Scottish Dance Theatre
Scottish Dance Theatre is a contemporary dance company based at Dundee Repertory Theatre in Dundee, Scotland.
The company
Scottish Dance Theatre is Scotland’s national contemporary dance company and is part of Dundee Rep Theatre. The company is currently led by Artistic Director Fleur Darkin, who joined the company in 2011. Her predecessor, Janet Smith, led the company from 1997 to 2011. Both Artistic Directors have contributed to the company's choreographic repertoire.
The company also performs work by a range of internationally recognised and emerging choreographers and regularly tours, both home and abroad. In 2003 SDT won the Critics' Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Company Repertoire (Modern) and also won a Herald Angel Award for its performance of Liv Lorent's Luxuria at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Scottish Dance Theatre performed in Cyprus and Athens during the summer of 2008, before returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. In November 2009 the company toured to Dubai and China before continuing its UK Autumn tour. In 2010 the company has performed again at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has toured across Holland and to Milan. In 2012 the company toured India and conducted an extensive outreach programme in four major cities, reaching school audiences, non-dance teachers, underprivileged children, children with additional support needs and working with new and established dance organisations on the ground.
Scottish Dance Theatre was founded by Royston Maldoom in 1986 as the Dundee Rep Dance Company.[1]
Scottish Dance Theatre is a part of RepNet, a network which currently brings together 5 repertoire/commissioning dance companies of similar size and circumstance from five North European countries to mutually support, strengthen and enhance their work through the exchange of experience, sharing and learning. The member companies are Skånes Dansteater (Sweden), Carte Blanche (Norway), Iceland Dance Company, Tanztheater nordwest (Tanzcompagnie Oldenburg and Tanztheater Bremen; Germany) and Scottish Dance Theatre.[2]
Artistic director
Fleur Darkin is former Associate Artist at Bristol Old Vic and has enjoyed choreographic stints at Laban and the Royal Opera House. Darkin’s the Blake Diptych won the Jardin D’Europe commission and was co-commissioned in the UK by Southbank Centre, Laban, Salisbury Arts Centre, Pavilion Dance, Bristol Old Vic and Warwick Arts Centre. Internationally, Darkin’s artistic excellence has been recognised with residencies at Junges Hundes (Germany), P.A.R.T.S. (Belgium) and Theatre Mono (Lebanon).
Darkin is a prolific collaborator and her Scottish theatre work includes Roam (Grid Iron/National Theatre of Scotland), Helter Skelter (Tramway) You tell us what was, we tell you what is (National Theatre of Scotland), Bint Jbeil (Grid Iron/National Theatre of Scotland), The Three Musketeers (Traverse/Belgrade), Beauty and the Beast and Anna Karenina for Dundee Rep.
Darkin’s large-scale projects include choreographing three Glastonbury Festivals, the world’s first ever science musical, Dr Tatiana, for Channel 4/Discovery Canada and the 2006 commission Parabolic, which played to a live audience of 25,000 at the Clifton Suspension Bridge to celebrate Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s bi-centenary. Darkin’s aerial choreography was enjoyed by audiences of over 300,000 on ThreeSixty’s global tour of Peter Pan.[3]
References
- ↑ "History". Official home page. Scottish Dance Theatre. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ↑ "What is RepNet". RepNet. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
- ↑ "National Dance Awards Industry Award". National Dance Awards. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-29.