TRANSITIONS DANCE TOUR 2020

Founded in 1982, Transitions Dance Company prides itself on being the UK’s leading graduate dance troupe, counting Sir Matthew Bourne and Luca Silvstreni among its alumni. The company itself is keen to stress how its training provides the next step for dancers to break into a stellar career, and their annual tours speak to the depth and breadth of talent that Transitions has to offer. This year, director David Waring has commissioned three critically acclaimed choreographers to produce short, compelling works with nine up-and-coming dancers, all of whom are still completing their Masters of Arts in Dance Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London.

Debuting at the end of February, Transitions Dance Company will exhibit a diverse triple bill of brand-new works by H2DANCE, Cameron McMillan and Elisa Pagani, which have been selected on the basis that they will challenge audiences to consider the nuances of the political landscape through the medium of contemporary dance.

H2DANCE comprises Scandinavian choreographers Hanna Gillgren and Heidi Rustgaard, who have applied a multidisciplinary approach to their commission for this year’s tour. By playing with the recurring ideas of manipulation, conformity and power balances, H2DANCE seek to juxtapose darker societal issues with profane humour in order to communicate directly with their audiences through elements of movement, voice and video. Elsewhere, Cameron McMillan is rather the triple threat; with a CV that charts international success in dance, ballet and film, he has amassed clientele including the Royal Opera House and Channel 4. For Transitions, McMillan’s work will probe the boundaries of communication and the human experience, with the intention to broaden his audience’s understanding of the dancing body. Similarly, Eliza Pagani has conceived a sensitive, intelligent piece of intense physicality with Transitions to explore the complex, primordial relationships between human beings and nature.

Sounds like pretty heavy stuff, right? If, on paper, the themes of Transitions’ forthcoming tour seem a bit daunting, you can at least reside in the knowledge that you’ll be amongst the first to see these dancers in a professional setting before they make it big. 

words SOPHIE WILLIAMS photos CHRIS NASH

For more details on Transitions Dance Company’s 2020 tour, click here.