ELIOT SMITH DANCE ANNOUNCES HOMECOMING - THE RETURN TO LIVE PERFORMANCES FOR SUMMER 2021 SEASON

Date posted - 06/04/2021

Eliot Smith Dance, is thrilled to be returning to live performances, with a colourful and mesmerising programme of contemporary dance. Featuring recent virtual commissions by award-winning choreographers Mark Baldwin, Eliot Smith, and Jake Vincent, HOMECOMING also includes a première by newcomer Yamit Salazar, and a short film celebrating the incredible 10-year journey of the Eliot Smith Dance company.

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The performances will take place outdoors at The Old School House Gallery in Alnmouth, Northumberland, on Saturday 03 July, and indoors at Gosforth Civic Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne on Sunday 04 July. Tickets are on sale here.

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Following on from the success of the ESD DIGITAL and Virtual ESD platforms launched in light of the pandemic in early 2020, for their Summer 2021 Season ESD will be offering similar digital performances and community workshops, allowing audiences a front-row seat to experience “all things ESD” from the comfort of their own home.

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Eliot Smith, Artistic Director of Eliot Smith Dance, says:

“It’s incredibly exciting that we will soon be welcoming audiences back to our live performances in Newcastle and Northumberland, and here our thanks must go to Arts Council England, Woodhorn Museum, Newcastle Arts and Culture Fund, and to many individuals for their support. We can’t wait to bring life back to our local theatres and community settings, and to let the joy of live dance performance inspire and entertain people once again. Everyone at ESD feels fortunate and excited to be able to go back to doing what they do best: performing powerful dance works to audiences in the region.”

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Download Press Release here.

ANNOUNCING ESD PRESENTS MARTHA GRAHAM 2021

Date posted - 26/03/2021

Eliot Smith Dance (ESD) is delighted to announce ESD Presents which will now take place virtually from 26 – 31 July 2021.

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ESD Presents, is a new and exciting annual dance event produced by Eliot Smith Dance (ESD).

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Each unique week-long program shines a spotlight on different iconic dance figures and includes a variety of inspiring talks, exhilarating practical sessions, performance opportunities and more!

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Join us for our much-anticipated 2021 program, ESD Presents Martha Graham, where we will explore and celebrate the legacy of one of the most influential and creative minds in dance history.

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We are delighted to present this year’s digital program in collaboration with Martha Graham Resources (Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance / Martha Graham Dance Company).

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To find out more about ESD Presents, please click here.

CALL OUT FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN THE NORTH EAST TO TAKE PART IN THE CREATION OF ESD'S 7TH COMMUNITY DANCE WORK, LAMENT

Date posted - 15/03/2021

Click here to download information

Click here to register

Eliot Smith Dance is offering an opportunity for people living in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, south of the Tyne and Northumberland, to take part in the creation of ESD’s 7th community dance work, Lament.

As part of the virtual ESD Presents Martha Graham programme in July 2021, Lament takes its inspiration from Martha Graham’s Lamentation (1930) - Graham’s signature solo - the essence of grief itself.

Grief is a human experience everyone has or will face at some point, regardless of race, gender, age, culture, religion. It is a distinctly personal journey. 

This collaboration is intended to encourage people in the community to come together to explore our shared and different experiences surrounding grief via the medium of dance.

We hope this also provides a healthy opportunity to be active, is a confidence-building experience, with the added benefit of meeting people and working with supportive professional artists.

The workshops will include a warm-up class, followed by simple choreography. All will be guided by ESD Artistic Director Eliot Smith and ESD dancers. 

This opportunity is open to everyone aged 40+, with or without dance experience. 

We recognise our previous workshops have not always reached our friends and neighbours in the BAME and LGBTQ+ communities. We hope to give a platform for ALL to participate and share their unique experiences with us, so would like to extend this invite to these communities.

