Dance Art Foundation to Take Joe Moran's ASSEMBLY on UK Tour from Oct 16

In the first national tour of his work, choreographer Joe Moran, with his company Dance Art Foundation, presents a collection of dance works this autumn. The tour will visit a diverse range of institutions, as these three works are staged in collaboration with galleries, theatres and health organisations across the UK. ASSEMBLY will tour from 16 October to 15 November 2014 with a press performance set for the University of Bedford Theatre on 22 October and the Greenwich Dance Agency on 15 November.

Noted for his bold, unconventional choreography, the collection consists of Decommission, a compelling solo performed by Moran himself; Arrangement, an all-male ensemble piece that considers men and contemporary masculinity, challenging the objectification of men in contemporary dance; and Obverse, a trio commissioned for The Place Prize for dance that examines formalism in choreography, accompanied by an original sound-score created by BAFTA award-winning sound artist Kaffe Matthews.

Speaking about Arrangement, Choreographer Joe Moran said "I find intense, dynamic, athletic, and explosive dance thrilling; however, all-male dance is often limited to this one mode. Physical intimacy is framed as aggressive or competitive to assuage anxiety about how men should behave. For me, this does not open up possibilities about who, what and how we may be - a distinct skill of dance - but rather conforms to wildly outdated stereotypes: misogynistic, heteronormative, homophobic. I am interested to foreground the rich differences between men and our contrasting and rounded experience; our capacity for reflection and tenderness, our negotiation of failure, humour and lightness, as well as skill, power and prowess."

As part of Dance Art Foundation's dance-in-health programme Breathing Space, the company will tour to five hospitals in across the country, alongside the show's tour dates in galleries, universities and theatres. Where possible, hospital dates will be open to members of the public as well as patients and their visitors and will form a pilot for developing a UK hospitals touring network. Breathing Space is a nationally recognized initiative that nurtures and supports health and wellbeing through dance, via a programme of workshops, residencies and performances for children, young people, adults and elders.

Hospital partner Rachel Rogers of Merseyside Dance Initiative said, "Arts, and dance performance and participation in particular, are increasingly recognised to enhance patients' experience; supporting hospitals to be healing environments, aiding relaxation, reducing distress and creatively complimenting clinical care. We are excited to be working with Joe Moran and Dance Art Foundation whose work in hospitals is known nationally. We hope our collaboration on Assembly will lead to a long term partnership for Liverpool".

In addition to performances of the three works in the Assembly collection, each date on the tour has a programme that responds to the unique opportunities offered by the venue. This includes durational installation work Singular at David Roberts Art Foundation in a bill alongside artist Sarah Lucas and music producer planningtorock, a Symposium, Assembly: Critical Dialogues at Coventry University with Professor Sarah Whately, durational installation The Body at Nottingham Contemporary, and culminates in a performance of Arrangement at Greenwich Dance's historic Borough Hall in London.

Speaking about the tour, Joe Moran said "Assembly is my first national tour and most ambitious project to date. It brings together the full range of Dance Art Foundation's work - taking new ideas in dance out into the world in fresh and imaginative ways; specifically, it aligns our touring more closely to our national strategic dance-in-health programme, Breathing Space and our popular Critical Dialogues project. For us, Assembly offers an exciting new model for dance touring in the UK, opening up new possibilities for dance and the context in which it can be encountered".

Joe Moran is a choreographer, dancer and Artistic Director of Dance Art Foundation, which he founded in 2000. A semi-finalist for The Place Prize in 2012, Joe strives to creates bold, daring and distinctive new works that form a dialogue with disciplines other than his own, including in visual art, music and film as well as health and business. His work has received performances in theatres, galleries and public spaces in both the UK and abroad. As a dancer, Joe has worked with many distinguished choreographers including Deborah Hay (USA), Siobhan Davies (UK), Christopher House (Toronto Dance Theatre) and, most recently, Pontus Pettersson (Sweden).

