External links
- Official website
- London Dance.com, Directory of Companies
- Kaaitheater, Belgium, advertisement for Three Duets, April 2008 [ permanent dead link ]
- Official website of Burrows&Fargion
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Other | |
Jonathan Burrows is a British choreographer.
He started his career as a soloist with The Royal Ballet in London, but formed the Jonathan Burrows Group in 1988 to present his own work.
The company travelled widely and gained an international reputation with pieces such as Stoics (1991), Very (1992), Our (1994), The Stop Quartet (1996) and Things I Don't Know (1997).
Since 2000, Burrows has worked with other performers, notably non-dancers. In 2001 he presented Weak Dance Strong Questions (2001), a collaboration with the Dutch theatre director Jan Ritsema. This was followed with the trilogy, Both Sitting Duet (2002), The Quiet Dance (2005) and Speaking Dance (2006) with the Italian composer and long-time collaborator Matteo Fargion.
Other high-profile collaborators include Sylvie Guillem's performance of his choreography in Adam Robert's film Blue Yellow in 1996, and his invitation in 1997 to choreograph for William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt.
In 2003 Burrows and Matteo Fargion received the 2003–2004 New York Dance and Performance Bessie Awards for Both Sitting Duet. [1] Burrows received a 2002 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. [2]
Burrows has commented that it is sometimes difficult making dance in his home country of Britain, and that in Europe he finds a much more appreciative and open-minded dance and theatre industry. [3]
Burrows has devoted fan-base among the (mostly young) dance in-crowd. [4]
He currently lives in London and Brussels.
Born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England, in 1960, Burrows studied at the Royal Ballet School, both White Lodge, Richmond Park and Baron's Court venues, London, 1970–79, under Richard Gladstone. He was the winner of an Ursula Morton award for student piece of choreography, 3 Solos.
From 1979 to 1991, he was a soloist with the Royal Ballet, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and was a performer with the Rosemary Butcher Dance Company between 1986 and 99.
He choreographed early pieces for Extemporary Dance Theatre, Spiral Dance Company, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and the Royal Ballet Choreographic Group.He also made experimental work at Riverside Studios in his early career.
In 1988, he founded the Jonathan Burrows Group, which became a resident company at The Place Theatre, London, 1992–94. In 1995–96, Burrows entered into co-productions with theatres in Ghent (Belgium), Angers (France), and Utrecht (Netherlands), and in 1997 he choreographed for William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt.
He was artist-in-residence at Southbank Centre, London (1998–99), associate artist at Kunstencentrum Vooruit in Ghent, Belgium (1992–2002), and a visiting member of faculty at the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (P.A.R.T.S), the school of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker in Brussels, 1999–2002.
Burrows and Matteo Fargion received the New York Dance and Performance Bessie Awards for Both Sitting Duet, 2004. Associate Director on Peter Handke's The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other for the National Theatre, London, 2008.
He is Visiting Professor for the Department of Drama and Theatre at the Royal Holloway, University of London. [5] [6] [7]
Burrows and Fargion are among the most widely travelled of UK performance artists and have gained an international reputation for the intelligence, humour and musicality of their shows.
Sitting on chairs drawn up close to the audience, staring at music and dance "scores" at their feet, the two men draw us into a silent, unexpected and often funny conversation for two pairs of arms.
"Working mute, without instruments and almost without technique, the men become immersed in what are basically a series of brisk hand-jives. They barely rise out of their chairs as they perform. But the point of the duet is that they are able to magic their restricted vocabulary into sophisticated dance and music, twisting simple gestures into a variety of shapes and rhythms so that they mesmerise and dazzle." [8]
"Sometimes imitative, sometimes in counterpoint, they weave a complex, witty, rhythmic tapestry, two strange characters entirely lost in obsessive movement." [9]
The judges of the New York Dance and Performance Bessies awarded the 2003 prize, "For an extraordinary symphony of upper body gestures performed in extrasensory collaboration in an ordinary setting made tense by the silent musical score, for an intimate production by an unlikely pair of average middle-aged white guys in chairs." [10]
Supported by the Arts Council England, the Jonathan Burrows Group, NOTT Dance Festival, Kaaitheater, P.A.R.T.S./Rosas and the Laban Dance Centre London. [11]
At the heart of this work is a love of rhythmic form and the quiet intensity of communication this allows them to share with each other and with the audience.
"The duo rob themselves not only of conventional music, but also of grace. It begins with the deadpan Fargion bellowing "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" as Burrows stomps across the stage, sinking lower with each step. Then the roles switch, the stomp turns into an angular stagger, and so on. Like all good comedy, it's impeccably timed – and, of course, it's not really that "quiet" at all." [9]
"During one section, they riff on the verbal shorthand of different dance genres (ballroom, ballet and disco), and we can almost see them partnering each other on a real-life dance floor." [8]
Co-produced by Dance 4, Nottingham, Dance Umbrella London, Joint Adventures, Munich, Kaaitheater, Brussels and supported by Arts Council England and the Jonathan Burrows Group. [11]
Burrows' and Fargion's final part of the trilogy of performances. The last piece continues their exploration into how the relationship between music and dance is perceived, and the fragile but permeable boundaries between the two.
