Who uses Echo Echo Dance Studio?

It’s been a busy start to autumn for Echo Echo. Our weekly dance projects and classes have plenty of new participants and some familiar faces. All with one common purpose: to dance and move.

Echo Echo Dance Studio has been booked solidly throughout 2010. Earlier in the year when the company was touring Ripple Affect, preparing for The Chess Piece, and continuing its wide range of education programmes, we could easily have programmed two or more dance studios.

The past few weeks has seen another surge in studio bookings with rehearsals starting from 9am most days and going on until after 8pm. In fact until past midnight a few times this week! People who aren’t familiar with the company may wonder, who is using the space?

The Echo Echo team has expanded over the last two years to include local emerging dance artists, University of Ulster Dance graduates, and trainee placements. Currently up to 12 people meet regularly at our company team meetings, this is additional to our independent Board of 7 people. Since Steve Batts took up the full-time position of Artistic Director last year (he had previously carried this post out voluntarily for many years), developing the company ensemble has been a top priority.

For young emerging artists, and particularly dancers, it is difficult to make the step from being a participant or student to taking oneself seriously as a professional artist. There remains a ‘cultural cringe’ towards risky, innovative work in all artforms here, particularly dance and movement practice. There is a lack of participation and audience for many artforms locally despite the best efforts of many people and organisations, competition with the cultural vacuum of TV talent shows and binge drinking. There are financial risks and young people are often advised not to choose the arts or 'creative industries' as a viable career option. Often the best local talent forms part of the cultural ‘brain drain’ to the UK and further afield.

Echo Echo Dance Studio is making a difference here. It allows Echo Echo to support dance artists who wish to live here, both emerging and established, by providing space to research, develop and create new work, to practice and rehearse, to show and perform. The company provides additional support by mentoring and guiding young artists, and by providing an insight into arts administration, funding, PR and career orientation.

We are currently seeing the fruits of this with the company ensemble. Local dancers making a serious commitment to their artform, spending many hours alone or with other artists working in the studio, developing and creating new performance pieces. Most of this time is unpaid, voluntary time that gets little recognition outside the company, but it is a valuable investment by these individuals in themselves as artists and people, and in Echo Echo as a company.

Upcoming performances by some of the company will include participation in Belfast Festival Trilogy event, performance at the Playhouse ICAN conference, Free Flight at Crescent Arts Centre on 30 October, Interactions (featuring a range of performances by the ensemble) at Waterside Theatre on 17 November. An extensive range of performance and touring is in development for 2011.

Echo Echo’s professional and artistic programme is symbiotically related to its education and participation programme. This is unusual among many dance companies, particularly in England for example, who focus on performance, and often consider dance education as a later and not integral part of a dancers practice and career.

Our company ensemble participate fully in teaching and education projects for all ages and abilities, at Echo Echo Dance Studio and in outreach projects in schools and organisations throughout the northwest and further afield.

Currently projects taking place in the Studio include classes for toddlers aged from 1 year old (with their parents) to children’s classes (5-7's fully booked this term), youth dance projects, several regular adult classes and weekend workshops, and partnership projects with organisations like Autism NI, WEA, and many local schools to name but a few happening just now.

Other regular activities in the studio include a range of yoga classes for different ability levels with local yoga teachers. Participation in yoga and other movement forms including pilates and tai chi has grown significantly recently and over 120 people now come through our doors for yoga each week.

In addition to all of this Echo Echo runs an extensive outreach dance and movement programme. The company has worked with over 20 schools throughout the province over the last 2 years. Projects include extended schools programmes, creative weeks, integrated education weeks and performance work, often specifically related to the Revised Curriculum.

Other outreach partnership projects with organisations including Downs Syndrome Association, Cedar Foundation, Derry Travellers Association, Open Arts and Glasgowbury, to name but a few, have received excellent feedback. The company is developing new projects and partnerships all the time.

Echo Echo Dance Studio allows our artistic team space to develop, prepare and rehearse for every one of these outreach programmes, and a place to come back, review and improve our practice.