Anyone interested should be available to attend four Online Workshops via Zoom on Saturday 05 June 2021 (10.00 am to 12.00 noon), Saturday 12 June 2021 (10.00 am to 12.00 noon), Saturday 19 June 2021 (10.00 am to 12.00 noon) and Saturday 26 June 2021 (10.00 am to 12.00 noon).

Followed by one outdoor workshop (film day) in Newcastle upon Tyne on Sunday 27 June 2021 (10.00 am to 12.00 noon).

The community dance work will be recorded by a professional filmmaker, and the resulting digital dance work will be presented as part of the Virtual Gala Performance of ESD Presents Martha Graham on Saturday 31 July 2021 at 7.00 pm.

If you are interested, please fill out the online registration form here no later than 12.00 noon on Friday 21 May 2021.

ESD ANNOUNCES A NEW WORK FOR SPRING 2021 CREATED BY ONE OF THEIR LONGEST SERVING DANCERS, YAMIT SALAZAR

Date posted - 29/01/2021

Born in Colombia, Yamit Salazar was raised in Central London.  He attended the BRIT School of Performing Arts, later graduating from Bird College of Dance.  He joined Eliot Smith Dance (ESD) in 2013 and has performed lead roles in ESD's repertoire, including works by Eliot Smith, Maggie Boogaart, Maurice Causey, Mathieu Geffré, and Mark Baldwin.  As well as his work with ESD, he has danced on Celebrity X Cruises and has performed in four consecutive pantomimes as a dancer and dance captain at The Capitol Theatre, Horsham, as well as dancing in Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ for her launch dates at the London Palladium.

In Autumn 2017 Yamit stepped down as a full-time freelance company dancer and accepted the position of Rehearsal Director and Guest Dancer at ESD. 

In Spring 2021, following on from his highly praised works for ESD's intensive programme, Yamit will create a new work for ESD which will be performed by five ESD dancers and takes its inspiration from Colombia’s yearly ‘Festival of the Flowers’ – celebrating the beauty of flowers and diversity of people. The work will pave the way for a new approach for Yamit under the aegis of ESD, leading him in a new direction and allowing ESD to explore themes of cultural identity. This new work is commissioned by ESD and is funded and supported by Arts Council England.

The new creation by Yamit will première in ESD's upcoming programme 'HOMECOMING'.  More details about the work and première will follow soon!

ELIOT SMITH DANCE ANNOUNCES NEW VIRTUAL PROGRAMME FOR SPRING 2021

Date posted - 11/01/2021

Following on from the success of the ESD DIGITAL platform launched in light of the pandemic in early 2020, the new VIRTUAL ESD programming allows audiences to have a front-row seat to experience “all things ESD” from the comfort of their own home.

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For a one-off £10 subscription audiences will have exclusive on-line access to the full content of VIRTUAL ESD. This will allow them to either experience for the first time or revisit some of ESD's newest virtual dance works, including the critically acclaimed Seacole + Nightingale documentary, ESD’s recent Virtual Triple Bill, and “At Home Creates”. Also available to subscribers will be a monthly Zoom Q&A session with ESD dancers, on-line classes, access to Company archives, and much more.

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To find out more and to access to this exclusive content click here>

WE STAND TO DENOUNCE RACISM IN ALL ITS FORMS

Date posted - 04/06/2020

We stand to denounce racism in all its forms.

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We, the undersigned from the cultural sector of the North East, declare that silence is not ok and silence is seen as complicity. Racism has no place in a just and humane society.

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Whilst we cannot undo pain and neglect, we are calling on all of us in the arts, cultural, heritage sectors; professional and voluntary to work together to address racism and its deep roots. We must listen, have conversations and most importantly act, we know we need to do better. Everyone is part of the solution - artists, staff, trustees, partners, promoters, audiences and communities.

We want to tackle this together in sharing better understanding and practices. We stand united to bring about change in our thinking and actions as a collective of organisations and individuals.

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In the weeks and months to come we will collectively act to build on this statement with concrete steps and actions to demonstrate our commitment to bringing about real change. We ask you to stand with us.