French Connection

A little further from home, I continue to work as assistant choreographer for the Compagnie Gilschamber.   Upcoming performances of "L'Intrusion" in Biarritz (18/09)  and in Rennes (09/10).

       http://www.gilschamber.org

The next installment of "Noli me Tangere" with French Bandoneon player and composer Tristan Macé is coming up at La Villa Savoie, the famous modernist manifesto of architect Le Corbusier.  A performance and workshop for children of all ages lead by Tristan and myself on the 10th/11th October.

  

http://www.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/news/headlines/bdd/actu/2032/monument-jeu-d-enfant//

Re-emerging from the maternity muddle!!

Two months after the birth of my second, work has begun on various different projects.  Friday a week ago was the premiere of the Cabaret des Distractions at the Cafe de Paris in Soho.  Come and join us any Friday night between now and the end of November for:

                  "gasps of awe, roars of laughter and whoops of excitement"

http://www.cafedeparis.com/cabaret-dining/whats-on

2+1 rehearsal footage - 'bath scene'

Amir and Vanessa in rehearsal for the famous 'bath scene'.  Always a high risk moment, both dancers have been soaked a number of times.  This is a beautiful run - tension held perfectly, right up until the glorious cock-up at the end.

2+1 rehearsal footage - 'final section'

Beginning and end of the last section of the piece so far, including a wonderful recovery from Vanessa as she slips up on yet another baby grow!

2+1 rehearsal footage 'jumper section'

Known as the jumper section because all the movement was created with the dancers wearing two hoodies that had been zipped together.  Thanks to Geoffrey Streatfeild and Anna Madeley for the voice-over.

Extracts from '2+1' at the Cockpit Theatre

Here are a few moments from the final sharing of our 3 week R&D period.

For those of you who are keen to see some behind scenes footage, I'll be posting some rehearsal footage shortly.

Fame at last!

A few words about 2+1 in an interview I did for London Dance, take a look if you get a chance:

http://londondance.com/articles/interviews/tara-pilbrow/

 

Final Showing of 2+1 R&D, Monday 19th at the Cockpit Theatre

We are delighted to be sharing some of the fruits of our work this Monday at 7pm:

The Cockpit, Gateforth Street, Marylebone, London NW8 8EH
www.thecockpit.org.uk, Tickets £1 at the door

For those of you that missed our performance in April, here are a few extracts:

Inspiration..

Looking back through my notes in preparation for starting rehearsals again on Thursday.  I found this quote from photographer, Katie Murray which I jotted down when I visited the "Home Truths: Photography, Motherhood and Identity" exhibition:

"No-one can prepare you for motherhood…I heard the clichés from every side..that it was a lot of work, that I could (or couldn't) have it all, that my priorities would have to change, that it would be the best thing that ever happened to me.  However there was a failure to communicate how I could simultaneously feel so deeply fulfilled by, and connected to, this primal state of being a mother, and yet feel so disconnected to my former childless self.  How isolating, suffocating and depleting it could be, and the associated guilt for having those ambivalent feelings."

Washing machine glory!

Thanks to my genius husband, and his incredible patience, we now have a washing machine that looks totally normal from the front, but with space and access for all kinds of silly ideas at the back.  Not as easy as you might think removing the guts from a washing machine and redesigning it!  Now we just need to see what frolics we can come up with …

First Sharing at Conway Hall Tomorrow

Day 6 in the studio and we're starting to piece something together out of the madness!  Please join us tomorrow for our first sharing.  We'd love to hear your feedback.

Conway Choreographies @ Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL

7.30 pm, Tickets £12 at the door

 (write to contact@tarapilbrow.com to be put on the list for a company discount.)

Dates for your diaries

We'll be showing excerpts of the work-in progress at the following venues: 

16th April - Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, 7.30pm

Tickets £10 in advance, £12 on the door (discount tickets available for company guests – email contact@tarapilbrow.com for details)

Full lineup at http://conwayhall.org.uk/film-theatre

19th May - Cockpit Theatre, Theatre in the Pound, 7pm

Tickets £1 only!