From April 2009 to March 2010, the total number of attendances to Echo Echo activity at the Dance Studio and in the community was in excess of 20,000 people.

Echo Echo is a registered charity and without core funding from Arts Council NI, and project funding from other key supporters, the Echo Echo Dance Studio would simply not be viable; many fewer people would take part in dance activity here; and the artistic development of the company ensemble, that is crucial to creating innovative art and inspiring audiences and participants, would be greatly hindered.

I am urging supporters of the arts to sign the petition at I Value the Arts, your voice is important.

If you are interested in finding out more about Echo Echo please get in touch, we would love to hear from you.

Ailbe Beirne

Company Manager

Dance Course for Children with Autism

Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company, partnered with Autism NI's Foyle Parent group, have organised an 8 week dance and movement course for primary aged children with Autism.

Echo Echo and the parents group have been working together for a year to develop an ongoing course designed specifically for those children with autistic spectrum disorder, their parents and siblings.

The weekly classes have been a great success and are well supported by three of Echo Echo's experienced tutors. One parent said: "through the dance I got eye contact with my son."

The 8 week course starts Thursday 7th October at 4pm and costs £25 for the full term.

If you have a child with Autism and would like more information, please contact Sarah Young, Echo Echo Development Officer on 028 7134 2266 or email sarah@echoechodance.com

Arts Funding Campaign

The National Campaign for the Arts website has been redesigned and the campaign is gathering pace ahead of a National Day of Action on Friday 17th September and Culture Night in 20 Irish cities, including Derry, on Friday 24th September.

While the arts and cultural sector in the north is well aware of imminent, swingeing cuts, the arts in the Republic have already been devastated by last years draconian cutbacks.

The value of the arts for all elements of Irish society must be communicated as widely as possible and to the key decision-makers.

Have a look, register your support, and tell your friends.

Hoping to tour in 2011

So the quietness of summer is leaving the office and the new programme is about to get underway. Keep an eye out on our website for the full details.

We are also hoping to tour the beautiful Ripple Affect in Europe in 2011. Watch the short clip below for a refresher. If anyone knows of any festivals or venues that might be interested, let us know.

We can't wait!

Two crazy days at Edinburgh Fringe!

I’ve been meaning to go to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for years and 2010 was the year I eventually got to do it. I only had two days and was a woman on a mission to see as many shows as I could. After a lot of Internet trawling for tips, I had a list of 15 shows that caught my eye. 15 from over 3000 wasn’t bad editing but I knew 15 in 2 days was impossible….

Saturday morning- 6am start for the early flight to Edinburgh. We were staying with a friend in the old town, not far from the Grassmarket, which was a perfect location to get around. As a ‘local’ and regular festival-goer, he helped us avoid any tourist traps. First one- book tickets online. He warned of the serious queues at the Fringe box office and it worked out really well as we quickly picked up our pre-paid tickets at Fringe HQ on the Royal Mile before 12pm.

Another thing to keep in mind- be prepared to walk! Thankfully I had brought comfortable shoes but even those began to pinch my toes by the end of day one.

So I thought I’d tell you about the shows that I managed to get to but I wanted to frame it with one very important point- I am not a critic. Any of these thoughts are just my own feelings, opinions…or ramblings.

My first show on Saturday was Derevo’s Harlekin at the Pleasance Courtyard venue. That place had I’m sure 8 venues within it and was buzzing with people eating lunch, having a cool beer or queuing for a show.

The popular St. Petersburg Company drew a big crowd and I loved their set, costumes and lighting. I really enjoyed the first half of the production. The two ‘puppet’ characters were interesting and performed beautifully, with some great movement and comedic moments. However, the early morning start began to make my eyes heavy and I got a little lost in the narrative after 40 minutes.



Next on the list, I made my way to Dance Base. I was really looking forward to seeing inside the venue as I’d heard a lot about it. It has an unassuming entrance but with the ‘Love Dance’ banner above it, I was sure it was the right place.

