Join us on Saturday 27th March at 6pm
Tag Archives: Dance in Wales
Yippee,an event!
We are pleased to share with you our upcoming performance of The Three Sections, choreographed by Liam Riddick.
You may know that in #lockdown2 our three company dancers Catrin, Julian and Georgina worked with Liam creating a new piece: amazingly we achieved this online.
The online performance of The Three Sections will be on March 27th at 6pm, tickets available to purchase here. We would be so grateful for your support in this difficult time for artists and for theatre.
In the meantime to whet your appetite, we will be showing little teasers, so keep your eyes peeled to our social pages.
Here’s Liam chatting about The Three Sections with Sue, Artistic Director of FFIN DANCE
Welcome back Liam
We are delighted to share our news with you that we have commissioned Liam Riddick to choreograph our new work for 2020/2021 The Three Sections
Liam, a former dancer with BalletBoyz and principal with Richard Alston Dance Company, is no stranger to The Beaufort Theatre and FFIN DANCE.
When he was a dance student with Sue Lewis at Coleg Gwent he was a staunch member of the dance faktry youth dance class, Combination Dance which is still running on a Wednesday evening (via Zoom at the moment)
Liam is thrilled to be working with us, we begin the process remotely on November 2nd.
Keep posted for all the news, films and vlogs
Meet our new Outreach Coordinators
Due to generous funding from the WCVA Recovery Fund, we have been able to appoint two exceptional new members of staff to expand our Outreach team at FFIN DANCE in this most difficult time.
Catrin and Julian will be working with our current partners and also making new links within the community. We will be finding alternative ways of engaging with everyone, you may wish to have a look at some of our projects by clicking this link.
We are delighted to have this opportunity to increase our work within the community.
Here are their e mail addresses should you wish to get in touch
ffindancejulian@gmail.com
ffindancecl@gmail.com
We are setting up new projects all the time and would love to hear from you if you would like to be included.
Text 07854 910926 if you’d like to get in touch
The FFIN DANCE zoom school
We’d like you to be the first to hear all about our new inititiatve – the FFIN DANCE zoom school.
Following on from our highly successful dance classes throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, we have launched our new term of classes starting in September. In addition to our weekly classes and videos, we are introducing short courses which last 3 or 4 weeks aimed at an intensive learning experience.
The timetable will be out very soon, so keep keen …
The New Normal
As we move further towards life back in the normal lane, I take the time to reflect on how things have been over the past few months during lockdown.
We have been most fortunate to get support from The National Lottery Community Fund, Community Foundation in Wales and more recently from GAVO to keep in touch with our community and find new ways of working together.
Children and young people from our dance faktry have written and sent postcards to members of the community who have been self isolating, those who have been in hospital, those who may have needed a bit of “cheering up” and those who are alone.
Our company dancers and teachers have filmed dance classes and exercises to do at home and they have been posted on social media. We are now in our ninth week of online dance classes via Zoom, having taught 30 classes in that time. The classes are free for the community and we have had some wonderful feedback from parents and the young people themselves.
I think that we are one of the first professional dance companies in the UK to announce our virtual summer dance school. This is free to participants of all ages and abilities and will involve the creation of a new dance film to be screened on August 7th.
We have plans to reopen our café with a take away service as our first step to resuming activity in our beloved Beaufort Theatre
We have found new ways of working and will continue to do that, already we have found that many things can be done differently to good effect.
However, nothing can take away the feeling of being together in a studio – creating, learning, dancing together. Nothing can be as good as the thrill of seeing our Main House full of people coming to watch live performances, maybe for the first time. Nothing can beat the feeling of family that we have at FFIN DANCE
We hope that we will all be together again soon, in whatever way the new normal dictates. Stay safe everyone and keep dancing …
sue lewis
Onwards and upwards
It’s been almost 3 years since we took over the management of The Beaufort Theatre, and I’m delighted to to tell you that we’re going from strength to strength.
I’d like to introduce you to our latest partner Lybec Arts Performing Academy who has become artist in residence with us. We are delighted to welcome the Academy to The Beaufort. Lybec Arts is a qualifications academy offering weekly skills development in a range of performance pathways, all groups are fully subscribed at the moment with new students able to apply in the summer term.
Image Paul Trask
Our dance faktry classes are an absolute joy! The recent winter dance faktry festival provided an opportunity for our children and young people to showcase the work that they had created throughout the term. The young dancers also got the opportunity to watch each other which is always a most valued and valuable experience. The High Sheriff of Gwent came along to the event and was thrilled to see such energy and commitment.
