James Cousins Company Visually breath-‐taking choreography by James Cousins Critically acclaimed duet There We Have Been available for touring in Autumn 2013 and throughout 2014 Photo © Benedict Johnson “…simply one of the most stunning contemporary dance pieces I have ever seen.” www.londondance.com “Outstanding… visually breath-‐taking.” www.thestage.co.uk __________________________________________________________________________________ For further information and to discuss bookings, please contact: Francesca Moseley, Creative Producer for James Cousins Company T: 07929 622663 E: [email protected] Supported through public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and by Dance East and The Place. Originally produced by Re:Bourne for the New Adventures Choreographer Award showcase. James Cousins is a Work Place Artist and an Associate Artist at Dance East. James was supported through the Escalator programme in 2012. 1. About James Cousins “a highly talented choreographer at the beginning of his career... I am personally very excited to work with James Cousins” Matthew Bourne James grew up in Newbury, Berkshire and went on to train at London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS), graduating in 2010 with a first class honours degree. Whist at LCDS, James performed work by Aletta Collins, Merce Cunningham and Kerry Nicholls and received the Robert Cohan Award for most promising dance artist. James co-‐ordinated the third year touring company LC3 along with Tour Director Patricia Rianne and performed at venues across London and in Verona, Italy. He also danced in projects directed by Katie Green, Donald Hutera and in Darren Johnston’s Underdrome at the Roundhouse, London. Upon graduation, James joined the cast of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake for an international tour, including a four week run at the New York City Centre. He has also danced professionally for Yolande Yorke-‐Edgell (Yorke Dance Project), Rachael Mossom and with the Marc Brew Company in Fusional Fragments, a new work commissioned by the Cultural Olympiad performed at The Jerwood Dance House, Ipswich and the Royal Opera House. In 2011, James rejoined the cast of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake for the new 3D film version of the show, filmed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London and in 2012 he appeared in Joe Wright’s film Anna Karenina staring Keira Knightley and Jude Law, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. James Cousins Company As a choreographer, James has created numerous works that have been performed throughout London and abroad to great acclaim, including the opening of The Place’s 40th Anniversary Celebrations, London; and Buckingham Palace, for the Duke of York’s 50th Birthday. In 2009, James’ piece The Still Point won Best Choreography and Best Performance at the London Contemporary Dance Competition. It then went on to become a semi-‐finalist in the Burgos-‐New York Competition in Spain. Taste Water Again, James’ first professional work, was performed twice at Resolution! 2011 receiving a great response both critically and from the public. It has since been performed at venues around England and has been selected to represent the UK at Les Reperages Festival in 2012. In August 2011, James was announced as the first winner of the inaugural New Adventures Choreographer Award, receiving in excess of £15,000 to create his own showcase, as well as being mentored by Matthew Bourne. The showcase performance was held at Sadler’s Wells on 7th September 2012 in front of a sold out audience. Since the showcase, There We Have Been has continued to be performed around the world to critical acclaim. James has been commissioned by Verve and Edge the postgraduate performance companies of Northern Contemporary Dance School and The Place respectively. He has also staged work on and been commissioned by Scottish Ballet, as well as the National Ballet of Chile and the National Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore. 2. The Production There We Have Been A duet by James Cousins available for UK and International touring. There We Have Been takes inspiration from the troubled relationships portrayed in Haruki Murakami's bestselling novel, Norwegian Wood. Focusing on the first half of the story and the development of relationships between the novel’s protagonist and his late best friend's girlfriend, Cousins presents a daringly intimate glimpse into a secluded world of fragile dependency. This touching and emotionally charged duet sees the two performers’ intensely folding, wrapping and balancing, with the female character never once touching the floor. “This performance has to be seen to be believed” Cloud Dance Festival “So mesmerising its 20 minute length passed by in what seemed like seconds. There we have been... (is) a duet of exquisite beauty and strength... It would be hard to over-‐praise this work, with its passionate and evocative choreography; it was simply one of the most stunning contemporary dance pieces I have ever seen.” Laura Dodge, londondance.com On the creative process for There We Have Been, James says; “The piece was created over a three week period, during which I worked very collaboratively with the dancers, setting a lot of improvisation tasks and then learning it back from videos. Finding the flow within the work took a long time as it’s very hard for the female dancer to create momentum. I was interested in the pull that both characters have to this third character who has passed away: they