The second show was Velocity, a double bill with Daghda Dance Company and Pair Dance. This show was one of 11 curated by the Dance Base team. Daghda’s Standing in Ink was a soft, intimate duet. The movement was interesting but I think the content was a little too open for me. It was juxtaposed with Rush- a complete change in pace as the dancers sprinted back and forth across the stage. The energetic quartet amazed with their technique and muscle but the best part was a short duet in the middle by David Gellura and Ayano Honda.




From Dance Base, I met up with my fiancé, Alan and our host Stuart to rush over to a new venue, Assembly @ Princes Street Gardens, to watch Julien Cottereau: Imagine Toi. I had heard about this show from watching a Scottish Dance Theatre video blog and am so glad I made the effort to go. French clown and mime extraordinaire, Julien’s show was pure class. The sounds that he created had most of us wondering if they were special effects, and his movements were so real, so fluid and of course hilarious. He invited us into his imaginary world where in fact we all fitted in quite well!



At 5.30pm, I had time to relax so we had a beer outside the venue where they had live music. It was a well-earned break before making our way to another corner of the city for Scottish Dance Theatre’s show The Life and Times of Girl A at 7pm. The show was at Zoo Southside and as we made our way, the raindrops began to fall. Using my fringe guide as cover, we upped the pace and got to the venue just in time for the start.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from SDT, I had thought it would be very ‘dancey’ or typical UK modern dance style but it surprised me. The female lead, Solene Weinachter was excellent. I warmed to her immediately and followed her as she asked us with her romantic french accent to ‘imagine this is a film’. She was humorous, feisty at times and vulnerable at others and I really enjoyed her story. The dance felt a little supplementary to the theatre and at parts, didn’t make sense to me. The airport scenes with Solene directing the dancers were lovely as was her storytelling but I was a tiny bit disappointed with the ending.

After dinner, another walk and a few drinks, we made it to a comedy show at the Underbelly venue on Cowgate. Touted as the Best of Scottish Comedian of the Year, it was just ok for the £11 ticket. It finished after 12 and once we got to bed I passed out with exhaustion!



So day two- and after galloping around Edinburgh and watching 5 shows the day before, I was happy to take Sunday a bit easier.

We had planned to see Liz Lea Dance at Dance Base at 1pm but when we arrived, it became obvious that we should have pre-booked our tickets as the queue was too long for the foyer to hold it. Instead we made sure to book tickets for N.I’s very own ponydance for that evening.

This gave us the afternoon to do a bit of shopping and grab some lunch before No Fit State Circus began their Tabu show at 5pm. The big top was filled with confused audience members as we suddenly realised there were no seats. The action happens all around the audience, which at first frustrated me because at 5 feet 4 inches (just about), I was too short to see what they were doing when the performers were on the ground. However, a lot of the show was aerial work and meant that everyone had a good viewing angle. As a positive to the more informal set up, it meant that we had a strange feeling of warmth and ease with them walking amongst us. Their tricks and skills were fascinating and it is a great Fringe spectacle show to see. I did find myself getting a bit restless during parts- mostly due to sore feet and tiredness though.



After Tabu, we had dinner and got ready for our final show of the festival- ponydance’s Where did it all go right? Having helped with the marketing committee at the Pick n Mix Festival in Belfast last year I was interested in their quirky work but missed their show. I’d also bumped into Ryan O’Neill (Ryan performed in Echo Echo’s The chess Piece) a few times at Dance Base over the weekend and wanted to see him perform.

ponydance were great, all four dancers had me in stitches from start to finish. Alan and I had front row seats that meant we had a great view but it petrified him to be so close in case it involved audience participation (which it did of course!) The venue was perfect for the show and the show was perfect for the fringe.

ponydance ended our festival trip on a high and after a hectic two days, we were glad to get home. It was a fantastic experience and has inspired me on many levels, not least to maybe see Echo Echo there again soon.

