Thanks to an Arts Council England Research and Development Grant, the support of Studio Wayne McGregor and the Roundhouse, Laura Kriefman was able to bring together a world-class team of choreographers, performers and composers, as well as the wider Hellion Trace team to explore a multi-performer expanded version of Kicking the Mic.
This R and D brought together 3 of the Questlab and two of the Keychange.eu fellows. Cross-pollination at it’s best: Tony Adigun, Rebecca Evans, Ryan Campbell-Birch, Tawiah and Lee J Malcolm.
Over Feb and March the team had 5 days together in the rehearsal studio to find out how the Kicking the Mic system needed to be adapted to allow Tap, Contemporary, Hip-hop and vocalists to be equally present on stage- finding a new visual compositional language, which allowed the different dance forms to live separately and uniquely whilst creating a cohesive musicality.
We created 5 ‘pieces’ which we performed for an invited audience of critical friends (including Roundhouse, East London Dance, Body Data Space, RichMix and Aurex) at Studio Wayne McGregor.
This R and D grant created an opportunity for diverse collaborators from Keychange.eu and Studio Wayne McGregor’s Questlab to work together in depth with a level of vulnerability and open enquiry.
For Laura Kriefman this was a great opportunity to open up her creative vision for the project and begin the initial choreographic and creative process for the show larger show she has wanted to create since 2015. “The timing of this R and D was so important for me: it allowed me to consolidate new ideas from my fellowship in the music industry, to really think about physical composition, and to work with some of the best choreographic minds around – I couldn’t believe the value of this critical and rigorous creative network – it has unlocked so much confidence in the images and ideas for the show that I have always had”.
Keep your eyes peeled for news about this new show in 2020!
