contemporary dance

2nd Dance Café

Following on from our successful summer event, we invite you to beat the winter blues with our second Dance and Mime Café!

Enjoy a close-hand dance, mime and circus performance in a relaxed café-style atmosphere. Bring some friends, grab at table, and enjoy a triple bill of local physical artists. All at the Trumpington Village Hall, CB2 9HZ, Cambridge. Free parking available in lot and on street (Beverly Way).

This time we have the brilliant Pendragon Circus, a dance by our community class, and guest artist Rachel Riveros from E33 Dance Company, London! Hang out, discuss works with the artists, catch up with friends between sets.

Email or call us for more details: infusiontheatre@gmail.com, 07415 875142

Breaking the Mould

Infusion was pleased, once again, to be a part of Breaking the Mould, a suite of dances choreographed by Hilary Goodall. The suite is a 4-part movement response to a series of sculptures by Dame Elizabeth Frink. Initially performed last February on site in the Heong Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge, the dance received wonderful reviews from audience members, as the dancers moved between the sculptures themselves, interpreting the pent up movement of the bronze works, and bringing them to life.

The Heong Gallery at Downing College, © My Linh Le, 2018. Dancer: Daniel Cosette

Following that we were honored to have the dancers reunite at our July dance café, in Trumpington Cambridge! The dancers performed against the dramatic background of projected light and images of the sculptures, making striking shadow versions of the statues themselves.

Choreographer Hilary Goodall makes final adjustments. The Heong Gallery at Downing College, © My Linh Le, 2018

Finally in December the group came together to bring the work to the iconic Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich UK. Performing amongst the statues once again, in perhaps the largest collection of Frink works ever assembled, the dances received glowing reviews, including the exhibit curators, who said they would never view the sculptures the same way again!

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, © Katherine Mager, 2018. Dancer: Rachel Riveros

Special thanks to Hilary Goodall for including us in this brilliant project. We look forward to where else these sculptures take us, moving through the stillness…!

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, © Katherine Mager, 2018

Dancers Rachel Riveros and Daniel Cossette. Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, © Katherine Mager, 2018

Guest teaching at Queen’s College

Up for an special dance day out? Infusion’s Dan Cossette is teaching at Queen’s College Cambridge, for the contemporary dance society. They write:

“AN EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENT FOR NEXT WEEK…

We’re delighted to announce that Dan Cossette will be leading next Friday’s class, yes singular! Please note that there will be ONLY ONE class combining both levels next Friday 16 November, just for that one week, 16.30 – 18.00 in Bowett Room. Live accompaniment by Terry Mann.

…

Dan Cossette is a graduate of Mimeistry International School of Arts, Pasadena, CA, specializing in French Mime. He trained in modern dance and contemporary ballet with Ad Deum Dance Company, Houston, TX, and danced as a company member from 2009-2013. Currently he dances part time with Springs Dance Company, London, and co-directs Infusion Physical Theatre, Cambridge.

We’re delighted that he’ll be leading our class, do come and join us for this fantastic opportunity!”

Queens’ is very proud to offer contemporary dance technique classes taught by the college Dance Artist in Residence, Adèle Thompson. Queens’ has the only Dance Artist in Residence in any Oxbridge college. All classes operate on a drop-in basis, so you can join in whenever you want, there is no subscription charge and the cost of each class is £6 employed / £4 students / £2 students at Queens’. All classes are open to anyone whether associated with Queens’, the University in general or not connected to the University at all. All classes have live musical accompaniment.

Eyes and Ears

Infusion dancers Dan and Rachel

Infusion Physical Theatre was pleased to be a part of the East Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership! As part of their vulnerable persons awareness campaign called Eyes and Ears, we presented a snippit from our anti-human trafficking work Somebody’s Daughter, in the Lady Chapel of the Stunning Ely Cathedral. It was a powerful event, talking with city and county councillors, police men and women, and people from all sectors sharing their stories about the horribly local problem of trafficking. It was also great to hear about the many things people are doing to confront it.

We were especially grateful for the kind words the police said, thanking us for our visual and compelling way of helping people engage with the topic. We hope to work with several of our new friends again soon! Thanks to the Romsini Centre for setting this up!

community support and awareness groups set up for the event

Into the woods… well, jungle…

Infusion rejoins the creative team behind Apple n Spice, an Indian dance experience, and a fairy-tale mash-up: comparing the two step-mothers from eastern and western tales. Snow White and Grimhilde meet Ram and Kaikeye in the deep forests of folklore, in a contemporary/south Indian and shadow theatre fusion.

We’re back in the props workshop developing all new shadows, and choreography is well under way! Look for us in the Library Present Autumn Menu for Hertfordshire!

Springs Summer School

We were pleased for Infusion’s Dan Cossette to be teaching for Springs Dance Company at their annual London Summer School. This brought aspiring dancers, and first time movers, from across England and Scotland, to receive technique instruction and creative/choreographic activities. The students developed their own dance which they presented before the main company’s evening performance at the end of the week. Springs performed Bread of Life, a beautiful depiction of Christ and the community and relationship he seeks with his disciples through the entryway of the bread and the wine. Following a similar theme the students brought vibrant images of unity-through-beautiful diversity as they explored their theme, One Body, One Church. Individuals’ movement blended into ensemble designs, before a network of connected dancers became so entwined that even a slight movement from a single member of the structure sent echoes through the entire formation. Great job dancers!

Project Dance Paris, a third year…

Under the statue of the People, a.m. before the show…

The Project Dance Foundation has been offering free dance festivals in the open squares of major cities around the world, dancing for hope, inspiration, and healing, since they started in New York City after the terror attacks on 9/11. Infusion was pleased to participate a third time at their Paris event, in the memorable Place de la Republiqué!

People stood or sat for hours, watching. Speaking with members of the festival staff and dancers, many people made it clear that the event meant much more to them than just a bit of diversion; it was life changing!

Taking the stage for a world premier: Daniel Cossette dances to Who Says? by Joshua Micah