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ins ide : i n t e rV i e ws w i t h J o h n P ow e l l a n d J e a n a br e u ,w i t h o u t wa r n i n g – a t r i n i t y l a ba n a l u m n i P r o d u ct i o n , a n e w l o o k f o r t r i n i t y l a ba n a n d m u s i c i a n s h i P & i n J u ry

2 encore | issue 1 | september 2010 encore | issue 1 | september 2010 3

Editor Kate Bishop

Design Matt Hodges

Printing Pindar

Contributors

Emily Weir

Esme Patey-Ford

Anthony Bowne

Derek Aviss

Terry Clark

Miranda Thomas

Rosie Bower

Caroline Schrieber

Martin Collins

4–5 TriniTyLabannews

6 aLumnireLaTionsProgramme

7 caT–aLookaTyoungPeoPLeandLaban

8–9 whaT’soninTheTriniTyLaban PerformanceProgramme

10–11 aLumninews

12 aninTerviewwiThJohnPoweLL

14 invesTinginsuccess– schoLorshiPsaTTriniTyLaban

16–18 ThePrinciPaLs’Journey

19 anewLookforTriniTyLaban

20 oPTimisingPerformerPoTenTiaL

23 wiThouTwarning– aTriniTyLabanaLumniProducTion

24 aninTerviewwiThJeanabreu

27 sircharLesmackerras

weLcomeDear Alumni,

Welcome to the first edition of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Alumni Magazine. Some of you may not know that Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance was formed when Trinity College of Music and Laban merged in 2005, creating a unique environment for our students.

The launch of this magazine is just a part of our newly revamped alumni relations programme which is committed to celebrating the successes and achievements of you, our former students. Through this programme, we will be encouraging and inviting you to stay in touch with us, and to play a role in the life and community of the Conservatoire. You will find further details about how we aim to strengthen our links and engage with you in this magazine.

The new academic year has already seen some exciting changes at Trinity Laban. One which will catch your eye immediately is our re-launched brand under the single name of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Other changes include a re-structuring at senior management level as I assume the role of sole Principal and Professor Derek Aviss moves from the role of Joint Principal to a new, strategic, role as Trinity Laban’s Executive Director. You can read more about these changes inside.

In July, we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Sir Charles Mackerras, President of Trinity College of Music for many years and latterly, alongside Dr Marion North, President of Trinity Laban. Despite his very demanding work schedule, Sir Charles was always a very supportive President and I’m sure that those of you who were lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with him, during your studies at Trinity, will never forget this experience.

Finally, I’d like to emphasise that our alumni relations programme is designed to serve your interests. Do get in touch with us to let us know your thoughts and ideas. Your feedback is important to us in ensuring that our ever expanding alumni family continues to flourish.

With best wishes,

Professor Anthony BownePrincipal Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

conTenTs


sTarcomPosersbecomehonoraryfeLLowsAt the end of last year we were thrilled to welcome renowned composers Ravi Shankar and A.R. Rahman to the Old Royal Naval College to receive Honorary Fellowships.

A legendary sitar virtuoso and composer, Ravi Shankar is known for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West through teaching, performance, and his work with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison of The Beatles. We presented Master Shankar with a Trinity Laban Honorary Fellowship at an intimate ceremony in the Admiral’s House in November, for his contribution to Indian Music, his support of Trinity Laban’s collaborative work and his patronage of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Centre, which we partner with to offer a leading BMus (Hons) in Indian Music - the first in the UK.

A. R. Rahman provided extra cause for celebration at the Music Faculty’s graduation ceremony in December when he joined graduating students to receive an Honorary Fellowship from our sister organisation, Trinity College London. Nicknamed the ‘Mozart of Madras’ by Time Magazine, AR is best known in the UK for the musical Bombay Dreams and the scores for films Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India and the hugely successful Slumdog Millionaire – for which he received no less than two Academy Awards, two Grammys, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe!

TriniTyLabanaroundTheworLdHead of Harp, Gabriella Dall’Olio, has made several trips to the Conservatorio Superior De Zaragoza in Andaluzia, Spain as a guest of harp teacher Gloria Martinez. During her first visit last year she played a solo recital and gave two full days of masterclasses to around twenty harpists from all over Spain. She writes: “What struck me most was the humanity, enthusiasm, openness and warmth of the people. I found it amazing how many professors came to my evening harp recital, and joined me later for a drink to talk about music making and performance, in an open and engaging way”.

Joe Townsend, Professional Skills Training Coordinator, and Lizzi Kew-Ross, Laban faculty member worked as composer and choreographer respectively on Operatic Encounters (OPENCOV). This European Cultural Co-operation with Third Countries Project (2008-2010) linked five cultural institutions: Opera North, Leeds University, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Bregenz Opera Festival and the Sibelius Academy. The group collaborated and performed together in Shanghai, Leeds and at the Bregenz Opera Festival as well as leading masterclasses and higher education seminars. The project aimed to forge cultural and entrepreneurial links with China through an exploration of Chinese and Western Opera both at the creative level and in terms of how the arts are structured and commissioned. It culminated in a series of performances and a symposium in Shanghai in April. A documentary film of the project will be screened in early 2011.

Louisa Pestell, Projects Manager, Education & Community Programme, visited Cambodia in August 2008, spending time at an Arts Centre in Kampot run by Epic Arts. Epic Arts was established in 2001 by Laban alumna, Katie McNab (now Katie Goad). The centre organises and runs visual art, drama, dance and music projects for people with disabilities. Louisa says: “I was lucky enough to take part in their programme of dance workshops, meet the inspiring management team, their “family” of participants and was even taken on a bike ride by some of the young people who attend the centre to see their new purpose built arts centre being constructed. This has now been completed and is a two story accessible multi arts space with a cafe, resource room and administrative office. It was inspiring to meet the Epic team and I recommend that anyone who is able to should visit the centre or support them in any way they can! www.epicarts.org.uk

JerwoodLibrarywinsawardThe Jerwood Library of the Performing Arts was among the first recipients of the UK and Ireland branch of the International Association of Music Libraries IAML (UK & Irl) Excellence Award for Music Libraries. The Excellence Award is a new initiative of IAML (UK & Irl), an organisation which represents and promotes the interests of music librarians and libraries, music–related archives and music information providers throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The award was launched to highlight and celebrate best practice in music libraries.

TriniTyLabannewsbadanceTheaTresTudenTsPerforminmaLTaAt the end of February a group of final year students from Trinity Laban’s BA (Hons) Dance Theatre programme visited Malta at the invitation of Alison White, the President of Dance Council Malta, to perform Hearth, a new dance work by Kerry Nicholls. Kerry trained at Laban and is now Co-Director of Creative Learning for Wayne McGregor | Random Dance. She was one of eight choreographers commissioned this year to devise new work for BA3 dance students.

The students were accompanied by Colin Bourne, Head of Undergraduate Studies, and Naomi Lefebvre Sell, the Year 2 Undergraduate Programme Coordinator and rehearsal director for Hearth. Whilst in Malta the students held workshops for local dance students and took classes with Francesca Abela Trenter, the Artistic Director of Contact Dance Company. The highlight of the visit was two extremely well-received performances of Kerry’s piece given at the Excelsior Hotel, Valetta.