Dance Art Foundation aims to extend the boundaries of dance, asserting its vital contribution to international culture, health and public life. Producing work that is often bold, experimental and multi-disciplinary, the company aims to foster debate and widen public access to new thinking in dance. The company is also a recognised leader in dance-in-health. Most recently, Dance Art Foundation worked in partnership with BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Yorkshire Sculpture Park to co-produce MAKE, a major touring performance project by choreographer Florence Peake (2012-2013).

Assembly is funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council England and The Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, with support from The Place, South East Dance, Movingeast, Artsadmin and Merseyside Dance.

For more information, follow @DanceArtFnd #assemblytour, or visit www.danceartfoundation.com or find Dance Art Foundation on Facebook at facebook.com/DanceArtFoundation.

DETAILS:

Running Times:

Obverse: 20 mins
Decommission: 15 mins
Arrangement: 48 mins

Suitable for 14+

Choreographed by Joe Moran
Sound Design by Kaffe Matthews (incorporating Handel's Minacciami, non ho timor)
Lighting design by Beky Stoddart
Costume design by Sharon Coleman (Obverse), Ksenia Vashchenko (Decommission/ Arrangement)

Performed by Andrew Hardwidge, Samuel Kennedy, Joe Moran, Erik Nevin, Christopher Owen, Hilary Stainsby, Alex Standard and Yiannis Tsigkris.

UK Tour Listings:

16 October Arrangement and Singular (durational installation work)

David Roberts Art Foundation

Symes Mews, London NW1 7JE

FREE / Limited places - Please arrive before 8pm

www.davidrobertsartfoundation.com | 020 7383 3004

22 October Decommission, Obverse and Arrangement

University of Bedford Theatre

Polhill Avenue, Bedford MK41 9EA

£10 /concessions £7 / NUS £5/ 7:30pm

www.beds.ac.uk/theatre | 01234 793 197

23 October Obverse and Arrangement (excerpts)

Royal Brompton Hospital, London - The Coffee Shop, Sydney Wing, and then wards/sites across the hospital

TBC/FREE

www.rbht.nhs.uk/arts

24 October Obverse and Arrangement*

Ellen Terry Theatre, Coventry

Coventry University, Jordan Well, Coventry CV1 5RW

7pm (Performance) | £TBC

www.decoda-uk.org/events | 02476 887 181

*Plus Assembly: Critical Dialogues Symposium, 2-6pm

27 October Obverse

Aintree Hospital, Liverpool, Elective Care Atrium

Lower Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside L9 7AL

12:30pm/FREE

28 October Decommission, Obverse and Arrangement

Rose Theatre, Ormskirk

Edge Hill University, St Helens Rd, Ormskirk L39 4QP

7.30pm | £10, £8 (concs)

www.edgehill.ac.uk/artscentre | 01695 584480

29 October Obverse and Arrangement (excerpts)

Broadgreen University NHS Trust, Liverpool, Main Reception Area

Thomas Drive, Liverpool L14 3LB

2pm/FREE

30 October Decommission, Obverse and Arrangement

Axis Arts Centre, Crewe

Manchester Metropolitan University, Cheshire, Crewe Green Rd, Crewe CW1 5DU

7.30pm | £8, £5 (concs)

www.axisartscentre.org.uk | 0161 247 5302

3 November Obverse and Arrangement (excerpts)

St Thomas' Hospital, London, Central Hall

Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7EH

1pm/FREE

8-9 November Decommission, Obverse and Arrangement plus durational installation The Body

Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham

Derby Rd, Nottingham NG7 2UH

Installation and durational performance: Sat 2 - 6pm, Sun 11am-5pm

Performances: Sat 2pm, 3.30pm, 5pm Sun 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm, 3.30pm

FREE

www.dance4.co.uk | 0115 948 9750

15 November Arrangement

Greenwich Dance Agency, London

Borough Hall, Royal Hill, London SE10 8RE

8pm | £12, £9 (concs)

www.greenwichdance.org.uk | 0115 948 9750