Cohort 21 hard work over 12 weeks was celebrated at their Graduation Performance. The wonderful evening of contemporary dance was a showcase of their achievements.
The evening consisted of four performances by the young people; Rising, was created by Hannah Ballard, who we were pleased to welcome back as she has been a part of the Academy since 2011. The company learnt the piece in just four days which is no mean feat. The second piece was a beautiful duet, The Distance Between Us, which was inspired by the Agnes Martin exhibition. This was first premiered at the Gallery in Winchester Discovery Centre over the summer where the exhibition was held. For this duet we were thrilled to welcome back one of our original Wessex Boys, Brandon Clarke who graduated from Chichester University in July. Our third piece, Keep Me Close, was made as part of our collaborative choreography element of the programme and was led by our dance artist Ellie Cant, who supported the dancers to create their own movement. We finished the evening with Where It Starts It Ends, this was the first piece the cohort learned and they first performed this after being at the Academy for just three weeks
The evening brought to a close what had been a very eventful year for the Academy especially with our move to our new home at St John/s House. We would like to thank everyone who enabled this to happen for us and to all of our wonderful supporters and volunteers for their ongoing support.
The Four Seasons: Winter 2&3 Vivaldi (Recomposed by Max Richer) Laegeos Actress and London Contemporary Orchestra Love Like A Sunset part 1&2 Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Dance Team
Hannah Martin- Reilly
Ellie Cant
Emma Hill
Guest Dance Artist
Hannah Ballard
Academy Team
Clare Hobbs
Lorna Digweed
Emily Pannell
Dee Woolford
Lighting
M3 Productions
Film
Dan Williams
Design
Bread and Honey
Yoga
Lorna Chapman – Luna Yoga
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Amazing. Every time I come the film moves me to tears. Such a great achievement for all.
Member of the audience
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Absolutely incredible, I have seen several performances of contemporary dance and have never enjoyed any of them as much as this. Absolutely superb.