At the Riley Theatre
Following an international tour, VERVE returns to Leeds for two final performances at their home venue.
Experience works by Alesandra Seutin (Artistic Director of Vocab Dance), Sita Ostheimer and Akram Khan MBE, performed by fourteen exceptional dancers on the cusp of their professional careers.
See where dance is now and where it may go next.
VERVE is the internationally-touring postgraduate company of Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD).
Tickets:£12 (£7)
Dancer and choreographer Sita Ostheimer performed as a member of Hofesh Shechter Company. During that time she choreographed Noble thinking, Accompany and Dissimilar foxes for Shechter’s IN GOOD COMPANY evening. As a freelance choreographer, she has created work for companies including Bodhi Project at SEAD, Frontier Danceland Singapore, and CobosMika Spain. In addition, Sita also worked as Shechter’s choreographic assistant, restaging his work with numerous companies around Europe.
In 2018, Sita choreographed Nobody ‘Cept You for VERVE. Following its success, she returns to create work with this year’s company. Their joint creation, The Unbearable sees the dancers move with urgency to find connection, collectively advancing into the unknown.
International performer, choreographer and movement director Alesandra Seutin was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, grew up in Brussels and now lives between London and Brussels. Alesandra founded Vocab Dance in 2007 and has progressively built an international reputation for creating thought provoking and visually striking performances for small to large-scale theatres, as well as non-theatre settings. Her creativity is triggered by issues that address and reflect social, political and economic circumstances and with movement, voice and music, she shares stories that spark conversations.
Inspired by Nina Simone’s life as an artist and her music, Seutin’s latest work imagines what would happen if her spirit came back to see the world she left behind. A vivid celebration of untold stories, unheard voices, and the freedom to move.
Akram Khan graduated from NSCD in 1998 and is internationally celebrated as one of the most successful dance artists of his generation. Akram Khan Company is a platform for innovation and diversity, creating work in collaboration with acclaimed artists including sculptor Anish Kapoor, composer Nitin Sawhney, dancer and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, visual artist Antony Gormley, ballerina Sylvie Guillem and Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche. Currently Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells, Akram was awarded an MBE for his services to dance in 2005.
VERVE restage Khan’s award-winning Vertical Road. Exploring man’s earthly nature, his rituals and the consequences of his actions, Vertical Road becomes a meditation on the journey from gravity to grace.
