East London Dance Announces New Willi Dorner Project Amongst a Series of Highlights for 2017 and Beyond

East London Dance announces a raft of upcoming highlights today including a UK premiere from Willi Dorner, the re-launch of a unique dance career training programme and news of their joint East Wall project being broadcast on the BBC in 2018.

Polly Risbridger, Director of East London Dance: "2017 continues to see East London Dance celebrating and championing the people, places and artists of East London, and creatively tackling urgent contemporary issues including social inequality, gentrification and lack of opportunities for young people.

We are delighted to be collaborating with the internationally-renowned Austrian artist Willi Dorner for the first time and bringing his sensational project, living room to Stratford for its UK premiere. We are also thrilled to be re-launching our hugely successful dance career training programme The Fi.ELD for the first of five fully funded years. As recently announced by the BBC our East Wall project with Hofesh Shechter Company, LIFT and Historic Royal Palaces will be broadcast as part of Performance Live, and we relish the prospect of being able to share East London-produced dance, in a spectacular setting, with the whole country in summer 2018."

On 17 & 18 June, East London Dance will present Stratford Living, a human sculpture photography project originated by the internationally-renowned choreographer Willi Dorner (bodies in urban spaces). Created especially for Stratford, this is the first time Dorner's eye-opening living room project has been mounted in the UK.

Working with East London-based professional dancers, Dorner will choreograph a sequence of human sculptures in a range of homes and buildings in both the historic and more recently developed quarters of Stratford to offer a creative exploration of urbanisation and living environments in East London today. These living sculptures will be photographed in-situ by Dorner's long-time collaborator Lisa Rastl, and audiences will be invited to experience the exhibition of these photographs on a walking tour of Stratford, to view the images in the same places in which they were created.

Dorner's work was last seen in London in 2009 as part of Dance Umbrella, when his globe-trotting human sculptures project, bodies in urban spaces was mounted across the city - from Tower Bridge to City Hall. Stratford Living is the next chapter of this artistic exploration, as Dorner transforms homes into public exhibition spaces, challenging the boundary between public and private worlds.

Willi Dorner: "Stratford Living subverts conventional views of the everyday lived environment by making public the arranged systems that define our private spaces. We move within a strict framework of arranged systems and regulations. They are so everyday that, over time, they become invisible to us. This is also true for our most private spheres, our houses and apartments. The original project, living room, explores the notions of housing, interiors and exteriors as well as the urban district in which they are located. It opens up buildings and makes an urban district accessible "from the inside out" and thus also provides an insight into the private spheres of our fellow people that are usually not visible to the public."

Polly Risbridger, Director East London Dance: "East London is undergoing unprecedented change as the largest regeneration project of our time brings new spaces, homes, people and organisations to the area. By bringing an artist of Dorner's calibre and international reputation here and connecting him with local residents and organisations, Stratford Living is shining a spotlight on the role of the arts in this changing cultural, physical and social landscape whilst simultaneously celebrating our local community."

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 11 April.

Visit eastlondondance.org/events/willi-dorners-stratford-living for more information and to book tickets.

Stratford Living by Willi Dorner, commissioned and produced by East London Dance in association with Sarah Trist Dance Management Agency.

Stratford Living is part of Our Living Art, a community arts programme for residents of Chobham Manor, the first new neighbourhood at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The programme is commissioned by London Legacy Development Corporation and is funded by Chobham Manor LLP, a joint venture between L&Q and Taylor Whimpey.

Stratford Living is made possible by INTPA - INTERNATIONAL NET FOR DANCE AND PERFORMANCE AUSTRIA of Tanzquartier Wien with funds by Federal Chancellery of Austria (BKA) and BMEIA.

Supported by Arts Council England.

The Fi.ELD youth professional training programme secures funding for the next five years.

East London Dance's youth professional training programme - which boasts a 100% success rate in securing its alumni paid employment in the arts - has secured five years of funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to the sum of £250,000 to continue to develop its dynamic emerging talent programme.

The Fi.ELD (Future Innovators. East London Dance) is a professional training programme for young people aged 16-25 years, who are passionate about dance and want to create positive change in society and the dance sector. Inclusive to all, it specifically aims to reach young people who are not currently in education, employment or training.

The Fi.ELD introduces participants to the true breadth of careers within the dance sector by offering comprehensive professional training under four key pillars: Artistic, Technical, Education and Business - equipping these future innovators with the skills, knowledge and networks to make their ideas and career ambitions a reality.

39 young people graduated The Fi.ELD programme in its first cycle (2012-2015), and 100% secured paid employment in the arts. To date:

• More than £70,000 has been raised by Fi.ELD graduates to support their own projects.
• 75 UK arts organisations have employed or supported graduates.
• 7 regular events or festivals have been produced by graduates.
• 13 Fi.ELD graduates are now running their own dance companies.
• 19 have travelled internationally to continue their learning.
• 25 are teaching dance on a regular basis.
• 5 have gone on to full-time education.

Kirsty Anderson-Tyrrell, Creative Producer: Participation & Events, East London Dance: "I am so proud to be delivering The Fi.ELD at East London Dance where all the organisation's values come to fruition in an incredible programme that grows and nurtures the next generation of young makers, producers and artists. Having seen the impact this programme has had on previous participants (including raising over £70k to continue running their innovative projects) and with the continued financial investment from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, I cannot wait to see what talented young people we will meet over the next five years."

Amy Welch, The Fi.ELD Graduate: "Without the learning and practise from The Fi.ELD, I would not have had the confidence and skills needed to apply to an organisation such as Sadler's Wells"

Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells: "You could not get a better advert for the positive outcomes of The Fi.ELD than Amy Welch. She joined us in the programming department after The Fi.ELD and hit the ground running. She had the skills to deal with whatever crops up in the running of an international programme together with a positive 'can do' attitude"

This year's Fi.ELD programme which launched on 1 April will culminate in a festival event on 28 & 29 October conceived, created and produced by this year's 16-strong cohort, as part of a week of activities by, for and with young people at Stratford Circus Arts Centre.

For further information visit: eastlondondance.org/projects/the-fi-eld

East Wall to be broadcast on BBC Two in summer 2018 as part of Performance Live

East London Dance, Hofesh Shechter Company, Historic Royal Palaces, LIFT & Illuminations (London).

Choreographer Hofesh Shechter creates a new work in one of the world's great landmark buildings. Leading a legion of choreographers, young dancers, musicians and community participants, Hofesh and the ensemble will animate the West Moat of the Tower of London with a thrilling high energy performance. As the sun sets over the Thames, the sounds, energy, and people of East London will fill this bastion of power, in a vivid and timely celebration of London's diverse communities.

Hofesh's trademark pulsating musical score will be played live on electric guitars, drums and by military bands, choirs, rappers, spoken word artists and others from multiple locations including on top of the ramparts and towers.

The project is inspired by themes of migration, cultural identity and displacement, and will celebrate East London's rich cultural heritage in its participants, music and choreographic elements.

Each night, 2000 people will be able to experience the live event in The Shadows of one of London's most iconic landmarks.

East Wall is a partnership between East London Dance, Hofesh Shechter Company, Historic Royal Palaces and LIFT and is co-produced for broadcast by Illuminations. It will take place in July 2018.

Photo credit: Lisa Rastl

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