Steve dancing at the Contact Festival in Moscow last month

Perfomance Steve Batts & Antonina Sheina for Moscow CI Festival 2010 from Woodash on Vimeo.

UK City of Culture Success!

Just a quick well done and pat on the back to all involved in the bid for Derry-Londonderry to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013. There was a lot of work behind the scenes so congratulations!!

Echo Echo is looking forward to seeing what happens and to getting the opportunity to show our artistic talents to a wider audience, as well as learning from other artists- in the city and beyond.

Exciting times ahead!

DANCE REVIEW: The Chess Piece | Culture Northern Ireland

DANCE REVIEW: The Chess Piece | Culture Northern Ireland

Audiences impressed by The Chess Piece

The first two shows of Echo Echo's original new work, The Chess Piece, have received high praise from audiences. Here is a selection of feedback from the first two performances:

• I enjoyed it a lot, the costumes were brilliant and so was the whole production!
• It was brilliant, different, innovative and very fun, pleasure
• Magical
• Really enjoyed it!
• I loved the music and the way they moved. I liked the yellow people best.
• Excellent!!!
• Just excellent
• Plenty of movement, colour, humour, told a story and totally kept my attention. Excellent
• Great fun
• Very lively and enjoyable
• It was very good
• Amazing – raw talent and creativity
• It was very, very good. It was funny the way you kept rewinding
• Well worth seeing – brilliant
• Thoroughly enjoyable
• BRILLIANT!!!
• I hope it goes all over the world. It’s that good!

The Chess Piece continues today and tomorrow at The Guildhall in Derry with performances at 8pm on Friday 25th June and at 3pm and 8pm on Saturday 26th June.

Admission: Adults £8, Children £4.

Tickets can be booked in advance at www.wegottickets.com and there will be some tickets available at the door. Suitable for all ages. Don't miss it!

Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company - Derry, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Ireland

Article about Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company
written by freelance journalist Seth Linder


Between June 23rd and June 26th, 32 dancers, professional and volunteers, adults and children, will perform a spectacular new contemporary dance piece on a giant chessboard of 64 one-and-a-half metre, black and white squares covering the floor of Derry's beautiful Guildhall. The Chess Piece is the latest in a series of groundbreaking performances from one of the most unique and fascinating dance companies in the UK or Ireland, Derry's own Echo Echo.


Origins

Founded by Ursula Laeubli and Steve Batts in Amsterdam in 1991, Echo Echo worked in various European countries before Pauline Ross at the Derry Playhouse invited them to host a workshop in 1997. English-born Steve, who grew up in Portstewart, and Ursula, who is Swiss, so impressed Pauline that she invited them to form a resident dance company at the Playhouse.

Poetry of movement

One of the few dance organisations in Ireland at the time, Echo Echo would prove to be no ordinary company. There are no showy pyrotechnics and despite the internationally acclaimed quality and creativity of the company's dancers - no stars. Instead their ethos is based on the poetry of movement, their work developing organically from the dancers themselves, professional and non-professional. Steve explains:

Universal gift

"Echo Echo is focused around the idea of movement as a poetic medium, something that is a universal gift. There may be different forms and styles but beneath it all is a universal desire in all of us to create a poetic form in movement. So we start with the natural poetic intent of people, whatever their experience in movement, whether they're professionals like myself or kids coming into the company or adult volunteers".

Unique wisdom

Working on the premise that each person has a unique wisdom, Echo Echo draw people into a resonant world of movement experience, no matter whom they work with. "For instance", Steve says, "I don't have the story that say a quadriplegic has in their perception of poetic movement. It's about opening up a world of movement which isn't sabotaged by the idea it has to be about jazz hands and kicking up your legs up and is about removing the sense that it's a contest or there's a right way of doing it".

