New commissions in Huddersfield

Posted on July 22, 2020

The Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield has commissioned three UK dance companies – Studio Wayne McGregor, Northern Ballet and Gary Clarke Company – to create three site-specific works for camera, which will be available to watch online. Ticketholders will enjoy two contemporary dance solos and a short ballet.

Locked down. Locked in. But living will feature choreography by Jordan James Bridge, a dancer at Studio Wayne McGregor, Daniel de Andrade, artistic associate at Northern Ballet, and Gary Clarke, artistic director of Gary Clarke Company. The three works will be choreographed in isolation, using video calling software to set the work on the company’s professional dancers.

As a response to the coronavirus pandemic, the three companies will create pieces that explore the theme of isolation caused by the international lockdown. The works will then be performed around the Grade II-listed building, which houses the Lawrence Batley Theatre, and captured for broadcast. Locked down. Locked in. But living is available from September 28 to October 18. For more information visit thelbt.org.

Photograph: Courtesy of the Lawrence Batley Theatre. 

Nicola Rayner

Nicola Rayner was editor of Dance Today from 2010 to 2015. She has written for a number of publications including The Guardian, The Independent and Time Out Buenos Aires, where she cut her teeth as a dance journalist working on the tango section. Today she continues to dance everything from ballroom to breakdance, with varying degrees of success. Her debut novel, The Girl Before You, was published last year in paperback, ebook and audiobook.