of a central character drifting between different states of consciousness. Within this condition of reverie reality is suspended and free-flowing thoughts and memories blend into each other, receding as mysteriously as they appear.

Dancers

Eddie Pezzopane
Claudia Czyz
Linda Duclos
Marina Sanchéz Garrigós
Jonas Correa
Kyle Davey

 

BLOOD AND FLESH

World premiere	New English Contemporary Ballet tour 2007
Choreography	David Fielding
Music	Dimitri Shostakovich	Piano trio in E minor, Op 67
Costumes	Kate Ford
Lighting Design	Paul Taylor
Scenario devised by	David Fielding and David Drew

Shostakovich’s powerful score from 1944 provided the starting point for this piece. The music’s dramatic force seemed to ask for a narrative and the idea of building a story that is relevant to today’s society, but which would also suggest parallels with the Nazi era, quickly evolved.

The theme is of loss of innocence and its consequences, as peer pressure causes children to turn from their families and coerces them to do terrible things apparently without regret or remorse. It is a story of gang culture and the mindless violence, often perpetrated by very young teenagers, that destroys lives. The world of these youngsters is both sinister and playful and they, like members of the Hitler Youth, seem somehow detached from the evil reality of what they have been drawn into.

Dancers
Mother	Linda Duclos
Father	Eddie Pezzopane
Daughter	Claudia Czyz
Male Youths	Kyle Davy Alastair Postlethwaite Jonas Correa
Female Youths	Julia Kostka Marina Sanchéz Garrigós