Trinity Laban’s presence in Malta generated a great deal of interest and was covered by two national newspapers. One of the performances of Hearth was filmed for Maltese television. Malta has a relatively small contemporary dance scene but over the years Laban and later Trinity Laban has been responsible for training a good number of Maltese dance artists, one of whom was Maria Cassar who graduated in 2009 and was instrumental in facilitating this visit.

newTriniTyLabanwindorchesTracdOur talented Wind Orchestra has recorded an album of Alan Hovhaness’ symphonies, conducted by Keith Brion. The album has just been released on the classical music label Naxos and features three of the American composer’s scores. Recorded at Blackheath halls, the album forms part of the Naxos American Classics series and is available from all good record shops or online via Amazon.com.

TriniTysTaffsucceedCongratulations to saxophone professor Mark Lockheart, who received the award for Jazz Musician in the 2010 Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Composer and saxophonist Mark was praised for a busy and illustrious 2009, which saw him release the critically acclaimed album In Deep, gig throughout the UK and perform as a member of experimental jazz quintet Polar Bear (and somehow find the time to teach at Trinity Laban!) The awards ceremony took place at the House of Commons in May, hosted by broadcaster Paul Gambaccini. Many MPs and renowned jazz musicians were present at the event, including Stan Tracey, Cleveland Watkiss, Jacqui Dankworth and Minister for Culture Ed Vaizey. The awards aim to raise the profile of jazz and increase Parliamentarians’ understanding of the industry.

Piano professor Elena Riu launched her new album of blues, jazz and R&B inspired contemporary piano works, Out Of The Blue, to a packed house at the South Bank Centre in December. International Piano magazine gave the album a great review in its February issue: “The dynamic venezuelan pianist Elena Riu has hit a potential jackpot with this innovative collection of freshly commissioned piano pieces. The unique selling point of Riu’s collection is that every piece successfully fuses popular material with contemporary classical structure, colours and approaches. Riu makes clear her intention to reach out to a youth market and there is every chance that she will succeed in reaching her target audience”. For more information please see www.elenariu.com

TwonewschoLarshiPsforTriniTyLabanTrinity Laban recently established two new scholarships for postgraduate students. The Loveday Scholarship is Trinity Laban’s first award open to both dance and music students. Thanks to the generosity of Mark and Liza Loveday – both enthusiastic supporters of the arts – the scholarship will help stand-out students who need financial support to continue their studies. There will be five ‘Loveday Scholars’ every ten years – four musicians and one dancer.

Meanwhile, gifted vocal graduates looking to continue their studies on a postgraduate music programme can apply for the new Kathleen Roberts Vocal Scholarship. Created in memory of the late Kathleen Roberts (1919-2009) who was well known as a light opera singer in Romford, Essex, the scholarship will be awarded every year.

Ravi Shankar

BA students perform in Malta – Photo: Joe Smith


keePinTheLooPIf we have your contact details we’ll send you the annual magazine, annual newsletter, bi-monthly e-newsletters and regular event invitations. You can also keep updated by following us on Twitter and Facebook. Keep an eye on the website for regular updates on upcoming events and news.

beinvoLvedStay connected with Trinity Laban by attending some of our varied and engaging events. Invitations will be sent out in our newsletters and other mailings. Keep even more up to date by following us on Facebook, Twitter and the Trinity Laban website. If you have ideas for any events let us know!

reuniTeIf you want to reunite with your year group let us know. Every year we’ll choose a specific group and organise a reunion, but if you want to reconnect with old classmates for a particular event let us know.

aLumnimaiLboxIf you’ve lost contact with an old friend we can help. If we have contact details for the person you’re searching for we’ll pass along a message for you. (Please note we will never give out your contact details without your express permission.)

LibraryAs alumni you still have the right to use our libraries. Call the Alumni Office for opening hours and conditions.

LabanheaLThLaban Health offers sports massage, physiotherapy and a range of complementary treatments. Trinity Laban alumni are entitled to a 20% discount on all treatments. Call 020 8691 8600 for further details.

conTacTYou can get in touch with the Alumni Office by emailing [email protected], calling 020 8691 9420 or by writing to:

Alumni Office Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance Creekside London SE8 3DZ

Search Laban alumni and Trinity alumni to Find us on Twitter.

Follow us on Facebook on Trinity Laban’s profile.

aLumnireLaTionsProgrammeEncore is the magazine of the Trinity Laban alumni relations programme. The Alumni Office is here for the former students and staff of Trinity College of Music, Laban and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Laban’scenTreforadvancedTrainingProgrammemanagermarTincoLLinswriTes:The Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) at Laban, established in January 2006, is an innovative scheme offering young people with exceptional talent and potential in dance the opportunity to access high quality dance training. The programme of classes provides intensive and rigorous dance training taught by a highly experienced team of professional dance teachers and artists. All of which is funded through the Department for Education (DfE) Music and Dance Scheme.

Since we started the CAT, students have been exposed to a number of professional creative opportunities working with companies such as Lost Dog, Henri Oquike Dance Company, Hofesh Shechter and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company among others, with high profile performances at the Laban Theatre, The Place, Southbank and Sadler’s Wells. The highlights of our creative endeavours include the collaborative work with Junior Trinity.

caT,musicanddancecoLLaboraTiveProJecTsThe Laban CAT work closely with colleagues at Junior Trinity, developing exciting Music and Dance projects, with outstanding outcomes. In 2007/08 we developed an experimental project for the DfE Music and Dance scheme platform, Excellent, performed at Sadler’s Wells. Choreographed by Lizzi-Kew Ross and directed by Lee Smikle, the performance was a true collaboration with the dancers involved in the music and the musicians involved in the dance. Inspired by Goethe’s words, – ‘Architecture is frozen music’ – students collaboratively explored ideas of space, rhythm and time drawn from visiting each other’s buildings.

Over the years our aim has been to develop projects that allow young people to come together as professional artists within their own field. In 2008/09 they were mentored through a process of developing their own creative voice within music and dance. The Laban CAT students developed their own chorography with music composed and played live by Junior Trinity students.

In 2009/10 the Education and Community Programme (E&C) embarked on a five piece Big Band collaboration with Junior Trinity. A number of Education and Community groups performed as part of this collaboration including the CAT who were choreographed by Bim Malcomson to music composed by Count Basie – Splanky directed by Barry Graham. CAT dancers performed their section of this suite at the Laban Theatre, Blackheath Halls, and most notably at Southbank Centre in the second DfE, Music and Dance celebration platform, Sound Moves.

Next year Junior Trinity and Laban CAT are embarking on their biggest collaboration to date. Plans are to work with 100 students to develop a fully integrated performance between Junior Trinity’s choir and CAT dancers.

For more information please contact Martin Collins, CAT programme Manager on [email protected]

caT


corPo-reaLiTies–sankaLPamAt the forefront of Bharata Natyam in the UK, the performing company Sankalpam celebrates both tradition and change. For Corpo-realities, Sankalpam is working with artists from the fields of contemporary dance and theatre to create an intimate triple bill for five female dancers which pushes the boundaries of the Bharata Natyam form and celebrates its variety. Amongst the commissioned artists were former Southbank Centre resident choreographer, Stephanie Schober, whose precise and sophisticated choreography exposes the performers’ desire to communicate with the viewer and others on stage, and Luca Silvestrini of Protein, whose translations of familiar life stories into surprising works of dance theatre contain both social commentary and humour. For the third piece, Stella Uppal Subbiah, Co-Artistic Director of Sankalpam, collaborated with theatre director Phillip Zarrilli on an encounter with the psycho-physical process of abhinaya (internal acting).

