Archive - Dance Umbrella 2007

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A brief encounter with...Rosie Kay (UK)
Asylum

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall
Thu 4 & Fri 5 October
Performed prior to Siobhan Davies Dance

Two dancers confront their identities in a landscape of lost baggage and personal belongings in this intimate duet by Dance Umbrella newcomer, Rosie Kay. Struggling onto the stage with an almost comic overload of plastic bags, the dancers Guilherme Miotto and Rosie Kay, slowly shed their defences ending in a whirling waltz of pain, want and need.

Asylum was inspired by themes of exile and relocation arising from Rosie's work with local asylum agencies, research on Bosnian refugees and interviews with Serbian asylum seekers. It is a thought-provoking piece of dance theatre: personal, angry and passionate. The dancers perform with exceptional, heartfelt energy as they literally push themselves to the edge.

‘Powerful and challenging.’
THE HERALD

‘Issues of exile and belonging inform the piece, but the focus is on the sharp, expressive virtuosity of its two performers.’
THE GUARDIAN

Brief Encounters is a Dance Umbrella initiative which provides a platform for both talented, new choreographers and short works by established artists. These works are performed prior to main stage shows.

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