Northern Ireland's leading contemporary dance company

Over the years Echo Echo, now based in Derry's Waterside Theatre, has developed into the leading contemporary dance company in Northern Ireland and one of the most interesting in the UK or Ireland. With a wide-ranging educational brief, their classes begin with five-year-olds, include University of Ulster students, whose dance degree is part taught by Steve and Ursula, and go right up to volunteers in their seventies. Over the years, such a large number of local people have studied and worked with them that the company not only has a retinue of eight professional dancers to work with but a large pool of talent who can be called up for specific projects.

Developing local talent

Typical of the policy of developing local talent is Ayesha Mailey, choreographer of The Chess Piece, who first came to their workshops in the late 1990s, graduating from youth dances classes before taking a dance degree at Chichester University in England. Having qualified in 2004, she is now a key member of the team, helping to deliver their outreach programme as well as teaching dance at the North West Institute Creative Arts Department.

Resonance

As well as dancers who have developed through their children's and youth classes Echo Echo also develop relationships with dancers, choreographers and musicians from around Europe, such as in their 2005 production Resonance. Directed by Wolfgang Hoffman, a three-time Edinburgh Fringe First Winner, Resonance explored the relationship between a couple who can't bear being close or apart.

Ripple Affect

One of the most exciting performances of recent years was Ripple Affect, where Steve's inspiration was the simple, everyday concept of a hug. Expressed through movement, it explores the imprint each hug leaves in people's body and minds. As always with Echo Echo, the choreography grew out of the dancers and their lives, rather than being imposed on them.

Henry Girls

"The work doesn't exist somewhere out there", Steve says, "We start with the dancers as people and work from there". An extraordinary piece, widely acclaimed on its 2009/2010 tour of Ireland, it was enhanced by the beautiful music of the multi-instrumentalist Henry Girls from Donegal, who worked in tandem with Steve and the five dancers from the company when composing the music. Haunting, with traditional and world influences, it beautifully complements the power of the dancing,

Cheerleaders for dance

The quality and inclusivity Echo Echo brings to both its classes and performances, has created a growing interest in contemporary dance in the city. One of the dancers (and co-devisers) in both Resonance and Ripple Affect was American Emily Welther, who, though based in Germany, has become a key member of the team. Last year she led an intensive three-week education programme for young people between 16 and 18, for those who might be considering dance as a career. Tellingly, several have now made that choice.

The Chess Piece

There is growing excitement about Echo Echo's latest production, The Chess Piece in Derry. A collaborative piece involving the company's professional dancers, adult volunteers and dancers from the youth and children's classes, it typifies what makes Echo Echo special and is one of the largest productions the city has seen for years. Aged from 7 to 67, each dancer, as always, has been involved in its creation as well as execution.

Olympic Connection

First conceived in early 2008, it is the first part of Echo Echo's three-year Into-Contact programme funded by Legacy Trust UK, which was set up to create a lasting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. The Chess Piece will deliver its sports and dance theme (The Verbal Arts Centre in Derry will explore sport and the word). Next year Echo Echo will look at the theme of movement and climbing (in collaboration with artist and rock climber Dan Shipsides) while in the third year, the theme will be memories.

Magical Experience

Awarded the Inspire Mark, which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 London Games, The Chess Piece is set to be one of the highlights of the cultural year in Derry. "It's going to be a magical experience", Steve says. "Along with the 32 dancers, we have the input from our partners In Your Space, who bring their costume, street performance and big event expertise to the production and music from Ray Curran, who toured with the Duke Special Band for two years. Different cultures inspire the movement and costumes, so it's a kind of journey in dance around the world exploring themes of competition, territory, power, difference and similarity".

City of Culture

"The Council, which has been very supportive to Echo Echo over the years, has done great work in animating city places and with festive events and encouraging participation in the arts. What I would like to see more of is a quality of cultural engagement where people who really want to get deeply into the arts can take that further. The only way to engage people is through quality; great musicians, for instance, who are dedicated to helping kids play. If we dumb down those we are trying to draw into this world will say TV is better and they're right. I'd like the City of Culture to help people here step into the world of the artist. It can scary and challenging, but where else would you want to be".


Thanks to Seth Linder for this article.


Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company - Derry, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Ireland

The Chess Piece design is finished...

TICKETS GO ONSALE ON TUESDAY 1ST JUNE

Belly-dancing in Waterside

Echo Echo friend Nina Dibb brings 'The Magic Touch' to the Waterside Theatre next Friday night, 21st May...

Booking details at Waterside Theatre website:

http://www.watersidetheatre.com/events/byevent/53

Further show info at the Facebook event page:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=333579692194&index=1

Proceeds go to Anti-Slavery International.

Short season of dance at Echo Echo

There is a real celebration of dance happening in Echo Echo over the next three weeks. Over six performance nights, there will be 25 people on stage and many more behind the scenes, including an expanding ensemble of local artists, and guests from Ireland, USA, Chile, Spain, Germany, and Switzerland.

This week the seriously talented Echo Echo ensemble is presenting an evening of short dance and movement pieces called ‘Interactions’. The night is totally free to the public and we encourage you to come and support local artists and see what happens when dancers are given the instruction: create!

Dance is developing as an artform in the northwest and ‘Interactions’ will feature work by local and guest artists – solos, duets and group pieces. Some with music, some with text and all influenced by Echo Echo’s unique movement style, from experienced professionals to emerging artists.

This is a real opportunity to see unique evening of performance so come along and check it out. We guarantee you will be impressed.

‘Interactions’ is at 8pm on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th April in the Waterside Theatre.

Next week Echo Echo is delighted to host two internationally acclaimed duets on one special double bill of dance and physical theatre. US dance company Casebolt & Smith are touring these islands from Los Angeles. With a long list of enviable press reviews, this is a unique chance to watch a quirky and technically gifted dance duo.

Offaly-based company Legitimate Bodies will present their critically acclaimed show ‘Hanging in There’, based on text from the Good Friday Agreement. This is a must-see for anyone with an interest/disdain in politics, particularly on Election Eve! Anyone I know who has seen this was really impressed, it’s a very funny take on challenging subject matter.

Both companies are currently hot property and have played the international festival circuit to rave reviews. The special double bill takes place in Echo Echo Dance Studio on Wednesday 5 May at 8pm for the ridiculously low price of £5.

Over the next fortnight, Echo Echo and The Henry Girls will be in the studio rehearsing for a short tour of ‘Ripple Affect’, Steve Batts’ 2009 production that was very warmly received by audiences and critics alike. It is a fantastic blend of passionate dance performance with live musical improvisation, featuring eight gifted artists from throughout the northwest and from Chile, Spain and the US.

‘Ripple Affect’ is showing in Derry, Omagh and Strabane on the 12, 13 and 14 May. See the company website for details.

Echo Echo has been looking at ways to present more dance performance events in Derry and this short season of local and international work is just the beginning. It promises to be an interesting few weeks and we look forward to your support to come watch the shows, give us your feedback, and tell your friends.

Hopefully see you soon.

Ailbe

Body Wisdom: Dance classes for the over 50s

As part of The Learning Age Project, the Workers Educational Association and Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company have teamed up once again to offer a unique and innovative project for those aged 50+ in the community.

The course is called ‘Body Wisdom’ based on the notion that wisdom and experience is written in the skin, muscles and bones. It will address health and well being of the body with the wonderful benefits of gentle dance and movement.

The course has been running since 2009 but spaces are available for any newcomers interested.

Facilitator and Artistic Director of Echo Echo, Steve Batts said: “This is a lovely opportunity for anyone who would like to engage in dance and movement in a context, which values the physicality of older people. It will combine a concern with the physical benefits of movement with the pleasure of activating the imagination.”

He adds: “In most art forms there is a respect for age. For example the writer finds a voice in their fifties, the blues singer has only begun at 60 or the painter’s art comes to its creative peak in the 70's. Unfortunately in dance the emphasis is strongly placed on youth and athleticism. This course will start from respecting the experience, knowledge and wisdom of older people.”