“Sheer brilliance... their discipline is awesome” The Stage

Corpo-realities was commissioned by The Brindley and is supported by Laban and the Green Room, and Arts Council England.

LabanTheaTre&Lizzikew-rossPresenT–wiThouTwarningWithout Warning is a contemporary dance/music piece for six dancers and five musicians in a confined performance space. Working from images in Brian Keenan’s insightful and poetic book about being a hostage in Beirut, it enters the anguished territory of being relegated to ‘meat’ and how the mind and spirit still finds ways to claw back reality, half-reality and meaning.

Without Warning is a Laban Theatre commission choreographed by Laban’s Lizzi Kew-Ross and the cast of dancers and musicians is made up entirely of Laban and Trinity alumni. For further information see the article on page 23.

whaT’songreenwichinTernaTionaLearLymusic fesTivaL&exhibiTion2010The Greenwich International Early Music Festival, jointly presented by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, the Greenwich Foundation and the Early Music Shop, is one of the major annual dates in the early music calendar. Now firmly established as one of the leading educators in the field of historical performance, Trinity Laban presented a glittering array of singers, instrumentalists and teachers in the performance festival.

At the same time the magnificent Painted Hall echoed with the sound of all things early music as The Early Music Shop presented the world’s largest exhibition of period instruments. The exhibition provided direct access to instrument makers from around the globe, as well as shops, music publishers, recording companies, societies and forums. Expect expert advice on, and demonstrations of, the widest range of instruments imaginable – from spinets, viols and sackbuts to hurdy-gurdies, crumhorns and harpsichords.

www.earlymusicfestival.com

gershwinandeLLingTon–inreTrosPecTandanTiciPaTionTrinity Laban Jazz Ensembles & Scottish National Jazz Orchestra

In this exciting double-bill, Trinity Jazz Ensemble directed by Mark Lockheart performed iconic repertoire by Duke Ellington. The second half was presented by the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra performing Gershwin, including internationally renowned saxophonist Tommy Smith’s reorchestration of Rhapsody in Blue featuring pianist Brian Kellock.

voicesinmeanTimeTrinity Laban Jazz Choir & Community Jazz Choirs Directed by Pete Churchill

Special guest jazz vocalist, Norma Winstone, featured with Trinity Laban Jazz Choir led by Pete Churchill and two new community choirs in a sensational evening of jazz vocals based on the music of the great trumpeter and composer Kenny Wheeler.

Trinity Laban runs a vibrant theatre and performance programme, featuring the best in music and contemporary dance. This is just a tiny selection of highlightsfrom a year-long, comprehensive programme of performances and events. You can keep up-to-date by following the event programme online at www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/whatson or sign up to receive the events diary by contacting the Alumni Office.

Photo: Merlin Hendy


royaLnaTionaLinsTiTuTeofbLindPeoPLeSally Zimmermann (née Spencer 1974-78) has been the Music Adviser at the Royal National Institute of Blind People since 1994. She tells us about her work:

The Music Advisory Service (MAS) supports the music making of anybody in the UK who is blind or partially sighted. A nine year old lad is a Junior Exhibitioner at one of the London Conservatoires. He attends day composing events run by RNIB and his parents, after visiting an exhibition about stave notation, bought him a computerised music stand. With help from MAS, the lad is now composing using Sibelius on his laptop and can write his double bass orchestra music in Modified Stave Notation to load onto his stand for Saturday mornings.

As well as support for individuals, musical events are run for children and adults. The most ambitious of these is an annual composers’ summer school run with the Handel House Museum. Ensuring that print music is accessible, endeavouring to keep up with ways of using music technology and using music to develop basic communication skills in people with complex needs including sight loss are all in a day’s work.

We also support parents, teachers and other people working with blind and partially sighted musicians. A mother rings up and says that her three year old is no longer bashing the keys on a keyboard but playing “Twinkle, twinkle, little star”: what next? How does an instrumental pupil learning purely by ear practice effectively? A support organisation rings and asks what adaptations can be made to enable a tenor in a professional choir who is losing his sight to keep his position.

Most people who are blind or partially sighted are not disabled when it comes to making music: indeed, many are outstandingly able. Selling this in the sighted arts world is part of MAS’s work.

Everyday is fascinating. To find out more, do visit www.rnib.org.uk/music

TriniTybaroque–PredraggosTaTrinity alumnus Predrag Gosta received his DipTCL in 1997 and Postgraduate Certificate in 1998. During his studies at Trinity Laban, Gosta started an early music ensemble New Trinity Baroque which has since received a considerable reputation. The group, now based in the USA, has appeared at many concerts and festivals, including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival, the “Sastamala Gregoriana” Early Music Festival in Finland, etc. They published seven CDs, including a critically acclaimed CD of Purcell’s “Dido & Aeneas” with Evelyn Tubb and Thomas Meglioranza in the title roles. They collaborated with violinist John Holloway, harpsichordist Steven Devine and the Dutch recorder virtuoso Marion Verbruggen, among others.

Gosta has fond memories of his time at Trinity which he started after initially attending the Dartington International Summer School and was then awarded a full scholarship from Trinity and the Leverhulme Trust. In the United States he completed three Master of Music degrees at Georgia State University in Atlanta (in voice, choral and orchestral conducting). He also studied conducting in Russia. He was an Artist-in-Residence on the faculty of the Oxford College of Emory University, and

became the member of the Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars and the Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Fraternity.

In addition to New Trinity, since 2006 Gosta has become the Music Director and Conductor of the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre in Atlanta and was the Assistant Conductor of the National Philharmonic in Washington DC from 2008 to 2010. His guest conducting engagements include the State Capella-Glinka Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Maikop Philharmonic, and others. He is also the President of the international early music society Early Music Network, the Artistic Advisor of Peter the Great Music Academy in St. Petersburg, and the President of the Makris Foundation in Washington DC, which promotes music of the Greek-American composer Andreas Makris.

rosiebowerEncore caught up with vocal alumna Rosie Bower to talk about her career since leaving Trinity:

Prior to gaining a PG dip in Voice at Trinity in 2006, I trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) and graduated in 1999 with a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts/ Acting.

My first job after LIPA was my West End debut in Mamma Mia! at The Prince Edward Theatre where I covered and played the role of Sophie for one year. Following this, I went on to cover and play Eponine in Les Miserables at The Palace Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.

A post graduate course was always something I had intended doing and it seemed the right time to do it after my year in Les Miserables. I was interested in Trinity initially because my mother studied here in the sixties, after which she went to The Royal College of Music. Studying at the Old Royal Naval College was also a big attraction as it’s such an inspirational place. A big part of my life at Trinity Laban was being part of Charles Court Opera which involved me in some fantastic G & S productions.

Since leaving Trinity I worked at getting a new agent and was involved in a range of fringe productions including those with CCO. I then went on to play Mrs Darling in Peter Pan at The Churchill Theatre opposite Paul Michael Glaser which was a really fun job. Soon after that, I was thrilled to be back in Les Miserables, this time at the The Queens Theatre and covering the different role of Fantine. After covering Fantine for a year, I took over the role and have been doing so for over a year and will be till June 2011. It’s a very exciting year being part of Les Miserables in its 25th year and we will be marking the birthday with two concerts at the O2 in October with casts, old and new.

chimeraProducTions–wiLLduTTaTrinity graduate Will Dutta is a pianist, collaborator and Creative Producer of Chimera Productions, an organization which delivers high-end and daring new music events. In the last year performances have included Kings Place and Ether 10 at Southbank Cenre and co-productions with BFI Southbank, Tate Britain and De La Warr Pavilion. For more information see www.chimera-productions.org.uk

LabanaLumnidanceinfLorence10 dancers from the BA repertory work of 2009/10 of Rosalind Crisp performed at the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy for the Florence Dance Festival. Rosalind was able to be present on the day as well as Laban teacher Susan Sentler. It was fantastic and got an excellent reception. It was organized by alumnus Irina Baldini, one of the cast members.

