The Place Unveils its Spring 2017 Season

London's most exciting dance space launches a season led by Work Place Artists James Cousins and Vera Tussing and includes the London premiere of Arthur Pita's Stepmother/Stepfather.

London's most innovative dance venue today unveils its Spring 2017 season. As ever, it will kick off the new year with its traditional festival of dance by emerging choreographers, Resolution (12 Jan - 25 Feb). Over six weeks Resolution showcases some of the brightest talent in the UK today and has been the springboard from which the likes of Wayne McGregor and Katie Prince have launched their careers.

One of the highlights of the upcoming season is the premiere of Rosalind (15-18 Mar) by Work Place artist James Cousins (winner of the inaugural New Adventures Choreographer Award). Commissioned by the British Council and The Place and created last year in Korea, it takes its inspiration from Shakespeare's eponymous heroine and questions whether women need to take on stereotypical masculinity to find equality in our modern world.

Also having its London premiere this season is Stepmother/Stepfather (2-11 Mar) by London Contemporary Dance School alumnus Arthur Pita. A wickedly dark, surreal double bill inspired by fairytales and the cult US post-punk band Violent Femmes, it blends macabre folklore with the terrifyingly grotesque.

Fevered Sleep, making their Place debut, will present their thought-provoking Men and Girls Dance which brings together men who dance professionally and girls who dance for fun in order to celebrate their right to dance together. Following an extensive tour, well received by audiences and press alike, the show arrives at The Place from 13-22 April.

Work Place artist Vera Tussing, renowned for her tactile and sensitive pieces, will her latest work Mazing, which investigates social relationships in the 21st century and attempts to generate positive shared experiences through dancing and the fragility of touch. Other visiting companies include 2FacedDance who bring their gritty double bill Run and Gabriele Reuter & Mattef Kuhlmey (4-5 Apr), whose dance/physics performance lecture (with electronic soundtrack) The Amplitude (31 Mar) will form part of a wider research project around acoustic waves, sound and space.

Continuing to draw on scientific influences, The Place will be one of three venues to host the first ever London staging of The Sick of the Fringe festival (17-19 Feb). A popular event at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015 and 2016, the programme will feature work which engages with arts and health in new and exciting ways. The full programme will be available from 6 Jan date at http://thesickofthefringe.com/.

The Place's world class-conservatoire, London Contemporary Dance School, will present three events showcasing the work of its students, beginning with an evening of dance performed by 40 of its undergraduate students (9-10 Feb); later in the season, students working towards a Postgraduate qualification in Choreography and Performance (23-24 Mar) will showcase their work, followed by an evening of dance from final year undergraduate students in Undergraduate to Professional (28- & 29 Mar). InHouse (11 Feb) will see The Place's resident companies come together for a 'one night only' celebration, danced by Shuffle, Shift, Cando2, Fuel, Edge and Scatter.

Shobhana Jeyasingh Dance will present Material Men Redux (28-29 Apr), which blends classical Indian and Hip Hop choreography in a full length virtuoso piece for two dazzling performers of the Indian diaspora.

Inspired by global migration and centred around the relationship between two brothers, ACE Dance and Music's TEN (25 April) will draw on movement from Kathak, Flamenco, martial arts and ballet. Accompanying shows throughout the season is Spectator School, The Place's regular series of post-show talks, workshops and contextual events to satisfy the most curious of minds.

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Listings information

The Place

17 Duke's Rd, London, WC1H 9PY

020 7121 1100 | www.theplace.org.uk

London Contemporary Dance School 9th & 10th Feb, 7.30pm | £10 (£7 concs) Undergraduates in Performance

Experience the exceptional performance skills of over 40 dancers in a full evening of work. With premieres by visiting professional artists Dam Van Huynh and Dane Hurst alongside a re-staging of Hofesh Shechter's choreography by Sam Coren; all performed by London Contemporary Dance School's outstanding students.