The four-week course begins on Friday 9th April from 10am to 12pm in the Echo Echo Dance Studio, Waterside Theatre, Derry-Londonderry. It is FREE. If interest is there at the end of the four weeks then the course will continue throughout the year.

If you are interested, contact the Echo Echo office on 028 7134 2266 or email info@echoechodance.com

Be Inspired to Dance this Spring!

Echo Echo has announced it’s busy workshop programme for April to June 2010. This term includes the regular weekly children’s, youth and adult classes but with a twist.

Each group will be working on the development of the company’s biggest production yet- The Chess Piece. Some participants will be asked to perform in the shows in June.

The classes are part of Echo Echo’s Into Contact Programme, which is a Connections project funded by Legacy Trust UK and managed by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

The Chess Piece production has been granted the prestigious Inspire Mark, which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the London 2012 Games.

All weekly classes recommence on the week beginning Monday 11th April and spaces are limited so anyone interested is advised to book ASAP.

Also, scheduled for the upcoming months: Tango workshops with Leilani Weis, Sunday Sessions, and a Contact Improvisation Weekend Workshop on 5th and 6th June.

For full details of upcoming events, visit www.echoechodance.com or contact the office on +44(0)28 7134 2266 or email info@echoechodance.com.

Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company receive £125,000 for three year Legacy project in lead up to London 2012 Olympics

Northern Ireland’s leading contemporary dance company, Echo Echo will launch its unique three-year programme- Into Contact- in April. The project received £125,000 funding from the Legacy Trust UK Connections Programme, which is managed by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

The Derry based Dance Company is one of six lead organisations involved in Northern Ireland’s Connections programme; part of Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Echo Echo’s Into Contact programme will use this funding to develop and deliver an outstanding programme of sport themed dance events in partnership with other organisations, emphasising the skill, beauty and magic of dance and sport.

It will include three high profile performance events, a strand focused on the development of dance and movement in the education sector and an audience development element- all of which are aimed at providing a lasting legacy for people long after the 2012 London Olympics.

Artistic Director of Echo Echo Steve Batts said:

“At first glance there would seem to be a natural and easy connection between dance and sport, but does the connection really go much deeper than the seemingly obvious shared physicality in the two areas? We are very grateful for the opportunity to explore this in a thoughtful and rather unusual way. We hope and believe that our work throughout this project, in both the artistic and outreach elements will be exciting, stimulating and worthwhile.”

Dugald Mackie, Chair of Legacy Trust UK said:

“The benefits of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be felt not just in London but throughout the UK. The Games are a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland to millions of people across the world. We believe that projects such as Echo Echo’s Into Contact will inspire and encourage people throughout Northern Ireland to get involved and will help leave a lasting legacy for the region.”

The launch event will be held on Tuesday 27th April and will be followed by Echo Echo’s performance evening Interactions. The dance ensemble will show solos, duets and group pieces– some serious, some wacky – encouraged by Artistic Director Steve Batts to take risks and let their imagination fly.

The launch is an open event and all are welcome. Tickets for Interactions are free and are available from The Waterside Theatre box office on 028 7131 4000.

If you would like more information about Echo Echo’s Into Contact programme or are interested in getting involved, contact the Echo Echo office on 028 7134 2266, email info@echoechodance.com or visit www.echoechodance.com.

Into Contact is funded by the Legacy trust UK Connections Programme which is managed by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

'Best' at Waterside Theatre

Belfast contemporary dance company Maiden Voyage will bring their new production 'Best' to Waterside Theatre on 25th February 2010. See following press release for information...

On the pitch, George Best’s dribbles, shimmies, passes and goals were regarded as art in motion. Now a multinational, Belfast-based dance troupe will act out some of Best’s greatest moves in homage to the late Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer. Maiden Voyage are staging a performance on 25th February at the Waterside Theatre in which key moments of Best’s life, both on and off the football field, will be laid out in a series of dance moves.