The piece was entitled: ‘52 positions for the head and neck, 39 beginnings, and 26 movements for the hand, hip and lip... or, it’s all in the head’.

Dancers for this performance were (3 of the original cast could not be present):

Irina Baldini, Johnny Callender, Mara Domenici, Andrew Graham, Tuuli Hynynen, Angelina Jondolo, Martina Malvasi, Else Tunemyr, Sunniva Vikor Egenes, Rosalie Wahlfrid.

haywardgaLLeryIn autumn 2010, 18 Laban alumni were selected to perform as ‘Activators’ within the autumn exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in the Southbank Centre entitled Move: Choreographing You. They will be working with Xavier Le Roy. Other alumni will also be involved, dancing in other works such as Yvonne Rainer’s Trio A.

bigdance–JacqueLineroseLaban Alumnus Jacqueline Rose tells us about her role in Big Dance 2010:

In case you missed it, London’s Legacy Trust UK programme – Big Dance 2010 – took place between 3-11 July across the Capital and in some parts of England.

I hope you all managed to encounter at least one dance experience from the countdown in May as there were 850+ events all over the place including: shopping centres, bunkers and even on Horse Guard’s Parade.

At the Big Dance launch at the London Palladium, not only did the Mayor of London dance with stars: Jerry Mitchell, Sheridan Smith, Camilla Dallerup & SOLT’s Dance Captains but also set out a target of reaching 1.2 million Londoners. I do hope this goal has been met this with the different programmes on offer including: Big Dance Bus tour, the Big Dance Bubble, with 150,000 kids taking part in the Schools Pledge, the Outdoor Screenings with inflatable cinemas, fashion, photography and film competitions.

Big Dance is hosted by both the Greater London Authority and Arts Council London so Anne Hartley the Big Dance Coordinator and I are settling into the National office on the fifth floor if you want to meet with us.

Having just about recovered, we are now meeting with the many partners that make Big Dance possible including the five lead organisations: East London Dance, English National Ballet, Greenwich Dance, Sadler’s Wells and Siobhan Davies Dance to reflect on the highlights of the programme this year but also to look forward to 2012 and ideas for inspiring programmes against the challenging and uncertain funding climate.

Currently, we are wrapping up all the amazing images, films and stories which will all be available online in the autumn but alongside this, Big Dance London is also working with Foundation for Community Dance, Dance Champions Group and the Dance Takes the Lead 2012 Consortium as the plan is to grow the programme and join up across the UK in time for the Olympics & Paralympic Games.

Check out www.bigdance2010.com for more information or contact me on: [email protected] or 0207 973 5256.

Otherwise save the dates for your diaries as Big Dance 2012 will be back from 7 – 15 July 2012.

beyondrePair–aLumniPerformancesBeyond Repair Dance is run by Laban alumnus Jane Coulston.

Beyond Repair Dance have had an exceptionally busy 2010 so far with numerous exciting projects. After completing an Arts Council funded project late last year BRD successfully applied and auditioned for Sky 1’s ‘Got to dance’ hosted by Davina McCall. This opportunity allowed BRD to open up the world of contemporary dance to non-dance audiences, performing on live TV for an audience of millions. BRD were also privileged to be invited to dance at this year’s Glastonbury music festival performing a number of times a day for the duration of the festival. This was a valuable opportunity to perform to large audiences and to meet with other emerging and established artists from various artistic fields.

Beyond Repair Dance have since been working on various projects and performances for East London Dance and performed as part of the opening events for this year’s BIG DANCE. As well as teaching numerous workshops around the UK this summer, BRD directors Jane Coulston and Matthew Howells judged and gave a guest performance at Dance Challenge, a UK youth dance competition held at the prestigious Cadogan Hall in Sloane Square. Currently Director Jane Coulston is working on new projects in the commercial sector for music videos for various artists, this is in keeping with Beyond Repair’s mission to bring cutting edge Contemporary dance work to the masses. BRD are also looking forward to starting a new Arts Council funded project later this year.

aLumninewsOur alumni work in a fascinating array of occupations. If you’d like to share your story in the next edition let us know.


“Films are an extension of storytelling, and storytelling is a social therapy session. We like hearing that hero story.” John Powell

As a successful composer, John has written music for films such as, X-Men, the Bourne Trilogy, Shrek and Happy Feet amongst many, many others:

“Keeping working is the hardest thing we can do in our business, to make music pay. As a composer you are part of the post-production process, in some animated films, such as Happy Feet, the process starts early, that one took three years. Some things I’m proud of nobody has ever heard, and even if they were in the film it’s completely covered in sound effects. A lot of good stuff gets thrown out sometimes, because it’s not what the filmmakers need.”

John attended Trinity College of Music as a composition student in 19TBC:

“When people ask me, what did you learn at Trinity? I tell them I learnt to be creative, for me that’s been the trick of my career, there are a lot of composers in Hollywood, and a lot of people who want to do it, and I’m asked, why do you manage to get work when other people don’t? You have to work harder, you have to ask yourself, is this the best I can do?

Richard Arnell taught me composition, and he always said ‘I can’t teach you composition, I’ll give you my assessment of anything you place in front of me’, we tried a lot of stuff, interesting stuff, crazy stuff, some dull and some not very good, but he would always judge something on immediacy, form and structure.”

John started his career writing jingles:

“It was a great education, the famous quote is ‘can you make it sound a bit more like an avocado’ I did get asked ‘can you make it more chocolately’, the strange thing is that you get to know what that means, all those tricks of working with people, albeit for just one minute or 30 seconds of music was invaluable to me, that’s what built my ability to not be crushed by the system that I then got thrown into. I went out to LA for a year, and I’d made enough money in jingles that I could afford to stay and find my feet. It meant that I didn’t have to take just anything, and I could make some very specific choices.”

As a composer for films, John often has to balance the requirements of the director and producers with his own artistic vision:

“Music is one of the hardest parts of collaboration for directors, and they won’t tell you that. They can be incredibly good with sound, focused and detailed about how the sound should work, and then they come to music, and they don’t know what to say. I say to directors when we start ‘if you could say what you want from the music then you wouldn’t need me. I try and get inspired by the film, be inspired by you, and come up with some things, When they start to feel right to you, you tell me and that will lead me to understand where I can go with this

film.’ Twelve weeks is the norm, sometimes you end up with eight or six, and then you have to get into what we call stunt composing mode. As a composer I have to ask myself, am I here to service the film or service my own ego? You have great ideas for something, and then someone will come along and say, ‘Actually, it should sound like this’, it puts a terrible damper on your creativity.”

For John, influences for his compositions are wide ranging and very varied:

“Obviously you have obsessions, and you get obsessed with certain kinds of music, and that can poke it’s head out. In films you’re sometimes presented with an example of what people want, and when they say an example, they mean they want that. By absorbing other people’s styles, and then in recreating them, you use your own obsessions and your own peculiarities; it’ll gain its own voice. The truth is being a composer is very lonely until you get it played.”

