Candoco Dance Company to Present DISPLAY at Wellcome Collection

As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, Candoco is joining with Wellcome Collection to present an evening of performance, talks and installations on the subject of display at Wellcome Collection, Friday 6th May 7-11pm. Candoco invites you to explore Wellcome Collection in new and unexpected ways as the company presents a one-off multi-sensory experience.

In a twist on Wellcome Collection's popular Friday Late Spectacular events, sound and performance will be woven into the fabric of the building as the dancers of Candoco present an intimate evening of installations, talks and performances. The event will explore how much we choose to display about ourselves, what we reveal subconsciously and what remains hidden, situated among the galleries and exhibits of Wellcome Collection, which explore the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future.

Alongside talks from psychologist Peter Lovatt (also known as Dr Dance) and sociologist and broadcaster Tom Shakespeare, Candoco's dancers will perform throughout the building exploring the subtleties and complexities of what it means to be on display. Visitors are invited to join a talk, watch a performance, experience the sounds around them, or simply pause for reflection. Wellcome Collection's galleries, shop, café and restaurant Wellcome Kitchen will be open until late and a bar will run all night.

Candoco's executive director Rebecca Dawson said, "Wellcome Collection's vision of inviting people to think differently about connections between medicine, life and art echoes Candoco's work to make people think differently about ability and perceptions. We are particularly proud to be working with Candoco Artist Mirjam Gurtner on specially commissioned work for the collection. This will animate Wellcome Collection's spaces in an entirely new way and invite new audiences to rethink dance."

Rosie Stanbury, Head of Live Programme at Wellcome Collection, said, "Each one of Wellcome Collection's Friday Late Spectaculars is unique, and Candoco's event will be an opportunity to experience the venue through a different and reflective lens, guided by Candoco's exquisitely talented performers. Candoco's last appearance at Wellcome Collection was in 2012 as part of our Superhuman, an exhibition that attracted an average of over 1,000 visitors a day, and it is a delight to be working together again, on what is sure to be an equally successful collaboration."

Candoco, the leading company of disabled and non-disabled dancers is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016 with a programme of performances, special events, participation work and international touring. Founded in 1991 by Celeste Dandeker and Adam Benjamin, Candoco quickly grew into the first professional dance company of disabled and non-disabled artists in the UK.

Candoco's current Artistic Co-Directors Stine Nilsen and Pedro Machado were appointed as Celeste's successors in 2007 having danced with the company for seven and nine years respectively. They have taken Candoco from the Bird's Nest in Beijing to the Olympic Stadium in London, performing at the handover ceremonies in 2008 and returning, alongside Coldplay, at the Paralympic Closing in 2012 and have commissioned works for the company from leading choreographers Emanuel Gat, Rachid Ouramdane, Wendy Houstoun and Javier de Frutos.

For more information, visit www.candoco.co.uk.

This event is FREE. Drop in any time but please note the building might be busy and space is limited. Entry is not guaranteed. Tickets for the scheduled talks and workshops will be available from Wellcome Collection at staggered times on the night of the event.
For more, go to www.wellcomecollection.org | 020 7611 2222

Wellcome Collection is wheelchair-accessible and offers a range of services for visitors with disabilities. For more information about access at Wellcome Collection or to discuss in detail how we might best cater to your specific needs, please contact: T +44 (0)20 7611 2222; E access@wellcomecollection.org; wellcomecollection.org/visit-us/accessibility.

Peter Lovatt ('Dr Dance') trained as a professional dancer before becoming a Dance Psychologist. He holds the academic post of Reader and Principal Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire where he runs the Dance Psychology Lab. His academic research addresses questions such the link between dancing and neurodegeneration and the way dancing changes the way people think and solve problems. Peter has a BSc in Psychology and English, a MSc in Neural Computation and a PhD in Experimental Cognitive Psychology. He carried out his post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge.

Sir Thomas William Shakespeare 3rd Baronet (better known as Tom Shakespeare) is a sociologist and broadcaster. He is chair of the central research committee for Drill (Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning) and senior lecturer in medical sociology at Norwich medical school, University of East Anglia.

Wellcome Collection is the free visitor destination for the incurably curious. Located at 183 Euston Road, London, it explores the connections between medicine, life and art in the past, present and future. The newly expanded venue offers visitors contemporary and historic exhibitions and collections, lively public events, the world-renowned Wellcome Library, a café, a shop, a restaurant and conference facilities as well as publications, tours, a book prize, international and digital projects.

Wellcome Collection is part of the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health. We provide more than £700 million a year to support bright minds in science, the humanities and the social sciences, as well as education, public engagement and the application of research to medicine.

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