Scottish choreographer and football fanatic Andy Howitt, a self-confessed “football addict” said his dancers would act out key moments from Best’s life in 1948, 1958, 1968 and 1978. The performance would take Best from his early days on Belfast’s Cregagh estate to Manchester, then the European Cup final against Benfica and finally his life in Los Angeles.

Howitt described the production as a “labour of love. I chose to do this because people can understand it. They think they know the Best story. They think they know the man. For me it’s about being able to show a new way of telling the Best story”

Best will be visiting The Waterside Theatre on Thursday 25th February. Telephone the Box Office on 02871 314000 or book online at www.watersidetheatre.com.

Images from Improvised Performance

Have a look at this slideshow by David McClelland Photography to see some beautiful images from Echo Echo's improvised performance night last Wednesday 20th January.

It was a fantastic ensemble performance with very special guests from Moscow, Andjela Dony, Masha, and Tonya, and Echo Echo ensemble Steve, Ayesha, Emily, Ellen, Bridget, Zoe, Esther and Carlos. Lorna and Joleen from the gifted Henry Girls played an inspirational live music score.

Next performances at Echo Echo Dance Studio are the Sunday Session on Sunday 7th February at 7pm, and a very special improvised performance with special guest and friend Shahar Dor and Echo Echo Artistic Director Steve Batts on Sunday 21st February at 6pm.

Spring events and classes at Echo Echo

Echo Echo’s programme of events for Spring 2010 is now online and we are taking bookings for all events and classes. Feel free to contact us by email or by telephone on 028 71342266 if you want to know more. As you can see from the listings page, this is Echo Echo’s busiest year yet!

For the first time in 2010, Echo Echo has an ongoing performance programme with regular performance nights, monthly Sunday Sessions, the return of Undercurrent (and the blue monsters!) in March, and a mini-tour of Steve Batts’ acclaimed Ripple Affect in May.

The company is delighted to have more dancers coming through now with Kelly Quigley, Bridget Madden and Zoë Ramsay all working as part of the company ensemble delivering a range of dance performance and education projects alongside Steve, Ursula, Ayesha and Siobhan.

Echo Echo weekly dance classes recommence in the last week of January with Dance & Movement for Children on Tuesdays from 26th January, Daring Feet Youth Dance on Wednesdays from 27th January, and Dancing Together adult dance classes with Ayesha Mailey on Wednesday evenings from 27th January.

If you can’t wait to start dancing again until then, there are only a limited number of places left on our first weekend workshop of the new year, Contact Improvisation Weekend Workshop, on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th January.

The workshop will be led by special guest from Russia, Andjela Dony. Andjela is founder and leader of the Moscow Contact Festival and a close collaborator of Echo Echo’s Artistic Director, Steve Batts. During her stay in Derry, Andjela will work intensively with the company – no fewer than 18 dance artists, graduates and trainees, taking part in a fortnight of movement workshops and artistic exchange at the Echo Echo Dance Studio.

The event will culminate in a special Performance Evening at Echo Echo Dance Studio on Wednesday 20th January at 8pm. Everyone is welcome to attend and entry is only £3.

Monthly performance event, the Sunday Session, returns at its usual slot on the first Sunday of February with a kaleidoscope of creativity in movement, music, comedy and dance from regulars including Steve Batts, James King, Ellen Factor and many others. If you would like to perform or try out some new work, contact us in advance. The event is open to the public, 7pm, Sunday 7th February.

For total newbies and experienced movers alike, or if you can’t commit to a regular class for adults, teenagers or children, then come and take part in the next Dance Picnic on Saturday 7th February from 1.30pm-4.30pm. All ages and experience levels are welcome to this very popular and creative cross-generational event.

In February we are delighted to welcome Leilani Weis back to Derry for an Authentic Tango Weekend Workshop on Valentine’s Weekend. Feedback on all of Leilani’s previous sold-out classes has been fantastic, so book early for this one, folks!

With many more special guests and amazing projects lined up for 2010 already, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic year for dance and movement in the North West. We do hope you can join us!

Ailbe