It’s been a few years since we toured our professional work as our priority has been establishing a stronghold in our own community, however now we are firmly bedded in, we will be touring to Holyhead in North Wales next month. Canolfan Ucheldre has always been one of our favourite places to show our work and we get a great welcome on the island. We will also be working with community groups including the Barton Dance & Drama Academy with whom we have had a strong working relationship for many years now. We will be making a curtain raiser performance for the students to perform with us. We are hoping to make new friends too with other community groups of all ages.
On a personal level, I’m happy to say that I can now see properly after having cataract surgery. One of my greatest joys is that I can now see the faces of the children whom I teach and see the expressions on their faces in dance class. I am most grateful to the fantastic team at Emersons Green Treatment Centre in Bristol for this miracle.
Now that I am able to see to complete more extended writing, you’ll be hearing a lot more from me. Thank you for sharing my FFIN experiences with me, see you in Holyhead …
sue lewis
Image Paul Trask
Design Julian Lewis
An Inspector Calls Day 2
Dancers notes
Dancers notes
Day 2 in the studio didn’t disappoint, more super work explored. The images above are from Julian’s notebook, jottings of the things that have come to mind with the task in hand.
Today the dancers recapped on the tasks from yesterday, working on soliloquies.
We later started on the new tasks for Act 2 which involved looking at the relationships that Eva/Daisy had with each of the guilty parties. As we are three dancers (1 male, 2 female) we thought to move away from gender-stereotypicality in some of the duets – we got through 3 out of the 7 possibilities.
Take a little peep here of our dancers working through the task. Don’t forget that you can interact with us by using the speech bubbles on this page.
See you tomorrow …
sue lewis
An Inspector Calls Day 1
Georgina
Julian
Catrin
And so to another new season at FFIN
My new work is based on the underlying themes of JB Priestley’s amazingly progressive but classic play An Inspector Calls.
Catrin, Julian and Georgina began their R&D time in the studio with me today discussing the characters, the historical context, the social background and of course the parity with contemporary society that emanates from the play. As a result, soliloquies were made with each dancer transposing these ideas into moment terms – what a talented bunch!
I’m hoping that each day I can share with you our studio time and would welcome your interaction with us – please use the speech bubbles on this page to tell us your thoughts.
Still very early days, but Day 1 was exceptional, please stay with us.
sue lewis
We are auditioning
FFIN DANCE Crib
We are looking for a new dancer, male or female, to join the company for the creation of a new work and future projects. The audition will take place on Saturday 7 April 2018, 12-5pm at The Beaufort Theatre, Beaufort Hill, Ebbw Vale, Gwent, Wales NP23 5QQ.
The audition will involve a contemporary technique class, repertoire from our new work Crib, a creative session and an opportunity to meet and discuss the role with the company. All dancers will be required for the whole session.
Please note, FFIN DANCE is a project-based company, best suited for self-employed artists. All projects are paid. For more information about the company, including commitment and fees, please email info@ffindance.co.uk
To apply, please email info@ffindance.co.uk with your CV and a link to online video footage of you dancing by 5pm on Friday 16 March 2018. This audition is by invitation only and you will be informed if you have been successful by Saturday 24 March 2018.
You must have a minimum of 3 years professional dance training, excellent contemporary dance technique and creative skills. Experience and a keen interest in teaching and working with community dancers is desirable.
Before applying, it is important to understand that the majority of company rehearsals and activities take place in residence at The Beaufort Theatre, Ebbw Vale. FFIN DANCE is unable to provide accommodation and travel expenses and therefore, this role is best suited to dancers who have a base in South Wales and/or have their own transport.
The philosophy underpinning the work that FFIN DANCE produces is centred around quality and innovation. Artistic Director, Sue Lewis, believes in collaborating with her dancers, and the process of making new work is always challenging and of equal importance as the product. Use of music plays a huge part in the company repertoire, as well as a strong emphasis on physicality and technical virtuosity. Alongside the professional company, FFIN DANCE runs an established education and outreach programme, the FFIN DANCE FAKTRY with a series of regular childrens and youth classes, summer schools, professional intensives and one-off projects with schools and community groups.
If you are interested in seeing the company perform before auditioning, the premiere of our new work Crib will take place at The Beaufort Theatre on Friday 6 April 2018 alongside performances from our community groups. For more information, visit www.ffindance.co.uk/the-beaufort-theatre
www.ffindance.co.uk | Facebook: @ffindancecompany | Twitter: @FFINDANCE | Instagram: ffindance