We would be very happy to see you all there, and to hear your views and opinions.

Two days of fantastic time in studio with Amir Giles and Vanessa Cook.  Looking at facing new challenges as a couple, the frustrations and hilarity of launching into the unknown, and the sensation of complete physical and mental exhaustion…
 Many thanks to Wycombe Abbey School for allowing us to use their luxurious dance space.

OFFICIAL PATRONS

I should like to officially thank all those who so generously contributed to our crowd funding campaign.  I really hope that the work that we achieve does you all proud.

Some people chose to donate anonymously, or under names so fantastically coded, that I have yet to figure out who they were, but the (incomplete) list of official patrons of Tara Pilbrow Dance is as follows:

To all you young fathers out there: A slightly bizarre request...

I've spent much of my time over the last few weeks thinking about images, narrative and movement ideas, and generally preparing for rehearsals for '2+1,' which start on the 7th April.  I've come to realize (unsurprisingly) that my vision is deeply one sided, and that there's a very serious danger that my portrayal of the first few months of a child's life will be seriously biased to the experience of the mother.      Hence I turn to you….

If any of you feel inclined to pen a few words,… to jot down some of the high, and lowlights of your experience, and send them to me, I would be deeply grateful.  It doesn't have to be a long essay, just whatever jumps to mind.  The piece looks at how your life changes in the first few months of your baby's life, and specifically at how this effects the relationship between the you and your partner.  Any tips, quips, memories or anecdotes would be welcome.

If you'd rather not post your ideas on the blog, just send me an email at contact@tarapilbrow.com.

THANK YOU!

Good News on all fronts

A Massive thank you to all those who have contributed so far to our Crowdfunding Campaign.

We have received a massive £860 with two days still to go before the deadline.

We have also had confirmation of our grant from the Arts Council of England.

Working hard now to make sure that we put it all to good use!


 

COMPANY OFFER ON LAST MINUTE TICKETS

If anyone is looking for last minute tickets to La Boheme, I should be able to get you a significant discount on the best seats available.  Send me an email: contact@tarapilbrow.com for further details.

Crowdfunding campaign

The crowd funding campaign for '2+1' has just gone live:
http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/2plus1/
Do take a look, and support us with a little contribution if you can.

Thank you :)

La Boheme, Royal Albert Hall

Start rehearsals tomorrow for Francesa Zambello's "La Boheme."  We will be performing, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic, at the Royal Albert Hall from the 27th February to the 9th March.

2+1 First photoshoot

Here are a few photos from our first shoot for 2+1. Thank you to photographer Amir Giles. Vanessa Cook, the other of the two dancers in the piece is currently away, so I took her place.

Dancing for Mr Selfridge

For those of you that caught the first two episodes of the new Mr Selfridge season (ITV) you may have seen Amir and I dancing at the staff party in Delphines.  In week one it was a blink-and-you miss it appearance, but in week two, we were definitely present, although some say I was hardly recognizable.  Here are a few photos to help you identify me..

The beginning of a new Dance Theatre Project...

Often planned well in advance, 9 slow months in the making, and yet still the arrival of a new baby is still a cataclysmic shock to most of us.  One of the most exhausting, exhilarating, and terrifying moments of our lives, but we invariably stumble through it in a state of dopiness that transforms the whole thing into a sort of blurry haze.  Now almost a year and a half after the arrival of my first child, it feels like I am gradually able to look back and laugh; and not only that but maybe, take some of those experiences into studio, dance, discuss, create, invent and share the results with all of you in a new dance theatre piece:

2+1 is a light hearted and poignant look at the effect of the arrival of a baby on a relationship. Exploring how the new arrival changes their physical contact, their attentiveness, ... and their attention span as they experience the joys of sleepless nights, dirty nappies, and 24h entertainment on cue. A washing machine sits at the back of the stage spewing out a seemingly endless supply of clean clothes, sometimes the couple fight back, sometimes the washing machine wins....