SPRING 2024 PROGRAMME

Play, Pause, repeat

A CAPTIVATING PROGRAMME OF DANCE

How to Decouple in an Ethical Way

Concept & choreography by Jamaal Burkmar

Performance and choreographic contribution by Daisy Dancer, Pagan Hunt, Alex Thirkle and Hayley Walker

Lighting design by Mark Parry

Music: "You belong to me" by Patsy Cline and the Jordanaires, "Holy Shit" by Father John Misty, "Arthur’s Theme" by Christopher Cross

A millennial love story told in 3 sessions and 3 songs. In a mix of improvisation and choreography, music and text, the piece goes on a journey exploring the short life of a new relationship.

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The Messiest Drawer

Concept by Quinta and Patricia Okenwa
Choreography by Patricia Okenwa
Performance and choreographic contribution by Daisy Dancer, Pagan Hunt, Alex Thirkle and Hayley Walker
Musical composition by Quinta
Lighting Design by Mark Parry
Costumes by Patricia Okenwa

In The Messiest Drawer we find clutter, tangles, precious knick knacks- all the things we hang on to, as well as the many stories that tell us why and how. As we unpack, rediscover, and reposition, memories bubble up and move us in many ways: from getting stuck in a moment to holding them dear to our heart.

With grateful thanks to the loved ones who shared the contents of their messiest drawers with us and whose voices feature in this piece.

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ABOUT FERTILE GROUND

Founded in 2013, Fertile Ground is dedicated to talent development and retention in the North East and North of England. It aims to nurture, challenge and inspire a new generation of dance artists and to develop and present world class dance across the North.

TEAM AND COLLABORATORS

Patricia Okenwa is a choreographer and dance artist, trained at John Neumeier School of Hamburg Ballet and at Rambert School. Patricia was a dancer for Rambert for 12 years and was commissioned to choreograph for the company in 2016. Hydrargyrum toured the UK and had its London premiere at Sadler's Wells Theatre. A founding member of New Movement Collective (NMC) focused on Interdisciplinary, site or specific work. Most recently she co-created and performed Les Noces - The Departure at Woolwich Works, London. She was part of the second cohort of Sadler's Summer University 2015-18.

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Jamaal Burkmar is an international award-winning choreographer from Jamaican heritage. He has been commissioned by and received support from Dance Hub in Birmingham, Leeds Dance Partnership, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Mobius Dance and more. His work has a strong relationship to music.

Born in the North East of England, Daisy Dancer trained in various forms of dance throughout her adolescence at Dance City in Newcastle, later joining the National Youth Dance Company touring England with works by Sharon Eyal and Boris Seva. Daisy went on to study at The Place in London, followed by a masters degree with the Northern School of Contemporary Dance's postgraduate company Verve, where she toured nationally and internationally. During her studies, she worked with companies, choreographers and movement practitioners such as Kor'sia, Extended Play, Fabio Liberti, Sam Coren, Liam Francis and Renaud Wiser. Daisy is a dedicated learner and received a first class honours degree from London Contemporary Dance School, as well as receiving a distinction in her masters degree with Northern School of Contemporary Dance. She hopes to continue learning and growing as a mover and thinker as she continues to pursue her passion of a career in dance.

Pagan Hunt is a Dance Artist from Shropshire, based in Newcastle since 2019 when she completed her MA Advanced Dance Performance at Dance City. Since then, Pagan has worked with companies including EQ Dance, Northern Dance, Mad Dogs Dance Theatre and Meta4 Dance Company, as well as with International Street Theatre show Spark!. Pagan is co-founder of Pelican Theatre, a North East based dance company she runs with Ellie Trow, and has recently branched into dance writing starting her own platform called Commotion.

Alex Thirkle, from Sunderland, trained at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. While still in training, he was an apprentice with Humanhood Dance Company, and he then immediately began working with Russell Maliphant Dance Company, touring internationally. In 2023 he joined Tavaziva Dance to tour ‘Boy’s Khaya’. Alex’s other performance and film work includes ‘Playscape’ by FKA twigs and Juliano Nunes; ‘Family’ by Sharon Eyal; and a London College of Fashion (LCF) collaboration with Alexander Whitley Dance Company. Alex has also danced in music videos by artists such as Ellie Goulding and Koreless.

Hayley Walker grew up in Newcastle and began dancing at her local dance school studying RAD ballet and modern. At the age of 11 she joined Dance City’s CAT programme. She then went on to train at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance at 16. Upon graduation she joined post graduate company Emergence touring works by Joss Arnott and Sharon Watson. She has featured in music videos, short films and tv series working with Maxine Doyle, Sarah Dowling, Balbir Singh, Nina Nesbitt, Liam Fender, Reebok, Dune London, Lindy Electronics. R&D’s include Corey Baker Dance, Sisters Grimm, Marika Brussel and Hit The Ground Running Dance Theatre. Since then Hayley has been working and performing in France and Portugal with Sublime Dance Company, Kayzer Ballet and DLP. Upon moving back to the North East she has completed two tours of ‘Jumpers for Goalposts’ with Meta4 Dance and also joined Northern Dance, performing and researching various works.

Quinta is a London-based artist, musician and multi-disciplinary maker working experimentally at the intersection of art music, improvisation, electronics, DIY, video/visuals, and pop. A versatile maker, she has collaborated, recorded, and toured the world as a multi-instrumentalist with numerous critically-acclaimed artists including Bat for Lashes, Patrick Wolf, Lamb and Radiohead’s Philip Selway; worked as a composer, arranger and orchestrator for award-winning theatre, concert hall and dance productions including The Paper Cinema’s Odyssey, Ockham’s Razor’s Tipping Point, Rambert’s Event and the BBCCO’s Unclassified; and released three studio albums as a solo artist and two with longstanding collaborators, Collectress. She was Music Fellow at Rambert 2015/16 where she met Patricia Okenwa with whom she has collaborated closely since. On the back of her solo live art show The Shape Of The Moving Air (Athens 2020) and a year of international residencies supported by the PRSF Composer Fund, Quinta released an album of Aeolian harp music with Nonclassical in November 2022. She is currently working with award-winning BBC Essential Mix DJ HAAi on their upcoming album release, with CSA survivor/theatre-maker Viv Gordon on the next stage of arts activism project, Restless, and with Victoria Hume on Radical Abundance, a song-cycle project exploring the notion of ‘degrowth’ and the dying days of capitalism.

Mark Parry has designed lighting for many choreographers and directors in Britain and Europe including Russell Maliphant, Hofesh Schecter, Wayne McGregor, Christopher Bruce, Lea Anderson, Robert Cohan, Siobhan Davies, Darshan Singh Bhuller. He also creates art installations and public artworks incorporating light, projection and sound.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Please share your thoughts with us about Play, Pause, Repeat via social media using the hashtag #PlayPauseRepeat or by contacting us at ad@fertileground.org.uk. To find out more about Fertile Ground visit www.fertileground.org.uk, sign up to our mailing list below.