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2012 Looks
Bright as Merseyside Dance Initiative (MDI), flourishes
IN just one month, 2012 is already looking
like a successful year for Merseyside Dance Initiative, thanks to a
series of successful funding bids, programme announcements and an
MBE for Artistic Director Karen Gallagher.
At the turn of the year, Karen Gallagher was awarded an MBE in the
New Year’s honours list for her services to Dance. Karen has
received congratulations from Arts Council England, The Department
for Culture, Media and Sport, Councillor Moira McLaughlin, Mayor of
Wirral and Ged Fitzgerald, CEO of Liverpool City Council and has
promised to continue the great work that she and MDI do for dance
and the community on Merseyside.
On receipt of her MBE, Karen said:- "I am so proud to be in
receipt of this honour and I am very grateful for all the wonderful
support and well wishing that I have had. I am quite overwhelmed; it
was such a wonderful surprise and a great way to start my new year."
 Appointed
as the North West Hub Lead for the Big Dance 2012; the ultimate
dance experience in 2012, January has subsequently been an
exceptional month for MDI. The organisation was awarded a Grant For
the Arts from Arts Council England towards its Big Dance NW Link up
2012. As well as providing the infrastructure for Big Dance in the
North West, the grant will fund the North West’s Big Dance
Commission, which will be choreographed by Jeanefer Jean Charles,
who has since been confirmed as Mass Movement Coordinator for the
Olympic Games. The dance piece choreographed by Jeanefer and
assisted by locally based Lisi Perry, will be performed by over
1,200 dancers at a yet to be announced North West location during
Big Dance Week.
The Big Dance 2012 will take place from 7 July to 15 July 2012 that
includes a 7 week countdown period starting on 18 May 2012 as part
of London 2012 Festival; the finale of the Cultural Olympiad. The
festival will feature 9 days of dance in unusual spaces throughout
the UK; shopping centres, parks, galleries, and lidos, plus
showcasing the diversity of dance styles across the country.
Mira Balchandran Gokul, Big Dance 2012 Coordinator for the North
West, based at Merseyside Dance Initiative said:- "Big Dance
2012 in the North West is about showing the country and the world
the great dance activity that goes in the region. Dance is the
fastest growing art form and we want to bring it more in to the
public realm through large scale quality participatory events and
performances. Big Dance in the North West aims to link every borough
in the region to the London Festival 2012 programme, the finale of
the Cultural Olympiad. It is the biggest celebration of dance and we
want everyone in the North West to join."
Following the ‘Big Give Christmas Challenge’
fundraising campaign, the organisation revealed that they had
successfully raised over £2500 in donations. The money raised will
be used to facilitate projects at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and
in Dementia Care. These projects will form part of MDI’s Health and
Wellbeing programme, which will be launched in April and span until
2015. The Organisation’s Dance and Health Strategy for Merseyside
will also be launched later this spring. The Strategy will see MDI
increasing dance activity in the region over a three year period.
Working with individuals, groups and communities the strategy
utilises dance as a method of addressing health inequalities, and
will also produce new dance work for performance with diverse
community groups and professional artists.
MDI’s ‘Topsy Turvy’ mini festival will return on Saturday, 24 March
and Sunday, 25 March 2012, following its hugely popular debut in
2011. For an entire weekend, dance will take over the Capstone
Theatre, with plenty of opportunities for audiences to enjoy and
interact with dance in a number of different spaces. Topsy Turvy
will feature performances from Taciturn, Lizzie Ryder, Kate Jackson
and Lauren Tucker, Jo Ashbridge, Maxine Brown, Genevieve Say and
Edge 4wd, as well as five new pieces choreographed by Homotopia
favourite, Gary Clarke.
This is preceded by MDI’s annual and FREE Family Dance Day at
the New Brighton Floral Pavilion on Saturday, 17 March 2012. This
fun filled day of dance will include workshops, games and
performances for the whole family to take part in. There will also
be dance demonstrations in genres such as Contemporary, Street
Dance, Hip Hop, Caribbean Carnival and African Dancing for visitors
to take part in and learn more about taking up dance classes in each
specific style.
MDI will be facilitating an informal gathering and discussion
entitled Dance Conversations; The Health Issue at the Bluecoat on
Friday, 23 March 2012, from 12pm to 2pm. Dance Conversations
presents a free opportunity for Merseyside Dance artists and
companies working in the field of dance and health and professionals
from the health and social care to network and share ideas and
practice and information on existing or future projects and
research. Spaces should be reserved in advance through the Bluecoat
Box office.
Success has also come in the form of travel for the organisation.
MDI Project Co-ordinator Maxine Brown is currently away on a 6 week
exchange project with Brouhaha in Martinique aimed at sharing
artistic skills between the two countries with an emphasis on
carnival.
MDI Project Development Manager Rachel Rogers will travel to America
later this year, after being awarded a 2012 Winston Churchill
Travelling Fellowship, in the category of Arts and Older People
(supported by the Baring Foundation). She will be travelling to the
US to research dance projects for older people and making the shift
from community practice to great performance work.
For more information on MDI, click on to:-
mdi.org.uk, Like Merseyside
Dance Initiative on Facebook or follow @MDIstudio24 on Twitter.
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1 of the world’s
biggest beat-boxers comes to Liverpool
SHLOMO, who is a World
Record holding beat-boxer and Southbank Centre Artist in Residence,
is set to perform at the Black-E, Liverpool on Saturday, 17 March
2012.