InHouse | The Place Companies 11th Feb, 7pm | £14 (£9 concs)

InHouse is one of the most fun nights of the year. It's when all The Place Companies come together in a 'one night only' dance celebration. See new pieces by fierce and inspiring choreographers performed by Shuffle, Shift, Cando2, Fuel, Edge and Scatter.

The Sick of the Fringe London 17th - 19th Feb

Wellcome Collection, Camden People's Theatre, Conway Hall and The Place

Since 2015 The Sick of the Fringe has connected work engaging with arts and health across the Edinburgh Fringe, bringing voices from outside the mainstream into public discourse in new and exciting ways. The Sick of the Fringe's first extended weekend features performance and discussion with artists and scientists thinking about the body's problems and its possibilities. For the full programme visit www.thesickofthefringe.com

Stepmother / Stepfather | Arthur Pita & Headspace Dance 2rd - 5th, 8th - 11th March 7.30pm, 7th March 8pm

£18 (£12 concs)

A wickedly gruesome, surreal double bill of dark dance. Stepmother leads us into a menacing world where macabre folklore meets the terrifying grotesque. Fairy tales distort into nightmare as familiar characters from Snow White to Hansel and Gretel are pursued by a force of monstrous and abusive stepmothers. 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.

Enchanted Worlds Workshop 7th March, 6.30pm | Free / £5

Once upon a pre-show, a party of grown-ups gathered at The Place. Fuelled by potions and creativity, they rediscovered their inner-child by twisting much loved stories on their heads. Led by the House of Illustration you are invited to grab a drink and make your own spellbinding fairy-tale diorama to take away. £5 or free with a ticket to the show that night (booking essential).

Stepmother/ Stepfather Late 3rd March | Free

Stay after the show for a decadent after-party where nothing is quite as it seems. The most charming are wicked, the ugly are beautiful and anything is possible as you fall through the looking glass.

Rosalind | James Cousins Company 15th - 18th March, 8pm | £18 (£12 concs)

Set in a modern city - conservative by day, wonderland by night - the curious, courageous heroine Rosalind embarks on a journey of self-discovery, fuelled by love and oppression. Shakespeare's Rosalind from As You Like It is a clever, funny wordsmith. In this unique production, created in collaboration with Korean dancers and artists, Cousins takes her passion and eloquence beyond words, to somewhere only movement can take you.

As You Like It: Shakespeare reimagined 15th Mar 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Join leading scholars from the London Shakespeare Centre as they introduce you to the play and reveal some of the key issues that make it so ripe for revision and revival in 2017. £5 or free with a ticket for the show on the same night (booking essential).

Explore... Within Her Eyes 16th March, 6.30pm - 7.30pm | Free / £5

GCSE Dance teachers and students - join us and James for a special screening of his GCSE Anthology work, Within Her Eyes, followed by a Q&A session. £5 or free with a ticket to the performance that night.

Post show chat 17th March

Stay with us after the show for an informal chat with the company.

London Contemporary Dance School

Postgraduate Choreography and Performance 23rd & 24th March, 7.30pm | £10 (£7 concs)

Join the postgraduate department for an inspiring evening of thought provoking performance and choreography. Immerse yourself in experimental work by the School's postgraduate students and commissioned professional choreographers. Take this opportunity to see a preview of EDge, the postgraduate company before it embarks on a European tour.

Undergraduate to Professional 28th & 29th March, 7.30pm | £10 (£7 concs)

A mixed bill of dance including new works established artists Sasha Roubicek and Renaud Wiser; alongside a reconstruction of Richard Alston's Strong Language. Under the direction of Rick Nodine, the dancers have created a work that focuses on the art of improvisation; instantly composing dance, movement and voice throughout the performance. Enjoy the energy and extraordinary performance skills that will drive the dance industry of the future. With student choreography to complete the programme, the full evening is bursting with talent that will shape the future of dance - see it here first.

