Mazzilli Dance Theatre’s For How Much begins (though we didn’t know it initially) with the audience being accosted by a comical, yet slightly unnerving and manic gentleman in the foyer during the interval. He ushers the already intrigued audience back into the auditorium where the stage holds eight performers, a pianist at his piano, and piles and piles of clothing.
The one male and six female dancers surround the man we first met in the foyer, and from this tumbling flock of bodies, troubled solos break out and return as the momentum builds to a fighting energy with satisfyingly messy exchanges of weight. Andy Higgs’ accompaniment to this, both live and recorded, is beautiful.
The juxtaposition of the comical and the sinister running side by side throughout this work is used to great effect, particularly in a colourful ‘family portrait’ moment, where fixed grins become manic and a dancers begin to paw at each other with increasing urgency.
The piece moves on at a pleasing pace, and is at its strongest in moments of suggestion relating to the themes of human trafficking and forced labour. One solitary dancer is burdened with piles of garments, and a fluid and feminine quintet displays further sensitive choreography by Annarita Mazzilli.
As the work draws to a close, the title ‘For How Much?’, is clearly referenced, as gradually every performer moves through the space with handfuls of coins: shaking, dropping, scrabbling, spinning, stealing, donating, caressing and rolling them until the one solitary dancer remains, still and alone.
I left feeling inexplicably haunted by this last piece; and with an overall sense of satisfaction from my first outing to this year’s Resolution! platform… I look forward to the next!
Written by Anna Pearce - Cloud Dance Festival
http://www.cloud-dance-festival.org.uk/reviews/resolution-15-jan-2013.html
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Mazzilli Dance Theatre is pleased to inform you that its performance on 15th January 2013 is now supported by and part of One Billion Rising, the new initiative of Eve Ensler, Tony Award winning author of the Vagina Monologues, is a campaign that seeks to end violence towards women and girls. OBR UK Art Festival brings together artists, performers, dancers, poets and playwrights, in unity against violence. Once we are aware of something we can begin to change it. http://obrartfest.co.uk
Mazzilli Dance Theatre Classes 10th & 11th December 2012 - 6.30pm, 8pm
Join our classes to develop your technique, learn about Dance Theatre and the company’s creative processes. Please note sessions are at improvers/intermediate level. In total there will be four classes over the two evenings. You may wish to take part in only one of them or more at the discounted rates. Ballet Technique: Monday 10th December 2012 - 6.30pm-8pm Tuesday 11th December 2012 - 6.30pm-8pm Contemporary creative class: Monday 10th December 2012 - 8pm-9.30pm Tuesday 11th December 2012 - 8pm-9.30pm One class: £10 Two classes: £18 Three classes: £26 All classes: £34 To secure your place you must email us on: mazzillidancetheatre@yahoo.co.uk Payment will be taken on the day (cash only) Venue: Moving Arts Base, 134 Liverpool Road, Islington, N1 1LA To find out more about our classes visit our education page The second performance of the night – “For How Much?” – was a much bigger affair. With a carefully dressed set, a mixture of live and recorded music and a diverse cast of varying fields of expertise, Mazzili Dance Theatre created a piece that was moving and uplifting, yet poignant and thought-provoking at the same time.
I’m a real fan of Theatre that can make me feel 2 conflicting emotions simaltaneously – I guess this stems from a fascination of Dystopian Literature and a longing to grasp the art of “Double Think” (!) – and “For How Much?” definitely achieved this. Whilst every one of the cast was quite obviously a credit to the Dance-world, I must say, Donovan Morris’s performance was captivating. He had just the right balance of creepy, perverted slime, humor and elegance needed to put us all on the edge of our seats! Spotting a piano in the corner of the room, discreetly covered by a black sheet, right at the beginning of the first performance, I was dying to know if and when it would be used. My heart lept as, a few scenes into this piece, a pianist came out and started playing. Andy Higgs (Composer) created music that beautifully complimented the tones of the performance – light, humorous, but with threatening and fragile flashes. Whilst live music in performance can sometimes overwhelm, this definitely did not. Giving it an extra layer, a new texture, of meaning. All in all, as much as I was confused and slightly unsure of my feelings towards the first performance – “Underfoot” – and utterly moved by the second – “For How Much?” – the night as a whole was incredibly enjoyable and I left feeling far more open to the concept of ‘Dance Theatre’. As a whole, it definitely inspired me to want to see me, take risks and be more receptive to that which I previously did not always understand. And, I really liked the ‘present’ Mazzili gave all of us, too. That was very sweet and strongly grounded the internal logic of the piece. Pretty good for a Thursday night! The second piece in this double bill is a dance theatre creation by Annarita Mazzilli, of Mazzilli Dance Theatre.
