Arthur Pita to Tour New Dark Dance Double Bill STEPMOTHER / STEPFATHER

Award-winning Director and Choreographer, Arthur Pita, in collaboration with HeadSpaceDance, presents the world premiere of STEPMOTHER / STEPFATHER, a wickedly gruesome and darkly surreal double bill for the Halloween season. A new commission by DanceEast, STEPMOTHER / STEPFATHER will premiere at Jerwood DanceHouse, Ipswich on 28 and 29 October 2016. The production will return next spring for a national tour, visiting six cities across the UK including seven nights at The Place, London (1-7 March 2017).

Presenting a thrilling evening of dark dance, STEPMOTHER leads us into a menacing world where macabre folklore meets the terrifying grotesque. Fairy tales distort into nightmares as familiar characters from Snow White to Hansel and Gretel are pursued by a force of monstrous and abusive stepmothers. Pita's 2007 work The Stepfather, originally commissioned by CandoCo, is re-imagined for the second piece. STEPFATHER tells the grisly tale of a twisted family situation inspired by the folk punk 'Country Death Song' from cult American band Violent Femmes. Spiralling into a hellish world of incest and murder, the search for redemption is played out beyond the grave.

Arthur Pita's Openheart Productions presents a cast of seven: HeadSpaceDance performers Christopher Akril, Jonathan Goddard and Clemmie Sveaas, are joined by Corey Annand (title role in The Little Match Girl, Grete in The Metamorphosis), Valentina Golfieri (The Little Match Girl), Nathan Goodman (Richard Alston Company) and Nadia Adame (CandoCo's The Stepfather).

Directed and choreographed by Arthur Pita, The Stepfather original design by Simon Daw, lighting design by Lucy Carter and sound composition by Frank Moon (The Little Match Girl, The Metamorphosis).

Director and Choreographer, Arthur Pita says: "When I was approached by HeadSpaceDance to create a new work, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to revisit a piece I created for CandoCo Dance Company entitled The Stepfather. I also wanted to create a sister piece to form a double bill, so we will premiere STEPMOTHER to form the full evening. I am thrilled to be working with such a fantastic and eclectic cast of such high quality. It's at this time of year when we feel the first chills in the air and the leaves start to drop that I get very excited, as it feels so right to enter into the world of dark tales!"

Pita's celebrated work includes: The Metamorphosis (South Bank Award for Dance, National Dance Award for Best Modern Choreography and Olivier Award nomination) for The Linbury, Royal Opera House and The Joyce Theater, New York; A Dream Within A Midsummer Night's Dream (Olivier Award nomination) for Ballet Black; The Ballad Of Mack And Ginny, a duet for Edward Watson and Wendy Whelan for the Royal Opera House and City Center New York; Facada for Russian ballet stars Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev, London Coliseum and City Center New York; and a new commission, Run Mary Run, by Natalia Osipova, performed with Sergei Polunin, currently playing at Sadler's Wells this week. Pita's family Christmas show, The Little Match Girl, returns to Sadler's Wells (Lilian Baylis Studio) for its third consecutive year this December.

STEPMOTHER / STEPFATHER is commissioned by DanceEast and presented by Arthur Pita's Openheart Productions in collaboration with HeadSpaceDance. Supported by Arts Council England.

IF YOU GO:

WORLD PREMIERE

Arthur Pita & HeadSpaceDance

STEPMOTHER / STEPFATHER

Friday 28 & Saturday 29 October | 7.30pm

Tickets from £15

DanceEast, Jerwood DanceHouse, Foundry Lane, Ipswich IP4 1DW

Box Office: 01473 295230 / danceeast.co.uk

Age suitability: 14years+

UK TOUR 2017:

TICKETS ON SALE FROM NOVEMBER

Arthur Pita & HeadSpaceDance

STEPMOTHER / STEPFATHER

BIRMINGHAM

Thursday 16 & Friday 17 February | 7.30pm

DanceXchange, Thorp Street, Birmingham B5 4TB

BOURNEMOUTH

Friday 24 February | 7.30pm

Pavilion Theatre, Westover Road, Bournemouth BH1 2BU

LONDON

Wednesday 1 - Tuesday 7 March | 7.30pm

The Place, 17 Duke's Road, London WC1H 9PY

CANTERBURY

Tuesday 14 March | 7.30pm

Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury CT2 7NB

SALFORD QUAYS

Tuesday 9 April | 8pm

The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays M50 3AZ

NEWCASTLE

Saturday 13 May | 7.30pm

Dance City, Temple Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 4BR

Arthur is Portuguese, was born in South Africa and studied dance in Johannesburg. He came to London in 1991 where he trained at London Contemporary Dance School, gaining a Masters degree. Most recently Arthur choreographed THE BALLAD OF MACK AND GINNY, a duet for Edward Watson and Wendy Whelan for the Royal Opera House and City Center New York; RUN MARY RUN for Natalia Osipova and Sergei Polunin for Sadler's Wells; FACADA for Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev at Sergerstrom Centre for the Arts California, Stanislavsky Theatre Moscow, London Coliseum and City Center New York; OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD for the National Theatre; RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY for the Royal Opera; LA BALA a solo for Thiago Soares for Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro. Arthur was one of three choreographers to choreograph a new production of The Nutcracker for Paris Opera Ballet 2016. Forthcoming commissions will premiere in 2017 for Body Traffic Los Angeles and San Francisco Ballet.

Other choreographic work includes: THE METAMORPHOSIS (South Bank Award for Dance, National Dance Award for Best Modern Choreography and Olivier nomination) for The Linbury Studio Theatre Royal Opera House, The Joyce New York and filmed for Sky Arts; A DREAM WITHIN A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (Olivier nomination) for Ballet Black; THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL at Jerwood Dance House DanceEast, UK tour, Lilian Baylis Sadler's Wells; THE WORLD'S GREATEST SHOW at Greenwich Dance, Jerwood Dance House and Royal Opera House; GOD'S GARDEN a co-commission from DanceEast and ROH2 at Jerwood Dance House DanceEast and Linbury Theatre Royal Opera House and revived for a UK tour; SNOW WHITE IN BLACK (Critics Circle National Dance Award for Modern Repertoire) for Phoenix Dance Company, performed at Sadler's Wells; AND THEN GONE for Bare Bones, performed at the Linbury ROH; THE STEPFATHER for CandoCo Dance Company; MISCHIEF (TMA Award Achievement in Dance) a collaboration with Theatre Rites, commissioned by Sadler's Wells and Dance Touring Partnership and recently revived at The New Victory Theatre on Broadway; DANCING IN THE DARK for Images of Dance; UTOPIA a site specific commission for the International Dance Festival Birmingham; THE ART OF THE IKETTES for Intoto Dance; VOLVER VOLVER a solo for Ed Watson for Men In Motion at London Coliseum and La Versiliana Festival Tuscany; BOOMSHE SHEBOOM, BUGGER, A FAIRY TALE and CAMP at The Place Theatre.

For info, visit www.arthurpita.com.

HeadSpaceDance is the brainchild of British dancers Charlotte Broom and Christopher Akrill, who, after some twenty years in the business, dancing with Cullberg Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre and in many productions at the Royal Opera House, took the reins in a new venture as dancers, curators and producers in 2012. Their debut production, THREE AND THREE QUARTERS, commissioned by the Royal Opera House, was a critically acclaimed programme of six solos, duets and trios (with Clemmie Sveaas). Following its success, the Royal Opera House commissioned Headspace to create a second programme IF PLAY IS PLAY (Linbury Theatre) which included three UK premieres from playwright and theatre director, Matthew Dunster; Associate Choreographer at Nederlands Dans Theater, Johan Inger; and Artistic Director of Protein, Luca Silvestrini. Headspacedance have also performed at the Dance Salad Festival, Houston Texas and at Fall For Dance Festival, New York City Centre Theatre.

For info, visit www.headspacedance.com.

DanceEast is one of the UK's leading dance organisations. It is based at the Jerwood DanceHouse in Ipswich, the home of dance in the East of England. DanceEast's programme embraces the artistic, educational, social and recreational roles that dance plays in the local and national arts ecology. It places artists at the heart of the organisation, presenting high-quality high-profile dance work in the Jerwood DanceHouse and offering artists support, development and stimulation via programmes such as the Associate Artist Scheme, Rural Retreats, Professional Development workshops, advanced level classes and the Choreographic Development Fund. DanceEast has been running a range of innovative community projects for over thirty years, working closely with partners on local, national and international projects.

For info, visit www.danceeast.co.uk.

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