"As the title suggests, words are the thing here, but not in any conventional sense. There is, at last, music of many kinds, but, rather than move to it, Burrows and Fargion often read out dance notation ("Cross! Two, three, four…") or the actual names of the notes ("A! B flat! D!") in time to it." The Telegraph [9] [12]
Co-produced by Dance Umbrella, London, supported by the Arts Council England & the Jonathan Burrows Group and with thanks to Dance 4 Nottingham. [11] [13]
The critic Judith Mackrell [19] has described aspects of Burrows' style as emanating from the influences of folk-dance, classicism and more weighted postmodern dance movement. [6]
Burrows describes Riverside Studios, run by David Gothard as influential in his early career. Gothard drew together important artists and Burrows would see Samuel Beckett and Dario Fo around the theatre, and John Cage and Merce Cunningham duets were performed there. After seeing them in the early 1980s, American post modern dance, especially the Judson Church generation of choreographers from New York, such as David Gordon, Steve Paxton, Trisha Brown, and Lucinda Childs and also Douglas Dunn and their Contact improvisation began to influence his thinking. He also began performing for Rosemary Butcher. [20]
He also lists Bronislava Nijinska, specifically Les Noces . [21]
Burrows' long-time collaborator Matteo Fargion studied composition with the composer Kevin Volans. Burrows consequently chose also to study with Volans, and the ideas which came out of this time are still important to Burrows' work, and a source of connection between Burrows and Fargion. Both Sitting Duet is the translation of a score of a piece of music by American composer Morton Feldman, an important figure in music, and with whom Volans was friends. [20]
Burrows learnt traditional English Morris dancing at White Lodge Royal Ballet School, and both he and critics have named this as another possible source of influence in his style. Burrows has commented that he looked for a new way of moving that he could manage better than ballet. He met this desire in contact improvisation and release work, but also in folk dances, such as the Bampton Dancers of Oxford. [22] Burrows comments, "I like the traditional men's dances from England. The dancers had this weird quality of absurdity mixed with profound dignity." [20]
Burrows has through his work and teaching and mentoring, been an influence on other successful choreographers.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Other | |
Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.
William Forsythe is an American dance and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He is known for his work with the Ballet Frankfurt (1984–2004) and The Forsythe Company (2005–2015). Recognized for the integration of ballet and visual arts, which displayed both abstraction and forceful theatricality, his vision of choreography as an organizational practice has inspired him to produce numerous installations, films, and web-based knowledge creation, incorporating the spoken word and experimental music.
Dame Arlene Phillips is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment.
Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre.
Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker is a contemporary dance choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, Rosas, was in residence at La Monnaie in Brussels from 1992 to 2007.
Vera Zorina, born Eva Brigitta Hartwig, was a Norwegian ballerina, theatre and film actress, and choreographer. Today, she is chiefly remembered for her films choreographed by her then-husband George Balanchine. They include the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue sequence from On Your Toes, The Goldwyn Follies, I Was an Adventuress with Erich Von Stroheim and Peter Lorre, Louisiana Purchase with Bob Hope, and dancing to "That Old Black Magic" in Paramount Pictures' Star Spangled Rhythm.
Philippine "Pina" Bausch was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as Tanztheater. Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance movement, prominent sound design, and involved stage sets, as well as for engaging the dancers under her to help in the development of a piece, and her work had an influence on modern dance from the 1970s forward. Her work, regarded as a continuation of the European and American expressionist movements, incorporated many expressly dramatic elements and often explored themes connected to trauma, particularly trauma arising out of relationships. She created the company Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, which performs internationally.
Bruno Beltrão is a Brazilian choreographer who has worked since 1996 with his Grupo de Rua (GRN). He uses urban dance styles in the context of conceptual theatre and has mixed various influences, including hip hop, to form abstract choreographic landscapes.
Douglas James Wright was a New Zealand dancer and choreographer in the New Zealand arts establishment from 1980 until his death in 2018. Although he announced his retirement from dance in 2008, on the occasion of the publication of his first book of poetry, Laughing Mirror he subsequently continued to make dance works, including touring The Kiss Inside during April 2015.
Lynn Seymour CBE is a Canadian-born retired ballerina and choreographer.
Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company tours widely across the United Kingdom.
Ralph Lemon is an American choreographer, company director, writer, visual artist and a conceptualist. Raised in a religious environment, he developed his artistic creativity as a child. Early in his career, Lemon used painting as a source of expression, and as he discovered dance, utilized movement as a physical means of expression.
Wayne McGregor, CBE is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 2011 for Services to Dance.
Sir Alistair Spalding has been the Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells theatre since 2004.
Michael Greyeyes is an Indigenous Canadian actor, dancer, choreographer, director and educator. He is Plains Cree from the Muskeg Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan. His father was from the Muskeg Lake First Nation and his mother was from the Sweetgrass First Nation, both located in Saskatchewan.
Adam Darius was an American dancer, mime artist, writer and choreographer. As a performer, he appeared in over 86 countries across six continents. As a writer, he published 19 books and wrote 22 plays.
David Vaughan was a dance archivist, historian and critic. He was the archivist of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1976 until the company was disbanded in 2012.
Christine De Smedt (1963) is a Belgian dancer and choreographer. Her artistic work is situated on the boundary between dance / performance, choreography, artistic coordination and artistic projects of various kinds.
Mette Edvardsen is a choreographer, dancer and performance artist from Norway, but who lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.
Mark Lorimer is a British dancer / choreographer best known for his work with the Brussels-based choreographers Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Thomas Hauert.
