Exploring ideas of personal connection, abuses of power and the right to protest which have all become so pertinent in the past year, the Bounce Back Dance Festival promises cutting edge work from leading dance practitioners. The line-up includes POWER from 2Faced Dance which interrogates how power can seduce, shift and shape our behaviour; as well as the first piece of outdoor work by Joseph Toonga and Just Us Dance Theatre whose piece Born to Protest uses hip-hop dance to respond to the lived experiences of Black men.
Artistic Director and CEO of Pavilion Dance South West, Zannah Chisholm comments, After a year of no live performance, we are thrilled to have 12 days of free live events for the local community and those visiting the coast to come and see safely. We are delighted to share these stories through dance with our local community and visitors to showcase the amazing talent we attract from all over the world.
The programme is as follows:
Saturday 29th – Sunday 30th May, 1pm and 4pm
Lower Gardens, Bournemouth
Lance Moi En L’Air by Joli Vyann
Lance Moi En l’Air, choreographed by Florence Caillon with original music by Xavier Demerliac, (L’Attirail) is about the sensitivity and connection between two people, which brings about compatible contradictions. Can we be strong whilst relaxed? Heavy whilst light, grounded whilst levitated, submissive whilst in control, a mixture of strength and weakness, can we be dropped into the air? Humanity emerges and acrobatic prowess speaks between bodies. In a mixture of abandonment and accountability, this piece is sensitive, where bodies just fit together.
Sunday 30th – Monday 31st May, 12pm and 3pm
The Triangle, Bournemouth
Power by 2Faced Dance Company
Power explores our relationship with authority and control. With abuses of power and domination affecting communities across the world, it looks at how power can seduce, shift and shape our behaviour.
Performed by three explosive dancers we ask the questions: Who leads? Who follows? Who holds the power?
Wednesday 2nd June, 4pm and 7pm; Thursday 3rd June, 12pm and 4pm
Horseshoe Common, Bournemouth
PREPPERS: The Show by Tim Casson
PREPPERS: The Show is a new piece of verbatim documentary dance theatre, which asks: are we truly prepared? With real interviews from members of the UK survival and preparedness community, intercut and combined with compelling movement, PREPPERS: The Show is a unique performance which investigates how we prepare for, react during, and recover from emergencies – revealing our resilience and humanity in times of crisis, and what we need in order to truly survive. Are you prepared?
Friday 4th – Sunday 6th June, 11.30am and 3.30pm
Poole Quay, Bournemouth
OᑌT Oᖴ TᕼE ᗪEEᑭ ᗷᒪᑌE by Autin Dance Theatre
OᑌT Oᖴ TᕼE ᗪEEᑭ ᗷᒪᑌE is an outdoor physical theatre performance which piece explores the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. It features a large-scale Sea Giant Puppet, EKO, which is operated by five puppeteers.
EKO returns to perform in in July partnership with Arts By The Sea Festival and PDSW to perform in Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole in July.
Friday 4th – Sunday 6th June, 10am and 2pm
Poole Museum, Poole
OᑌT Oᖴ TᕼE ᗪEEᑭ ᗷᒪᑌE Community Workshops by Autin Dance Theatre
Turn your recycling into your very own creation and meet EKO, the giant sea creature puppet who will feature in the show. In this workshop you'll make a puppet and then learn to move both it and yourself! And come and walk with EKO and the puppeteers as they walk along the seafront. You can bring your creations too! Suitable for families with children aged 5yrs+
Friday 4th – Saturday 5th June, 12pm and 4pm
The Triangle, Bournemouth
Roll Play by Simple Cypher
A folding bench is the meeting point for three strangers from different walks of life; a park bench, a bus stop, a waiting room. What unfolds is a series of playful interactions challenging identity, status and societal roles. Divisions between class, race and education are shattered, as the characters go on a journey of building trust, lending support and discovering connections between one another – focusing on their similarities, not their differences.
Roll Play shows small acts of kindness can make a large impact on those around us.
Saturday 5th June, 2pm and 5pm
PDSW Terrace, Bournemouth
Born to Protest by Joseph Toonga and Just Us Dance Theatre
Joseph Toonga and his company Just Us Dance Theatre present their first outdoor work Born to Protest, responding to the lived experiences of Black men through hip-hop dance.
Sunday 6th June, 2pm, 2.30pm and 3pm
Branksome Dene Beach
Meeting Point by COAST Youth Dance Company
PDSW are delighted to announce that their resident youth dance company, with local young contemporary dancers, will be performing with a live musician at Branksome Dene Beach. They will be adapting their Digital Showcase Meeting Point, which was a part of the Digital Dance Festival: Origins 2021, into a live performance for individuals to enjoy on the beach.
