Dance production seeks to inspire

Doom and gloom may be the prevailing themes in the age of austerity, but a new contemporary dance production at the Wales Millennium Centre hopes to rouse the idealists within us from their long slumber.

Billing itself as ‘a sensory tonic for the jaded urbanite’, the intimate Channel Rose will see a trio of dancers explore the concepts of utopia. Produced by National Dance Company Wales, the dancers will be accompanied by a stripped back duo of saxophone and percussion.

Drennan said that between them the trio of dancers will unveil an intimate study of human nature [Credit: Nicole Guarino]

Drawing on the theme of rose tinted glasses, choreographer Eleesha Drennan spoke on the tensions behind exploring an untenable concept.

“Outrageous fantasies change the world,” she said. “This piece is about trying to find an impossible place, and by using the rose tinted glasses to suspend disbelief, to go there.”

Inner City Pressure

We asked choreographer Eleesha Drennan what a sensory tonic for the jaded urbanite might taste like. Hear what she had to say below.

https://soundcloud.com/xavier-boucherat/what-might-a-sensory-tonic-taste-like

Below you can watch some of Eleesha’s earlier work, also performed with National Dance Company Wales. She described the work as a journey into dystopia. “In some sense,” she added, “Channel Rose is very much a continuation of this piece, where at the end we see a dancer reach the top of the stairs, but aren’t told what this means.”

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an-BuqSR0YE[/youtube]

Channel Rose will be performed at the Wales Millennium Centre on the 5 and 6 December. Tickets and further information on National Dance Company Wales can be found on their website, along with ways to get involved in the South Wales contemporary dance scene.