For budding film composers John’s advice is straightforward:

“If you think you can do better, then do better, go do it. It is hard to get into the business, probably much harder now. Everybody gets a chance, it’s just a question of whether you’re ready for that chance or not. You have to really want it, you have to be so obsessed to do it, and obsessive-compulsive disorder is an important part of composition. For every minute of music that is deemed spectacular, you have to write 500 minutes that doesn’t make it.

As a composer you’re competing with history, you’re competing with the history of music, so if you’ve listened to a lot of great music in your life, you’re going to be looking to write music that’s as great as that, of course you never will, but you need to aim as high as you can.

My dream is to write music that works at the deepest level, to keep chipping away at what my understanding is of writing something with gravitas that has meaning. I’d like to write a ballet, I’ve got a couple more operas in me”.

JohnPoweLLTrinity alumnus John Powell has forged a career as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand composers. Encore caught up with him on a recent visit to the UK.

John Powell – Photo: Melinda Lerner


Trinity Laban believes that there should be no barriers to study for those students who reach the standard of excellence required. Training in music and dance should be open to those who are good enough, not just to those who can afford it. An education in music or dance is very intensive, students have huge classroom commitments combined with evening performances and rehearsal time. For many, the added pressure of working part-time to pay for their studies is one pressure too many.

Trinity Laban is able to maintain and develop its national and international status through the support of alumni, friends and supporters who make philanthropic gifts to the institution.

Philanthropy makes a critical addition to the funds that Trinity Laban receives through government funding and student fees. Donations from our supporters are vital in ensuring the continued excellence of Trinity Laban’s music and dance training in the 21st century.

invesTinginsuccessthe trinity Laban schoLarship Fund

Last year 173 students at Trinity Laban received financial assistance from the Conservatoire’s scholarship fund. Encore looks at how these funds have helped our students achieve, in a time when government support for students is even harder to acquire.

“My scholarship has made an extraordinary contribution to my education and for this I am very grateful. I have relished the opportunity to study at the Trinity Laban on one their most significant courses, the Postgraduate Advance in Performance with one of the leading violists in the world, Rivka Golani. I have really enjoyed a year full of performances that culminated in being invited to perform at the Wigmore Hall at the end of the year. The amount of things I have learnt this year has dramatically increased the confidence of my playing, as well as the relaxation of my arms and key points on the methodology used by Golani.”

Alfonso Noriega

“Being awarded the choral scholarship at Trinity Laban was a great honour, and a great responsibility.”

Alex Haigh

“Thank you very much for the financial assistance I have received from you this year. I am incredibly fortunate to have had such a high standard of training from Trinity Laban and as a result I have made a lot of progress with my cello playing. This year gave me number of valuable experiences and I am very grateful for the financial support that was given to me by Trinity Laban.”

Alice Jones

“My first year at Trinity Laban has been highly beneficial for me both as a violinist and music student and as a person. The atmosphere and teaching methods in Trinity have encouraged my self – awareness, confidence and helped to remove a subconscious fear of realistically evaluating myself, which have been my problems for years due to the quite different approach to students in music education in Prague where I studied before. As a violinist I have been changing much of my technical approach and making marked progress towards being a fine violinist and rounded musician. My playing in every aspect and general musicianship are improving and I am feeling enthusiastic about learning major works and continuing to develop my musicianship and performance skills. I feel that in one year I have learned more with my teacher then in 6 years in the Prague Conservatoire. Being at Trinity Laban is enabling me to develop to the best of my ability to become a balanced musician and performer.”

Evgeniya Staneva

“This year at Trinity Laban was incredibly fulfilling and inspiring. I had a great range of experiences and different projects to take part in that broadened my musical level. I worked with many different musicians – with different competences and cultures – and I could absorb their hints and develop numerous new ideas. The third year was fundamental for my technical preparation and I now feel ready to face the professional life”

Frederica Mossone

suPPorTexceLLence–suPPorTTheschoLarshiPfundIf you would like to help our students reach their full potential you can use the gift form that accompanied this magazine, or contact our Development Manager, Esme Patey-Ford on +44 (0)20 8305 4457 or email [email protected]


ProfessorderekavissIn September 2010, Trinity Laban re-defined its two Principal structure and now has a single Principal and an Executive Director. Professor Derek Aviss, former Trinity Principal and Joint Principal of Trinity Laban, now Executive Director, talks of his journey at Trinity. Professor Anthony Bowne, former Director of Laban and Joint Principal of Trinity Laban, now Principal of Trinity Laban talks about his ambition for the future of the Conservatoire.

From September 2010, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance has become a single Institution with one name. Those of you who studied at Trinity or Laban before the merger in 2005 will be thinking ‘What have they done? Have they destroyed the Colleges that we knew and loved?’ Not at all. The individual characters of the music and dance faculties still shine through, but, like any successful marriage, we are greater and stronger together than apart.

Those of you who, like me, are from the Trinity tradition, might be interested to know why I am now so passionate about Trinity Laban. To do this, I must take you on a brief re-enactment of my 45 year journey with Trinity. There have been 11 Principals of Trinity College of Music (including myself) since its foundation in 1872 by Father Bonavia Hunt. Extraordinarily, I have known 5 of my 10 predecessors. The first was Wilfred Greenhouse Alt, who auditioned me in March 1965.

In July 1965, when, as a shy, nervous, hopeful, 17 year old ‘cello student, I commenced my studies at the College, the new Principal was Myers Foggin, formerly Warden of the Royal Academy of Music. From a student’s perspective, Trinity was a lovely, warm, caring and nurturing place, full of wonderful characters. Cyril Cork, Charles Proctor, Gladys Puttick, Harold Clarke, Nicholas Roth, James Gaddarn, Alfred Kitchin, Edgar Hunt, Bernard Keefe and my own teacher, Vivian Joseph, to name but a few.

During my student days, the Principal, Myers Foggin, was a somewhat remote figure. Distinguished and aloof, but with a ready smile and a constant fountain of tobacco smoke from his ever present pipe! However, I learnt many years later Mr Foggin worked tirelessly to promote Trinity politically and publically, and was eventually successful (towards the end of his term) in achieving recognition for Trinity, from the Department of Education, as a Higher Education Institution in its own right.

In 1976, after 7 years away from the College pursuing a productive career as a freelance ‘cellist, I joined the Trinity staff as a member of its Junior Trinity teaching team. Mr Foggin appointed me and one of his last acts as Principal was to appoint me to the senior College teaching staff. My first day in this new role in 1979 was spent in attending the inaugural address of the new Principal, Meredith Davies. Meredith was a fine musician and conductor and I had initially encountered him a few years earlier when he was the conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Under Meredith, I enjoyed nine very happy years teaching the ‘cello, chamber music and

string pedagogy and, in 1982, he offered me the opportunity to base my career entirely at the College by taking on a full-time lectureship. Again, the Principal was an enigmatic and somewhat distant figure to me, but under Meredith’s direction, the Burnham Salary Scale for teaching staff was introduced and, for the first time, staff were paid equivalent salaries to those enjoyed by University lecturers. Meredith also did much at the time to influence the standard and quality of the teaching and performance at the College. With Meredith’s retirement in 1988 I can remember feeling a little insecure. I knew and liked the retiring Principal and I felt that he respected and supported my professional achievements, having promoted me to senior lectureship in 1986.