Shlomo has worked for years to push the boundaries of beat-boxing as
an art form and used his incredible vocal skills to make music
within all kinds of musical genres. Now, he comes to Liverpool for a
one off performance as part of the Voices Festival of a cappella
singing, produced by Sense of Sound, which takes place from Friday,
15 March to Sunday, 17 March 2012.
Shlomo’s fascinating live performance technique utilizes a loop
pedal to sample his voice on the fly, enabling him to create and
rework a huge range of original songs and well loved classics
Demonstrating the breadth of his abilities, Shlomo’s amazing talent
has lead him to make music with the likes of the Mighty Boosh, Björk,
Martha Wainwright, Damon Albarn, Jarvis Cocker, Bill Bailey as well
as appearing on Later with Jools Holland.
Classically trained as a drummer and percussionist
since the age of eight, Shlomo took up jazz drums in his teens. In
2002 he moved to Leeds to study Astrophysics, but his beat-boxing
quickly got him noticed and he joined the award-winning hip hop
group Foreign Beggars soon after, heading on tour across the UK,
Europe and Canada. In August 2004, Shlomo was invited by
Icelandic singer Björk to beatbox on her all-vocal album Medulla.
The track, ‘Oceania’, was commissioned to be performed at the
Olympics Opening Ceremony in Athens and the performance was
subsequently nominated for a Grammy Award. An estimated audience of
4.5 billion viewers saw this performance, making Shlomo the most
heard beat-boxer in history. In 2011 Shlomo represented the UK at
the World Loopstation Championships in LA where he defeated
finalists from 12 other countries... Shlomo commented:-
"I'm delighted and excited to be performing at the Voices Festival.
Sense Of Sound is a fantastic movement and I think it's going to a
brilliant event. I will be sure to bring my baddest beats and
basslines!"
Saphena Aziz, Director at Sense of Sound said:- "We are
delighted to welcome Shlomo to Liverpool as part of the Voices
Festival. It’s tremendously exciting to have this innovative and
highly-respected artist performing; we look forward to his
appearance greatly."
Other events taking place over the duration of the festival include
a National Conference for Singing and Health, an a cappella concert
featuring The Sense of Sound Singers and Connie Lush celebrating the
music of Joni Mitchell at the Black-E both on Friday, 16 March 2012
and a day of a cappella performances from 15 of the region’s choirs
on Saturday, 17 March 2012. Bringing the festival to a close on
Sunday, 18 March 2012 will be a free day of family fun with
interactive activities for all ages throughout the day and will end
with a massive ‘Big Sing’, which will take place in the Bluecoat Hub
on the afternoon of Sunday, 18 March 2012.
Sense of Sound is one of the most unique and inspirational companies
in the UK today. Led by four female directors; Jennifer John,
Saphena Aziz, Juliet Russell and Perri Alleyne-Hughes, the
organisation aims to create and produce amazing ways to celebrate
singing and the Voices Festival is no exception. From hip hop to
barbershop and contemporary jazz to choral, the Voices Festival will
showcase the full (vocal) range of a cappella singing styles, giving
plenty of opportunity for everyone to interact, get involved and get
singing!
Catch Shlomo’s performance on
ITV1’s Daybreak by clicking on to:-
YouTube! More information
can also be found about Shlomo at:-
shlo.co.uk. The
Voices Festival is produced by Sense of Sound and the Black-E, more
information can be found at:-
senseofsound.net.
Adopt a Puppy – the Easter gift
with a difference from Canine Partners
IF you are looking for Easter gift with a
difference, why not consider Adopting a Puppy to support national
charity Canine Partners; which provides specially trained assistance
dogs to people with disabilities. For just £1 a week your gift
recipient will follow the path of a puppy’s initial training to
become a canine partner right through into their partnership with 1
of the Canine Partners disabled applicants and beyond. The
Adopt a Puppy scheme, supported by Purina PetCare, allows supporters
of Canine Partners a greater insight into the difference their
donations can make to the life of a person with disabilities. The
gift recipient will receive a puppy pack containing a photo of the
chosen puppy, a personal certificate, a cuddly jacketed toy dog and
regular updates on its adventures. Isabel Campbell, the
Charity’s director of fundraising and marketing, commented:-
"Adopting a Puppy this Easter is an ideal way to give a wonderful
lasting present to those you love, as well as supporting a worthy
cause. We receive no government funding and rely on fundraising to
put each puppy through its training at a cost of £10,000. Knowing
you are involved in any way with helping our applicants gain the
independence they deserve is hugely rewarding." Tracey
Kesterton has multiple sclerosis and graduated with canine partner
Lewis in 2010. She says that:- "Lewis is now so much a part of
my life. When I wake, stiff in the mornings, Lewis tugs me to a
sitting position so I can get up. He rounds me up for our walk in
the morning, brings my shoes, keys, mobile phone and whistle. When
we return from walks he tugs the door open for me so I can reverse
my mobility scooter back in. Lewis empties the washing machine for
me and is very good at picking up dropped pegs when I’m hanging
things out. I manage to get by doing as much as I can for as long as
I’m able. However, I am reassured that whatever MS throws at me,
Lewis can be trained to keep pace with it – he is my reason to get
up each morning." For further information on
Adopting a Puppy or helping Canine Partners in any way, please call
the charity on:- 08456 580480 or visit them
online. |
