Vuong 10 to Premiere at Rich Mix, 13 Dec

if human touch was so long forgotten we had to learn it again?

Exceptional talents have teamed up for the production of Vuong 10, an exploration of human interactions in the digital age.

Choreographers Catarina Carvalho (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance) and Nina Kov (Place Prize semi-finalist 2012) with guest choreographer Michael-John Harper (Wayne McGregor | Random Dance) have been working to investigate the resilience of touch in an age where people are surrounding themselves with technology. The resulting full-length piece integrates dance with live musical performances from Mercury Music Prize nominee Leafcutter John, and Max Baillie, the leading instrumentalist of his generation. Thus, Vuong 10 is a contemporary music concert as well as a contemporary dance piece, serving an engaging experience for fans of both genres.

Vuong 10 explores the yearning for physical communication in a not-so-distant future where we have to learn how to touch each other again and to share our internal space. The intention to connect, to explore each other's movements, to interact and respond, spawned the intriguingly intimate musical and physical landscape of the piece. Two dancers awaken to the reality of each other's bodies, showing glimpses of a plausible future infused with dark beauty.

Vuong 10 Premiere
Saturday 13 December 2014, 19:30 PM
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E1 6LA
Prices: £12 / £10 concession
Tickets: http://www.richmix.org.uk/whats-on/event/vuong-10/
Also playing at JW3 on Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 January 2015.

Nina Kov is a choreographer, dancer and researcher based in London. Nina's works explore the possibilities of expression of the unconscious within dance, movement and technology. She studied at Rosella Hightower's school in Cannes, was a member of dance theatre company Artus in Hungary and worked freelance before completing her MA in Choreography at Laban, London in 2009.

She was an Associate Artist with Dance Digital for 2010 - 2011. Nina is also a pioneer in term of manned aerial device-human choreographic interaction. She created Copter for the Place Prize 2012, the first ever dance duet with a miniature helicopter. www.ninakov.com

Catarina was born in Lisbon where she began her dance training with teacher Anna Mascolo. She then went to France to continue her training for six years at the École Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, with a scholarship from the Ambrosoli Foundation. After graduating, Catarina joined Ballet du Rhin as an apprentice and performed works by Bertrand d'At. She also worked with Javier de Frutos, Vasco Wellenkamp, Benvindo Fonseca, Cézar Moniz and Rui Horta among others. Catarina has taught for numerous dance schools and companies, including Laban Summer School and GDA. She has been collaborating with Nina Kov since 2010 when she performed Divide by Zero, a solo piece with the interactive visual artists collective Hellicar & Lewis.

Catarina joined Wayne McGregor | Random Dance in 2008 and took on the role of Rehearsal Assistant in 2013.

Violinist and violist Max Baillie is one of the most versatile musicians in the UK and is fast establishing himself as a leading instrumentalist of his generation. He is in demand across an exciting spectrum of music and performance mediums including classical, pop, improvisation, composing and directing and collaborations with dance and electronics. Artists he has worked with over the last two years range from American vocalist Bobby McFerrin, Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, guitarist John Williams, to pop superstar Tinie Tempah and others. Max has appeared on stages from Carnegie Hall to Glastonbury from Mali to Moscow, and plays regularly for TV and radio broadcast.

Coming from a classical background, Max's interest in other music and dance forms inspired a series of unique collaboration projects. His first brought together classical music and the Brazilian martial dance form capoeira, with follow-ups for both the City of London Festival and the Proms with leading capoeira master Ponciano and the Aurora Orchestra, in which Max has played principal viola since 2007. For Aurora's New Moves Series Max featured in a major new work by Julian Philips entitled Maxamorphosis. As well as featuring as viola soloist, the piece sees Max revisiting his past as a trained dancer, morphing from the ensemble to join members of distinguished choreographer Mickael 'Marso' Riviere's dance Company Decalage. A piece not quite like any other... The Times gave it 5 *s.

Leafcutter John (b. John Burton), is a Londoner who débuted on Planet Mu (2000). Leafcutter John is an internationally renowned electronic musician, songwriter and artist. He has released 5 critically acclaimed albums has performed his award winning work worldwide. His third album, "The Housebound Spirit" (Jul '03, Planet Mu), won one of Prix Ars Electronica 2004's thirteen 'honorary mentions' & placed in Wire's '2003 Rewind', top 50 records chart. John also develops music software and hardware interfaces and has worked in Dance, Theatre, and teaches at Brunel University. John has also been involved in the Contemporary Art scene, with his latest project at the Serpentine Gallery where he was invited by artist Tomoko Takahashi (short-listed for the 2000 Turner prize) and the Serpentine to produce a live show based on Tomoko's solo exhibition.

He has worked with Talvin Singh, Wayne Mcgregor's Random Dance, BBC Symphony and Concert orchestras. He has also played concerts worldwide with Beck, Jarvis Cocker, Matmos, Grace Jones, Nick Cave, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Yo La Tengo, Beth Orton, Otomo Yoshihide, Aki Onda, Phillip Jeck, Tujiko Noriko Sebastian Rochford, Janek Schaefer and Tomoko Takahashi. Leafcutter John plays with the group Polar Bear.