Choreographers & Composers Lab 2019
Phoenix Dance Theatre is delighted to announce the names of the eight participants taking part in the 2019 Choreographers and Composers Lab. Solomon Berrio-Allen, Jamaal Burkmar, Harriet Macauley and Michael Marquez are the four selected choreographers taking part in the Lab and Anthony Davey, Eunseog Lee, Christella Litras and Angela Slater are the four successful composers.
Funded by Jerwood Arts and Leeds Dance Partnership, the Choreographers and Composers Lab brings together the eight participants for a two week intensive where they will be mentored by Phoenix Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director, Sharon Watson, and composer, creative director and cultural activist, Shirley J. Thompson.
The eight participants will be joined by eight professional dancers and four musicians to support their creative explorations. During the intensive the Choreographers and Composers will take part in guest lectures delivered by industry professionals and be set creative tasks aimed at expanding their knowledge of collaboration.
The 2019 Lab focuses on broadening the artists’ creative capabilities rather than the production of a final work, to give those taking part the freedom to take risks and experiment.
A little about the participating artists:
Solomon Berrio-Allen
Solomon is an award-winning choreographer and freelance dance artist based between London and the South East. Training originally in breakdance Solomon then went on to train on the Trinity Laban CAT scheme and later at P.A.R.T.S, Brussels and Rambert School of ballet and contemporary dance. In 2017 Solomon was awarded the first place prize at the Copenhagen International Choreographic Competition for his work Helium.
Jamaal Burkmar
Jamaal Burkmar is a choreographer and movement director based in the Midlands. He has been the recipient of countless awards and commissions such as: One Dance UK’s Trailblazer Fellowship, New Adventures Choreography Award and the choreodrome commission awarded by the The Place. Jamaal’s choreographic style takes influence from the R&B music that he choreographs to.
Harriet Macauley
Harriet Macauley is a choreographer, Artistic Director and founder of InDance, Barcelona. As a dancer she has performed with Wayne McGregor Random Dance, Rambert and Richard Alston Dance Company.
Michael Marquez
Michael Marquez is a current company dancer with Phoenix Dance Theatre based in Leeds. As a choreographer he defines himself as an admirer of problem solving with a liking for complex group dynamics, poetic and theatrical devices and narrative themes often infused with a spark of lightness and joy. Michael trained at the Julliard School in New York and upon graduation was awarded the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship to pursue and develop his choreographic voice. He has created both site specific and more classical proscenium dance works.
Anthony Davey
Anthony is a composer and music producer based in West Yorkshire. Anthony has composed music for a variety of mediums and most notably was commissioned to write and record the full score and theme music for the BBC1 series, Home from Home, starring Johnny Vegas and Emilia Fox which aired in March/April 2018.
Eunseog Lee
Eunseog is a composer and educator based in Coventry. He holds a Master’s in music composition from the University of Oxford. Eunseog’s compositions are often inspired by religious narratives and infuses Korean instruments with Western.
Christella Litras
Christella is a composer, music director and educator based in Leeds. She has worked with a range of organisations including Leeds Playhouse and Opera North working on both original commissions and with their youth groups. Christella has performed with the likes of Rihanna and been a support act for Beverly Knight and Jamiroquai.
Angela Slater
Dr Angela Slater is a composer based in Staffordshire. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of the Illuminate series. In her AHRC-funded PhD in composition at the University of Nottingham, Angela developed an interest in incorporating different aspects of the natural world into her compositions. She has been working on a series of works that engage with the natural world, musically mapping certain aspects into the fabric of her music.