For How Much? was originally created for the International Organisation for Migration’s Buy Responsibly campaign, to highlight the issue of forced labour around the world. The intriguing choreography demonstrates the brutality of a world where bodies are robbed of their souls, forced to work against their will. The piece demonstrates order and chaos, hope and despair: the dancers, distressed workers, travel through the stage robotically, the living-dead, deprived of their spirit. Dancer Donovan Morris, entering the stage with his tongue sticking out and a vicious smile on his face, rendered perfectly the sneaky and coldly abusive employer, unashamed of the fear he imposes. The dancers are scared, hurt, hands up to the sky, trying to reach an uncertain, better future. They translate the choreographer’s emotions perfectly, switching from sorrow to anger, pushing desperately against the walls of the stage to try to escape their reality, and letting loose on the floor in wild movement, refusing to silently accept their misery. They dance together and with each other, while the boss, smirking, rubbing his hands, uses them to his advantage. Annarita Mazzilli is excellent; her energy fills up the room, her facial expressions vivid. Each of the dancers are also able to show their strength and personality in this work, proving their impressive technique as well as their performing skills. The music, composed and played live by Andy Higgs, adds emotion and depth to Mazzilli’s work. The use of coins for props is interesting: the dancers, throwing themselves desperately on the ground, ready for anything to catch a few coins dropped to the floor, painting a convincing picture of the horror of forced labour, and the mixed feelings of anger and hopelessness. A powerful and deeply human choreography, performed with energy and emotion, For How Much? is thought-provoking and moving. Continues to Sat 12 May & Thu 17 – Sat 19 May, 8pm. Blue Elephant Theatre, 59a Bethwin Rd, Camberwell SE5 0XT Tickets £9 ( conc. £6, Southwark residents £4) www.blueelephanttheatre.co.uk reviewed by Emmanuelle Julien - Friday 11 May 2012 http://londondance.com/articles/reviews/katja-nyqvist-mazzilli-dance-theatre/ A day of multicultural dance and music with learners from Idea Store Learning. Come along and find out about our courses. See what our current learners have achieved after ten weeks. Try out some of the different dance styles during the free taster sessions. Sunday 4th December 2011 (1pm-3pm) Idea Store Whitechapel, Dance studio (1st floor) 321 Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1BU With over 800 courses, Idea Store Learning offers something for everyone. ENROL TODAY! www.learningladder.co.uk www.ideastore.co.uk One Step Closer to the Stage (Artistic and training opportunities for young dancers/ actors)11/22/2011 Mazzilli Dance Theatre will bring their latest production to your College/institution for one day workshop/audition.
Aim and objectives: One Step Closer to the Stage seeks to provide artistic and training opportunities for young dancers/ actors that are about to leave education. Students in their final year of training will be able to participate in a workshop based on the piece and experience processes related to the dance and theatre industry from the auditioning and rehearsal process to the actual production of a professional work. The workshop will run in an audition format; at the end of which a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 5 students will be selected to take part in the rehearsal process and possibly perform in Mazzilli Dance Theatre current production. Current Production: ‘For How Much?’ (Dates and venues TBC). Please click on the title to find out about the work. Mazzilli Dance Theatre produces dance-theatre productions and therefore, the workshop is ideal not only for dance students but also for theatre students that would like to explore their physicality and their performance skills as well as working with costumes and props. Moreover, they will be able improvise/explore around the themes of the piece, like cultural integration that might affect them personally. This will be also a very good opportunity for Colleges/dance and theatre training institutions to publicize the training they provide as the details of their institution together with the names of the selected students will be mentioned in the production program and in the collateral material. For more info please click: One Step Closer to the Stage International Organization for Migration U.K. (IOM) and Accademia Puglia have commissioned Mazzilli Dance Theatre to choreograph a dance piece for "Buy Responsibly" campaign. The campaign looks at the demand side of trafficking, specifically for forced labour practices. The main focus of the campaign is raising awareness on the issue of human trafficking for forced labour practices. To do so, IOM partnered with Saatchi & Saatchi to create an information and communication strategy. The main focus of the strategy is promoting the BR campaign through a ‘giant trolley’ which is turned upside down to represent how our consumer choices can affect the livelihood of others. Please also visit the campaign website at: www.buyresponsibly.org to see the promotional video. For How Much? will be performed on various events as part of the campaign. Dates TBC Idea Store Learning provides a wide range of dance classes throughout the day. All courses are 10wks long and most of them cost only £33/£14 (Concession) I will be teaching the Ballet and the Contemporary dance classes at Beginners, Improvers and Intermediate levels at Whitechapel Idea Store and The Shadwell Centre. Courses start next wk and only few places available so HURRY!!! Whatever your reasons for learning dance; do not miss out on this fantastic opportunity to experience excellent teaching for great value for money. To find out about Timetables go on our website www.learningladder.co.uk And to enrol call 02073645665 or visit an Idea Store or learning centre. |
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