It’s official, ACE dance and music has one of the best dance blogs in the West Midlands

http://westmidlandsdance.com/2011/09/21/dance-blogs-in-the-west-midlands/

Stunning Dance = Desir film now ready for your viewing pleasure…

Depending on how closely you follow the company, you may be aware that last October half-term, ACE Youth hosted the return leg of an exchange with French youth dance company ‘Les Orteils de Sable’, the youth dance company of Les Ballets Contemporains de Saint Etienne. This grew into a highly successful week of International youth dance activity involving more regional youth dance companies in rehearsals, masterclasses with International artists at Warwick Arts Centre, film showings, a symposium for dance professionals, performances at mac, and importantly, cultural exchange. We invited Birmingham based film maker Mat Beckett to come and document the week and at last… the film is ready! Make sure you take a look using the link here:

http://vimeo.com/35306211

The French company plan to host their own symposium in Saint Etienne in April, so watch this space! We aim to work together to create a strong European network of youth dance companies and get excellence in youth dance the recognition it deserves.

First FACE meeting of 2012 this Saturday – all welcome

Friends of ACE community brunch

11am Saturday 21^st Jan 2012

The Link Dance Space

 

Meet with Charlotte (ACE’s administrator) and Nicky (ACE’s marketing associate) to be part of an informal network.

• Be part of a fun fundraising group
• Find out more about what we are doing
• Help us spread the word locally
• Give us hints and tips for information sharing
• Take away promotional materials
• Help us create a buzz

See you there!

Vincent Mantsoe professional development residency 19th – 23rd March

ACE dance and music are kicking off the new year by offering professional dancers the opportunity to participate in an intensive residency with internationally acclaimed South African choreographer Vincent Mantsoe.  This rare professional development opportunity will take place at the ACE dance and music studio, the Link Dance Space, Birmingham, from 19^th  – 23^rd March.

Multi-award winning Vincent Mantsoe previously collaborated with ACE dance and music on their celebrated production ‘Skin’, which toured successfully both in the U.K. and abroad from 2007 – 2008. ACE dance and music are looking to build on this creative relationship and use this residency as a research and development period for their next production ‘Mana’.

Vincent Mantsoe trained at Johannesburg’s Moving Into Dance Company. His work draws on traditional African dance forms with a contemporary approach using modern, ballet and Asian forms such as Tai Chi, Martial Art and traditional Balinese dance. He is now based in France with his own company Association Noa, a multicultural company of dancers of different backgrounds. This residency will give participants the opportunity to experience his distinct style of dance, which he describes as Afro-fusion.

ACE dance and music will be following this up with a further residency in April with José Agudo, Rehearsal Director for Akram Khan, so watch this space!

The five day residency is priced at £100.00 per dancer, with only limited places available. Dancers should have a minimum of 3 years professional experience and must be able to attend the full 5 days. For more information or to apply for a place please email Charlotte Gregory at info@acedanceandmusic.com with C.V., photo and letter of interest.

Revival is back and even better! Starting week commencing 6th Feb…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elektro Kif launch digital dance competiton for young people

The anarchic Parisian streetdance group Elektro Kif are popping and locking at Warwick Arts Centre this March as part of a national tour  and is inviting dancers to compete in an exciting digital dance competition.

If your group win you will be dancing in the opening act for Elektro Kif at the Southbank Centre on Fri 2nd March 2012. If there is enough interest from West Midlands dance groups we may also invite dancers to perform at Warwick Arts Centre.

All you have to do is create a one-minute video in front of an iconic landmark in your city, film it and upload! 6th Feb Deadline. http://www.facebook.com/southbankcentre?sk=app_121827307930964

Oustanding Feedback for ACE dance and music’s Revival and Xmas Gala Performance!

Our Saturday Class Programme is now in full swing again for the new year and last weekend the parents and members of ACE dance and music’s wider community were telling us what they thought of the end of term community performance held at the Drum on Sat 17th Dec…

“A dance community that exudes warmth, skill and professionalism. A wonderful learning space for children and adults alike.”
“The adult performance was absolutely inspiring and I loved the live drums. Fabulous!”
“Caring, dynamic, fun dance.”
“Loved all the classes/performances. Great for kids and older groups to see what they can and do achieve.”
“Particularly impressed by professionalism of the youth group.”
“Well organised. Enjoyed it all.”
“Great show. Can’t wait for the next one.”
“Excellence.”
“ACE is a family, welcome for anyone to join and have fun.”
“Different, dynamic, explosive. The little ones didn’t want to stop dancing.”
“I have been watching the ACE company perform for many years now and I’m never disappointed.”

We will be holding an Easter community showcase performance at the Drum on Sat 31st March, so with all these fantastic comments and everyone scoring us 9 or 10 out of 10 for the Xmas show, we hope to see even more friendly faces at our classes this term!

 

Natasha Smith doing her thing for ACE Youth…

ACE Youth’s Natasha Smith dancing for Hofesh Shechter, Artistic Director of U.Dance Ensemble!

Following nation-wide auditions in November and December 2011, ACE Youth dancer Natasha Smith has been selected as one of twenty dancers from across the UK to form the Ensemble and work with Hofesh Shechter to create a piece due to be premiered at London’s Southbank Centre as part of U.Dance 2012 next July.
Natasha Smith has been dancing with ACE Youth for 4 years and adds further to ACE dance and music’s track record of talented young people hailing from ACE Youth going on to train professionally and entering the dance industry. We know Natasha will blow us away in this U.Dance performance in July – we can’t wait to see her on the Southbank stage!
The U.Dance Ensemble is the first youth dance company of its kind with young dancers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland between the ages of 16 and 21 years. This new company will be directed by the internationally-acclaimed choreographer Hofesh Shechter. More information about U.Dance 2012 can be found here

ACE dance and music Xmas Gala and Revival Performance, at the Drum on Sat 17th Dec, 6.30pm!

Calling all ACE dance and music supporters! Come along and support our fantastic dancers of all ages…

Saturday will see performances from across ACE dance and music’s class programme, which happens every Saturday morning throughout the year at our studio, led by professional ACE dancers Amayra Fuller and Laura Vanhulle, for children from 2-11 years.

Some of the dancers will be performing for the first time, including many of the adults who have taken part in our new community programme ‘Revival’ this term, which has been taught by Idrissa Camara of Ballet Nimba, so please, show your support – it promises to be a fantastic end of term party!

Tickets available from the Drum Box Office: 0121 333 2400 (£5/£3)

 

Apprentice Dancer Claire Burrell Signs Off…

Well we’ve officially finished the ICE 2011 tour and it’s been one hell of an experience!

Since our hectic premiere at NSCD in Leeds at the start of October the show has kept on evolving, changing and growing with every performance.  I think the whole company would agree that it feels like a completely different piece to perform compared to where we started and that must be down to the fact that we never stopped exploring things in rehearsals, honing the details and questioning everything that we thought could work better.

You’ll have heard from other blog entries that, as well as rehearsing and performing, the dancers have been running all over the UK teaching ICE workshops and making curtain raiser pieces.  And, although we all love performing, teaching these workshops has proven to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the tour.  Meeting all the different and fantastically enthusiastic groups of people who wanted to come along and take part and then watching them perform has been genuinely uplifting and inspiring for the whole company.

Our last shows at the mac in Birmingham (where we were joined by a lot of family and friends) and then Stamford Arts Centre (where we got to take class in an actual ballroom!) went really well and were a great way to end the tour, even though it ended in some very late-night unloading of the van getting and lost on the way back!

Hope you managed to catch one of the shows, but if you missed your chance (shame on you!) then watch this space…

Bye!