The Amplitude | Gabriele Reuter & Mattef Kuhlmey 31st March, 8pm | £16 (£12 concs)

Movement and sound collide in space. Movement that is heard, felt and sensed in the body. Sound constantly shaping and reshaping the room. By tuning into the simple idea of the acoustic wave, The Amplitude reveals the relationship between sound and movement and remixed their channels of perception. Part dance performance, part physics lecture, part electronic music concert, The Amplitude creates resonance with its audience.

Post show chat 31st March

Join us after the show for an informal chat about the piece with Gabriele and Mattef.

RUN | 2Faced Dance Company 4th & 5th April, 8pm | £16 (£12 concs)

Fight or flight? There is always a choice. A gritty and adventurous triple bill, RUN shows the darker side of humanity through an explosion of movement, theatre and design. From Above by 2Faced Dance Company's Artistic Director Tamsin Fitzgerald is a spectacular work looking at our ability (or inability) to stand up for our own beliefs. Rebecca Evans' The Other is an elegant and chilling homage to old horror films; a duet where light and dance masterfully interplay. Lenka Vagnerova's stunning Fallen looks at the mythology surrounding fallen angels and the idea that, cast out from the heavens, they move around us.

Post show chat 4th April

Stay after the show for an informal discussion with the company.

Mazing | Vera Tussing 7th & 8th April, 8pm | £16 (£12 concs)

Vera Tussing creates experiences that speak to untapped inner feelings or thoughts we didn't know we had. Her work is almost impossible to describe and simply best experienced. It is poetic, very subtle, gentle, friendly and warm and resonates with us in surprising and unexpected ways. In Mazing, Vera asks what it means to be together in 2017. Are we 'performing' in social situations? Are performances simply shared social events? This show is an attempt to generate ne positive shared experiences through dancing and the fragility of touch.

Limited capacity / contains nudity

Post show chat 7th April

Stay after the show for an informal discussion with the company.

Men & Girls Dance | Fevered Sleep 13th - 15th, 18th - 21st Apr 7.30pm, 22nd Apr 2.30pm & 7.30pm

£18 (£12 concs)

Men & Girls Dance brings together two very different groups of performers: me who dance professionally and girls from London who dance for fun. At times playful, at times thought-provoking, Men & Girls Dance celebrated the rights of adults and children to be together, to play together and to dance together. It's a joyful celebration of tenderness, empathy and love. Fevered Sleep had an international reputation for making exquisitely crafted and surprising performances that invite people to view the world in different ways.

Online Q&A 13th April, 3pm - 4.30pm

Join in with an online discussion with the company via Twitter, using #FSMenandGirls

Post show chat 18th April | Free

Stay after the show for an informal discussion with the company.

Discussion 20th April, 4.15pm - 6pm | Free

A lively discussion on the theme of touch hosted at the Wellcome Trust. (Booking essential).

Talking Place

Join Fevered Sleep's Associate Artist Luke Pell in the foyer after each performance in a space where you can wonder, ask questions, or sit and think.

TEN | Ace Dance and Music 25th April, 8pm | £16 (£12 concs)

At a time when more people across the world find themselves having to leave their lands, ideas of home and belonging are changing. Full of intense physical power and human fragility, TEN explores the concept of moving away, looking at how and why people choose unimagined destinies over the lives they'd always thought they'd live. TEN is about humanity's urge to reach for the power of 10 - the universal symbol of completion. Combining contemporary dance with an essence of Flamenco, Kathak, Martial Arts and Ballet with ACE's inimitable Afro-fusion style, TEN is impassioned and compelling.

Post show chat 25 Apr

Stay after the show for an informal discussion with the company.

Material Men redux | Shobana Jeyasingh Dance 28th & 29th April, 8pm | £18 (£12 concs)

Material Men redux is a full length virtuoso piece for two dazzling performers of the Indian diaspora. Their chosen dance styles could not be more different - classical Indian and hip hop. However, they share a history rooted in the dark realities of colonial migration and plantation labour. Material Men redux explores the violence of loss and the creation of new ways of belonging. Material Men redux features a score by acclaimed Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin played live on stage by The Smith Quartet.

Post show chat 28th April

Stay after the show for an informal discussion with the company.

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