The incoming Principal, Philip Jones, had an international reputation as a trumpet player and founder of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and had already been awarded a CBE for his services to music. However, would he continue to rate my contribution to the College or would my little shiny star start to fade?! During Meredith’s years I had been first Secretary then Chairman of the String Faculty as well as, on two occasions, Chairman of the Teaching Staff Association and staff representative on the Board of Governors. Fortunately, my strong involvement in the life of the College led to an immediate rapport with Philip and he and I quickly discovered that we had much in common with our views on the music profession and the training and education of musicians.

Under Philip’s patronage, I became the first Head of the newly introduced String Department (the beginning of the instrumental/vocal department structure which is still in existence today), then Head of Performance Studies and, in Philip’s last year as Principal, Deputy Principal. From that time on I was directly and deeply involved in the fight to stay in London, the aborted attempt to relocate to Bristol and the fight for our survival after the report by Lord Gowne indicating that Trinity might be one London Music College too many! These were stressful but exciting times and, although Philip was in post for only 6 years (he was already 60 when he joined us), in that time, he secured our future in London, introduced degrees in musical performance (to replace the outdated diplomas) and convinced our political and funding masters that the College had a real role and contribution to make to the future of the UK’s Music Education provision.

So, as Deputy Principal, I then welcomed, in September 1994, another new Principal to Trinity’s doors, Gavin Henderson. Charismatic, avuncular and eccentric, Gavin was presented with the mammoth task of raising the College’s profile at the same time as finding it a new home to coincide with the expiry of the Annexe lease six years later in 2000. As you will all be aware, Gavin didn’t just find us a new home, he brought us down the river Thames in a flotilla of small ships to a former Royal Palace in the recently vacated Naval training base, the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich!

Our nine year history in South East London (following our one hundred and twenty nine year stay in Marylebone!) has been a great success and, during my own time as Principal, not

ThePrinciPaLs’JourneySince the merger of Trinity College of Music and Laban in 2005, Trinity Laban has been jointly led. As the Conservatoire adopts a new Executive structure, Derek Aviss, former Trinity Principal, talks of his Trinity journey and Anthony Bowne, now Principal of Trinity Laban, talks about his thoughts on the future of the Conservatoire.


only have we frequently appeared within the top four places in the Guardian league tables, we now attract the highest level of undergraduate applications of any UK conservatoire. We recently enjoyed a 100% student employment record (in 2009) and our students have won several national and international competitions, beating many students from the world’s other major conservatoires! So life at Trinity has been good, but it also has an exciting new dimension, since the merger with Laban, as composers, choreographers, musicians and dancers start to work together and enjoy the benefits of training alongside and supporting each other in their journey to emerge as today’s collaborative, creative and eminently employable young performance artists.

To support the growing identity of Trinity Laban as a single Institution, with outstanding faculties of music and dance, we have re-launched our brand, produced a new Strategic Plan and re-defined our senior Executive structure. As I move into a new, strategically focused role for Trinity Laban as its Executive Director, I look forward to spending the last part of my career with this wonderful Institution in helping to ensure that it has an exciting and sustainable future. I also take great pleasure in continuing my successful partnership with Anthony Bowne as he takes over the role of Principal of the whole Institution.

ProfessoranThonybowne

Since the merger, the Conservatoire has carried on with two Principals – why change this now?

“Because the time is right – it’s been a slightly unusual situation to have two principals. When the merger happened we believed the best opportunity for Trinity Laban was if it was joined at the head, because the whole idea of the merger was to add value; Trinity was excellent in music training and Laban likewise in dance. But there are problems with bringing two art forms together, because the reality is, that although people say a merger will bring synergy and collaboration, behind that reality is that art forms compete, they’re jealous of each other. Armed with that knowledge, at the beginning of the merger process, Derek and I thought it would be best if we were jointly led. There would be no sense that one was the dominant faculty, and we would create the structures that allowed people to collaborate and work together. Going forward, we’ve been formally merged for nearly 5 years and we’ve made tremendous progress, one of the things that is most heartening is that there is collaboration, though we need more. But there is such goodwill across Trinity Laban for a combined institution that we thought the time was right to revert to the normal model of a soul principle.”

What does this structural change mean for Trinity Laban’s future?

“It means a lot and not a lot. I think the most important things is the fact that it demonstrates to the world that we are one. To the world we have become Trinity Laban. We want to represent ourselves as Trinity Laban while still retaining our heritage.”

You’ve had a long relationship with Laban – can you tell us a bit about your journey to this new role?

“I trained at Laban as a dance student in 1980, had a short career as a financial analyst, then discovered dance and fell in love with it. I then discovered theatre lighting design and fell in love with it, mainly for dance but also for theatre. I then did a Masters in architecture, worked in the far east doing lighting design for buildings. Drawn to management, I came back from Hong Kong to lead the new build project at Laban and was announced Deputy Principal.”

Since the merger, you and Derek Aviss have worked closely together very successfully, how do you feel about “going it alone”?

“I feel excited, this is a big role, but as formerly the sole principal of Laban, I have the experience to do it. Derek and I will still be working together as thankfully he is staying with us to help us meet our strategic aims.”

What would you say to critics who may be concerned about a dance specialist heading up the combined faculties (as opposed to a music specialist)?

“It’s true my career has been very much at Laban, but it’s also been at other institutions which had combined faculties. I’m not a dance specialist; I’m a performing arts specialist. In my career I have developed a very deep understanding of performing arts education.”

As the sole Principal of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, what is your vision for the institution’s future and what are your priorities for the first few years?

“Over the next few years we face some challenging times, as the cuts effect us it’s likely we’ll face a reduction in funding of around 2 million pounds, which is really significant. But while we respond to that we also want to look outwards. We’re very ambitious for Trinity Laban to be one of the most significant institutions of its type in the world. We live in a global environment and our agendas are local, national and international.”

How will you balance respecting the traditions and histories of two previously separate institutions, with the reality that we are now a combined conservatoire?

“We absolutely respect the traditions of both Trinity and Laban. We are where we are today because of the strengths of those positions and we certainly don’t want to deny them. We’ve both moved home so many alumni may not be familiar with our new campuses, so it’s not about keeping the physical but keeping the essence of what Trinity and Laban are.”

Where do you see the role of alumni in the Conservatoire?

“We will be reaching out more to our alumni. Although we’ve always recognised the performance of our alumni we haven’t always invested in them as we should have done. We have a duty to our alumni, they chose us for their performing arts training, and the careers after they leave us are close to our hearts. They are our principle ambassadors, and to me that is the most important to me. They are of us and they are out in the world.”

Many readers will have noticed that Trinity Laban has a new look. The Conservatoire recently rebranded and the new logo on the cover of the magazine is the result.

The new logo is a step towards taking Trinity Laban into the future, redefining what it means to be a conservatoire in the 21st century.

We also have a great new website that for the first time fully integrates Trinity and Laban together, rather than having two separate sites. It’s full of videos, recordings and other interactive features.

The new branding leaves room for Trinity and Laban to keep their own identifies, but also come together in a strong and coherent manner that signals the unity between them. We all know that how an organisation presents itself to the world is really important, and that’s why the decision was made to rebrand. Trinity Laban is a unique and very special place, and it needs to shine in a crowded market. Young people who are looking at continuing their artistic training at the level Trinity Laban provides are in high demand and Trinity Laban wants to continue to attract the best.