are both very dependent on each other but also him. The theme of dependency is explored, as well as trust, care, bereavement and change.” Running time: 17 minutes ǀ Company: 5 on the road There We Have Been was created when James won the inaugural New Adventures Choreographer Award (created by Matthew Bourne). The piece was developed in residency at DanceEast and previewed at the Peacock Theatre in London’s West End in June 2012. It then premiered at Sadler’s Wells in September 2012 as part of a showcase evening of James’ work as winner of the award. Online Footage: There We Have Been (3mins) There We Have Been (17mins) – ONLINE LINK – full length performance at Sadler’s Wells, London ONLINE LINK (Password 12345) 3. The Creative Team Dancers For There We Have Been, James brings together two exceptional performers Lisa Welham (Bonachela Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Company, Henri Oguike, Fin Walker) and Aaron Vickers (Transitions Dance Company, Jean Abreu, Cameron McMillan, ZoieLogic Dance Company). “Dynamism contrasts with the serenity of realization -‐ these are not just great dancers but great performers.” Lucinda Al-‐Zoghbi Collaborators Lighting design is by Lee Curran whose previous creations include work with Hofesh Shechter, Royal Court Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, Rafael Bonachela and The Roundhouse. Lee was nominated for Best Lighting Design in the 2013 Olivier Awards for Constellations at the Royal Court and Duke of York's. Costume and stage design is by Colin Falconer. Colin’s designs have featured in many celebrated productions including those by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Scottish Ballet, Salisbury Playhouse, Theatre Royal Brighton, Birmingham Rep and for James Cousins Company at Sadler’s Wells. Composer Seymour Milton has created for There We Have Been an original score that fuses electronic and classical sounds to haunting effect. 4. Audience Engagement and Associated Events Youth Dance England Ambassador since 2007, James is very committed to bringing his work back to the studio, sharing his processes and repertoire with young people, dancers in training and professional artists. An important mission for James Cousins Company is to continue to create and present the very best new dance with broad audience appeal. As thrilling and technically adept as it is compelling and accessible to watch, the company aim to open up their work to the public in increasingly imaginative ways. Possible activity includes, but is not limited to; • Workshops for young people in schools, youth companies or community groups • Creative Residencies • Technique classes • Choreographic commissions for youth companies and vocational training institutions • Insight days • Post show talks • Mentoring • Open rehearsals 5. Marketing & Communications With significant partnerships and associates in place already, James Cousins Company are rapidly gaining a wide experience of working in partnership with venues and organisations in the UK and Internationally and in driving focussed communication plans for their productions. Through the company’s website and associated websites including New Adventures, The Place and Dance East to name a few, there is huge scope to run targeted campaigns as well as the potential to develop new audiences through a variety of extensive networks. Production copy, high spec images (available in sizes appropriate for use in print and on line), logos and quality film promos are all available. James and Creative Producer Francesca Moseley work together to produce communications content and will happily work with partners to produce marketing and press releases for specific target audiences. 6. Financial Conditions There We Have Been is available for touring and enquiries about availability are welcomed at any time. Fees for presentation start from £750 for UK performances and £1000 overseas. Box Office agreements are available on negotiation with the Creative Producer. The fees cited are subject to grant subsidy; different financial conditions would apply outside of this period or where no subsidy is in place. James Cousins Company welcomes enquiries for touring at any time. Wrap around activity to complement the presentation of this work is extensive with talks, residencies and other events priced by negotiation with the Creative Producer. As a guide, workshops are generally invoiced at £300 per day / £150 per half day. 7. Technical Specifications There We Have Been can work well within mixed bills and festivals. The duet is not ideal for performances outside due to health and safety issues and should be presented in venues with a minimum height clearance of 4m, a good sprung floor and where full black out is possible. Optimum performance area of 10m wide, 8m deep and 5m height; can be adapted for smaller stages A full Technical Rider is available – DOWNLOAD HERE 8. Press A selection of press quotes, endorsements and accolades are available for use by all partner venues (in print and online) on request. Together with appropriate images, press information is print ready and can be adapted following conversations between host venues, festivals and the Creative Producer. Photo © Benedict Johnson __________________________________________________________________________________ For further information or to discuss bookings, please contact: Francesca Moseley T: 07929 622663 E: [email protected] James Cousins Company W: www.jamescousinscompany.com __________________________________________________________________________________