From: Gulb Marketing [gulbmarketing_at_kent_dot_ac_dot_uk]

Sent: 11 October 2016 08:56

Subject: LEVIATHAN: 21 Oct 2016: Perfromance and interview opportunity

Attachments: LEVIATHAN Image - Photo Credit Steve Tanner_reduced.jpg

 

Press Release              

11 October 2016

 

East Kent Students to open new show by James Wilton.

 

Download images here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/93zojrf2qgj4rj8/AADXIXYNASR7DAKz5-EgBUvXa?dl=0?

 

Leviathan

James Wilton Dance

7.30pm, 21 October 2016

 

At 7.30pm on 21 October, leading British choreographer, James Wilton, comes to Gulbenkian, Canterbury with his latest show: LEVIATHAN. Students from Herne Bay High School have the brilliant opportunity of working with James and his dancers to produce a short piece of their own that will open the performance.

 

James' most recent work, Last Man Standing, toured to over 60 venues during 2014/15 and was seen by over 15,000 people. Since they began, James Wilton Dance has performed in 15 countries around the world.

 

Eleanor Cocks, Head of Creative Learning at Gulbenkian - "It is brilliant to be able to offer the opportunity for students to work with a choreographer of James Wilton's reputation. They are so excited about working with him and then performing on the Gulbenkian stage before LEVIATHAN".

 

Inspired by Herman Melville's seminal novel, Moby Dick, the show brings Wilton's trademark blend of athletic dance, martial arts, capoeira and partner-work, back to the stage, having enjoyed much national and international success in recent years.

 

LEVIATHAN follows Ahab, a ship captain hell-bent on capturing the white whale: Moby Dick, a beast as vast and dangerous as the sea itself, yet serene and beautiful beyond all imagining. Ahab's crew are drawn into the unhinged charisma of their captain, blindly following him on his perilous adventure towards almost certain destruction.

 

?I've always had a fascination with the relationship between man and nature. What interests me most is the way that we fear each other before we fear nature. We worry about other people and the dangers they can do more than we fear the awe-some power of the planet,' says James. ?For me, Moby Dick represents someone trying, and ultimately failing to conquer nature. The futility of the pursuit, combined with the maniacal obsession of Ahab make for a compelling story and one I am eager to re-create and re-imagine.'

 

Featuring a cast of 7 dancers including James himself, LEVIATHAN promises edge of your seat, ferocity of movement that James' work is recognized for. All accompanied by a powerful electro-rock soundtrack by Lunatic Soul.

 

LEVIATHAN has been co-commissioned by ART31 KENT, a new movement celebrating work created by and for young people in Kent.

 

To book tickets call 01227 769075 or go to http://www.thegulbenkian.co.uk

 

ENDS

Press Contact:

For interviews, more information, press tickets and images please contact:
Jess Thomas, Marketing Officer, 01227 827956, j.l.thomas_at_kent_dot_ac_dot_uk
 David Yard, Head of Marketing, 01227 824688, d.yard_at_kent_dot_ac_dot_uk

Or visit our press site for images: http://www.thegulbenkian.co.uk/about-us/press/index.html

About Leviathan

James' most recent work, Last Man Standing, toured to over 60 venues during 2014/15 and was seen by over 15,000 people. Since they began, James Wilton Dance has performed in 15 countries around the world. LEVIATHAN has been com-missioned by The Barbican Theatre, Plymouth University, Plymouth Culture and Ocean City Festival, Swindon Dance, The Place, Blackpool Grand, Barnsley Civic, The Gulbenkian and BBC Performing Arts Fund, with support from Arts Council England, Grants for the Arts.

 

LEVIATHAN is set to tour across the UK in Autumn 2016 and Spring 2017. For more information visit www.jameswiltondance.org.uk

 

About ART31

We want to #ChangeKent. How? By creating more artistic events and opportunities for young people. By motivating young people to be creative, and to try art forms they wouldn't usually think of. By introducing them to new work that they may not have been able to access before. By developing relationships between arts organisations and young people, leading young people to take control and get involved in making decisions.

 

We have a number of dedicated ART31 groups across Kent. The pilot group started at Gulbenkian, Canterbury, in 2013 and since then other groups have sprung up at Pie Factory Music, Ramsgate and Jasmin Vardimon Company, Ashford, with others in the pipeline. These groups meet regularly to plan ART31 events, as well as develop event management/front of house/marketing skills, meet companies, take part in workshops and see new and exciting artistic work. TECH31KENT has also developed, creating opportunities for young people interested in careers in technical theatre to learn from professional technicians and provide technical support for events in Kent.

 

2016 has seen the creation of the ART31 Youth Board, around 20 young people from locations all around Kent, who meet monthly at Gulbenkian to support and promote the ART31 programme across the county.

 

About Gulbenkian

Gulbenkian is a key part of the University of Kent's Arts Centre offering innovative, engaging and high quality arts activity for and with the public, staff and students. It provides a key role in delivering the University of Kent's commitment to Public Engagement proving an interface between the University and the local and wider community Gulbenkian has a particular commitment to the creative empowerment of children and young people and talent development.

 

Arts Council England NPO

On 1 April 2015, Gulbenkian became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. To find out more about this please see the Arts Council England website.

 

 

Marketing Officer
Gulbenkian
| University of Kent
Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NB United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0)1227 827956
E-mail:
Website: www.thegulbenkian.co.uk
Twitter: _at_TheGulbenkian

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