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Interview with TL Research Fellow, Terry Clark

Laban is known internationally as a leader in Dance Science and in 2003, was the first institution in the world to offer an MSc in Dance Science. The Dance Science and Health departments at Laban have continued to grow since then, striving through research and application, to enhance performer potential, and prevent and manage injury in dancers. Laban was one of the first dance training institutions to pilot comprehensive screening within its undergraduate programme and is currently perceived as espousing the leading dance screening model through its pioneering interdisciplinary methodology and unique dance-specific expertise.

Despite the fact that research has advocated that screening musicians could prove vital in the prevention and treatment of injury, there is currently no screening model for musicians. It seems natural for Trinity Laban, as a music and dance conservatoire, to widen this field, and in September 2009, Terry Clark was recruited as a Research Fellow to begin research across Trinity Laban which will investigate the enhancement of performer potential and prevention of injury, in both music and dance.

Terry is currently in the final stages of doctoral study at the Royal College of Music. His area of expertise is the examination of performance enhancement in classical musicians through surveying the use of mental skills, pre-performance behaviours, and the use of physiological and psychological pre-performance strategies.

As this academic year draws to a close, plans are underway to launch a new musician screening programme at Trinity Laban in September. Having run a pilot already this year, Terry has put together a comprehensive screening programme which it is hoped will be of huge benefit to our musicians at Trinity Laban. Amid the preparations, he took time out to chat to Dance Science colleague, Mary Kate Connolly about his exciting work at Trinity Laban.

What are the main aims of your research at TL?

“The title of the research is ‘Music and Dance Science; Optimising Performance Potential via an Inter-Disciplinary Music and Dance Screening and Profiling Programme’. Really my work is focused on expanding the existing screening programme we have at Laban across the whole institution, and also reviewing the screening process that we have at Laban, and investigating whether we can modify it further. Exploring issues related to the health and well-being of musicians is also an integral part of the research.”

So why screen musicians?

“We know that playing-related injuries are rife among musicians. Most existing research however comes from the medical sector, and focuses on the identification and treatment of injuries rather than injury prediction and prevention.”

What is the culture surrounding injury and pain within the professional music industry?

“One of the biggest challenges we face is the stigma surrounding pain and injury. Injury can be seen as a sign of weakness and unreliability. Often as a result there’s a fear among musicians, to disclose injury and pain. Pain can frequently be viewed as synonymous with musicianship, and as a result there’s a culture among musicians whereby professionals just continue regardless of injury, students would prefer not to think about it, and hope it won’t happen to them, and long-term preventative strategies are rarely discussed.”

How do you think screening will help to address this?

“Really we are striving to raise awareness of the different factors which can impede health and performance ability. In addition to communicating this to the wider music community, we are aiming to provide our students with knowledge of their own bodies, and predictors of potential injury. Following on from this of course, is our long-term objective to then equip them with the mental and physical skills to cope with, and enhance, performance.”

How do you plan to achieve this?

“Moving beyond the actual screening, we can develop programmes to address the kinds of issues that may be prevalent, for example core stability, strength, postural alignment, and coping strategies. This screening programme is vital in giving us a wide overview of the current situation surrounding injury and health within our conservatoire.”

What makes Trinity Laban a particularly appropriate environment for this research?

“Unique to TL is the extensive health services we have in-house at Laban. We have a diverse treatment centre, and we are lucky to have such a diverse, research-active Dance Science team who have a wealth of expertise in empirical and scientific work. So drawing from the screening, we can keep track of certain injuries, and use that to feed back into developing preventative programmes within our training.”

This project is entitled ‘Music and Dance Science’; inherent within the research is the aim for dialogue and collaboration between music and dance. How does this element feed into the project?

“So far there is considerably more research of this nature in dance. This means that we are able to draw on the previous work in the dance field and translate it to make it more applicable for musicians. We can draw on working models within dance to get a better understanding of processes that are currently at work in music. Through this research, and the collaboration between music and dance at Trinity Laban, we hope to contribute to the development of music professionals at the forefront of their art; artists that are bodily aware and informed, and hopefully musicians who can enjoy health and longevity in their careers.”

The new screening programme will be launched at Trinity in September. For further information, please contact Terry Clark at [email protected]

oPTimisingPerformerPoTenTiaLTrinity Laban delves into the world of Music Science with the upcoming launch of a new musician screening programme.

A student takes part in musician screening – Photo: Terry Clark


What is it to be locked up, not knowing where or for how long and only with oneself? What is it to be locked up, in tiny cells, without light, and in that grey monotony having an apple or half a banana thrown to you through bars, as a zoo-keeper throws food to animals? What is it to lift your cell mate, making him stand or sit, while shouting? ‘Get up, get up, never let these people see you crawling...’?

Without Warning is inspired by Brian Keenan’s book An Evil Cradling, which documents his harrowing experience as a hostage in Beirut. Choreographed by Trinity Laban’s Lizzi Kew- Ross, with Trinity alumnus Natasha Lohan as Musical Director. Without Warning enters the anguished territory of being relegated to ‘meat’ and how the mind and spirit still finds ways to claw back reality, half-reality and meaning.

The project began in 2007 as part of a Dance Works project between Trinity and Laban students, run with Lizzi Kew-Ross and Head of Composition Dominic Murcott, set out to devise an original piece of dance and music. As with Without Warning, the piece aimed to integrate the musicians with the dancers. The book was chosen as a source as it was outside both art forms.

Natasha describes the music in Without Warning as “an original sound score”, as it comprises of manipulated samples, composed music and is performed both live on stage and pre-recorded. Many of the recordings are of the theatre itself, the background, functional sounds that are amplified to become a part of the composition. A central tenant to the piece is that the musicians and dancers strip back their customary roles and become performers, blurring the lines between their art forms. Natasha describes working with dancers as, “Liberating, they have far fewer preconceptions about what music is, this particular group of people has been very open to the idea that every sound you make in the space has to be orchestrated if it’s there”.

Undoubtedly the source material of Brian Keenan’s book deals with some distressing concepts and experiences, but it’s also a hopeful story, a story of survival. Without Warning doesn’t set out to retell Brian’s story in a linear way, but it does explore the themes and emotions provoked by it. Lizzi says, “The piece has a sense of narrative as we’re working from the book, but we’re not telling the story of the book, were working from the images and the images are highly poetic. I’m very concerned with trying to bring out the poetry of both the sound and movement.”

An element of Without Warning that makes it unique to Trinity Laban is that it’s site specific to the Bonnie Bird Theatre. The audience and the performers all occupy the same space on the stage, the audience moving with the performers as the piece travels across the space. Natasha describes the space as having “uniquely informed everything we’ve done”. During the piece the performers use the stage rigging and lighting as props, transforming the entire stage space into an interactive performance area. Lizzi describes this as, “People enter

the space, and there’s a sense that we as performers have inhabiting the space, we’ve been enclosed in it.” For those involved with the production there is an excitement about how this will translate and adapt itself to other spaces when the piece tours in the Autumn.

Lizzi wanted “the sound, the light and the movement to have an equal engagement in how we made the work, dancers and musicians inhabit space very differently; here we’re creating an environment where the space is shared in a very equal way”.

Mary Ann Hushlak, the dance dramator for the piece, says “I differentiate between conventional narrative and what I call a sense of narrative, given that the book is about a friendship really, and how they survived an untenable situation, and in the book how others did not psychologically survive it, the friendship and relationship was very vital to how that was. I think that even though Lizzi began the piece in images, you couldn’t not have a sense of relationship in it. I would also say the piece is about what it is to be in a very enclosed, contained space, and what would emerge from that.”

The next stage for the piece is to appoint a producer and make an Arts Council application for funding, and take the space on tour around different spaces and unusual locations.

Without Warning returned to the Bonnie Bird Theatre on the 11th and 12th of November. See page 8 for further details.

wiThouTwarning“How little a person knows what is in himself” Brian Keenan, An Evil CradlingTrinity Laban prides itself on being at the forefront of performing arts; Without Warning is made up entirely of Trinity Laban alumni in a unique collaboration between musicians and dancers.


Jean made his Fringe debut with the 5 star Aequus (2008), and his work has toured throughout the UK, Europe and Brazil.

Jean Abreu graduated from the Laban Centre in 1999. He subsequently danced and choreographed in the company he also cofounded, Protein Dance, creating roles in Portrait with Group & Duck, Publife and The Banquet. He choreographed

his first work in 2003, and has since toured throughout the UK as well as to the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Brazil, Ukraine, Croatia and Mexico. Winner of the Jerwood Choreography Award (2003), Jean has been an Associate Artist at The Place and an Artist-in- Residence at Dance East. In 2008 he collaborated on the Young Vic Theatre‘s production Amazonia and in 2009 he premiered The Boulevard of Broken Dreams in collaboration with Mavron String Quartet, touring it in England and Wales. Jean is currently an Associate Artist at Swindon Dance and the Hat Factory.

Tell us a bit about your new work, INSIDE.

“Inside is probably the piece I’ve spent most time working on. It was based on a year of research after a very busy period in which I developed five projects in one year, which can really drain you but did generate a lot of ideas. INSIDE was provoked by an idea from a previous project where I was thinking about gangs, and then male violence. I had an image of people contained, and the concept of making a work about prisons came out of that. I was immediately fascinated by the subject, because it’s so intense, and my work is very intense. If you look back through my work you see I love to investigate profound and universal themes and observe how people relate to each other. It always comes back to how one person interacts with another and I think prison is the pinnacle of that. As an artist you always have to be making work, so it was a risk to take a year to research the piece. I tried to find tenderness and beauty in the difficult environment of captivity. It’s really up to the dancers to expose those very intimate moments, which I really wanted to focus on. There’s tenderness to the piece, I look for the special, beautiful, profound moments that you can have under very harsh circumstances. I hope it doesn’t sound too corny, but there’s humanity there. I wanted to create a piece that has a two way link with the audience, that wasn’t passive. I wanted to explore how the body reacts to confinement and its effect, emotionally and physically. INSIDE goes beyond physical prisons. I still don’t know exactly where it’s going; it will definitely evolve into something else. It’s a very important piece for me, as it’s the first piece I’ve made without being a performer myself. The first time we performed the piece and I sat with the audience I felt so vulnerable; I didn’t think I would be that nervous, but it was an interesting experience. It’s a very personal piece and I want this to be a signature work for the company.”

Jean first heard 65daysofstatic in a record shop and tracked them down to provide music for Inside. 65daysofstatic focus on instrumental guitar/glitch rock music. Sound design is by Ivor Novello Award winner Dan Jones who wrote the score for Oscar nominated film Shadow of the Vampire and co-directed 2009 immersive Fringe show Kursk.

In INSIDE you collaborate with 65daysofstatic, how did this inform the piece, and was this a new way of working for your company?

“It was very instinctive to work with 65daysofstatic. I love discovering new trends and new music, having a vision and sharing that vision with other people. I was very lucky because they were so receptive. I have a natural desire to collaborate with musicians.”

The cast of INSIDE is made up almost entirely of Laban alums, was that a deliberate move or did it happen naturally?

“It happened completely organically, it wasn’t planned at all. It was a pleasant coincidence! Unconsciously there was probably a quality there that I’m very fond of, they were responsive to the way I work, there’s a type of language, a communication between people who have come from Laban.”

How do you feel your time at Laban influenced you as an artist?

“Laban helped me discover what I really wanted to do. When I came from Brazil my background was very much in traditional dance, but I always knew that there had to be more out there. Arriving at Laban was a total culture shock, it gave me a greater understanding of how to know my body, and gave me exposure to different traditions of choreography. I feel proud to have been to Laban, people respect it, it’s always been set apart as a school, in many countries I’ve visited people know about Laban.”

For further information on Jean’s work visit his website www.jeanabreudance.com

Jeanabreu–insideDescribed as one of London’s most exciting young dancers / choreographers, Laban graduate Jean Abreu talks to Encore about his latest work, INSIDE.

Jean Abreu Performers in Inside

Soloist Theo Lowe


Staff and students at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance were deeply saddened to learn of the death of their President, Sir Charles Mackerras. The renowned conductor had a long relationship with Trinity College of Music and, following its merger with Laban in 2005, with Trinity Laban.

In his obituary, the Guardian described Sir Charles as an “energetic conductor engaged in a tireless quest for perfection”. He was considered one of the greatest living interpreters of Mozart, he led the opening concert at the Sydney Opera House and was the first non-Briton to lead the Last night of the Proms.

Over his long and distinguished career he conducted some of the world’s leading orchestras and was a former director of music at English National Opera. “I always wanted to become a musician. I was hardly interested in anything else. From about eight or nine I had a sort of mania about it,” Sir Charles told the Guardian in an interview to mark his 80th birthday in 2005. In the interview he likened conducting an orchestra to hypnotism which he used to give up smoking. “A great deal of

the conductor’s art is, as it were, hypnotizing them by your very presence, emanating what you feel about the music... I’ve never understood quite how it’s done.”

Sir Charles was due to conduct the Conservatoire’s Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonietta in a concert to mark his 85th birthday on October 21 2010 at Blackheath Halls. The concert will now be dedicated to his memory.

Professor Derek Aviss, Chief Executive of Trinity Laban says: “We were delighted to have Sir Charles Mackerras as our President from 2001. He was not only one of the world’s greatest conductors, but also showed a great interest in young people and their education. Always very active in his Presidency, Sir Charles supported the Conservatoire on ceremonial occasions, and also by endowing a conducting scholarship in his name. He was always present to select the student to receive this scholarship and of course we also enjoyed some memorable occasions when he conducted the Conservatoire’s Symphony Orchestra. Sir Charles will be greatly missed by all of us at Trinity Laban.”

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Developing Musical Talent

Flexible exam structure

Clear and detailed mark scheme

Choice of supporting tests

Exciting repertoire lists

UCAS points at Grades 6–8

… Just some of the ways we help candidates achieve success

www.trinityguildhall.co.uk/musicphoto: Tas Kyprianou

From

Percussion to Piano,

Saxophone to Singing,

we provide a wide range of

Grade, Certificate and Diploma exams

designed to nurture musical development at every level

tr in it y l aban conservato ire of music and dance , k i n g c h a r l e s c o u r t, o l d r oya l n aVa l c o l l e g e , g r e e n w i c h , l o n d o n s e 1 0 9 J f

t e l : +4 4 (0)20 8305 4 4 4 4 | fa X : +4 4 (0)20 8305 94 4 4 | info@trin it yl aban. ac .uk | W W W.tr in it yl aban. ac .ukTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales. Company No: 51090. Registered Charity No: 309998

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