16 September 2008

Daydream Nation: Good Night Deer

February 2008

Daydream Nation is the exciting collaboration between the Royal College of Art Textile graduate Kay Wong and the Central Saint Martins Theatre Design/Directing graduate Jing Wong.

The Making of Good Night Deer



The Story
Once upon a time,
there was a hunter,
he killed deers,
One day he killed a deer with a golden mane,
"Good Night Deer," he said.
He went to a lake to wash off blood stains,
When he saw the spirit of the dead deer,
He was cursed and was transformed into a deer,
Wolves and then hunters started chasing after him,
He hid but soon he heard footsteps,
It was a deer,
who turned out to be a hunter in disguise,
"Good Night Deer" he said.
Kill and be Killed.



Daydream Nation was part of Fashion Week on the 14th-15th February 08 at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts). I was the 2nd Movement Choreographer of the production and a Tree Spirit.

Free Running Championships




The Real Spiderman's of the Century!
(It was held at The Round House in Camden on the 3rd September 08.)

12 September 2008

Five Ways To Walk Towards Yourself

A unique and exciting movement based research project into landscape, body, memory and autobiography. This was led by Angus Balbernie and Rosalyn Maynard.


Each day we worked with somatics exploring new paths within our inner-self, and then communicating to each other through our five senses.


"Her soft foot touched the ground as she crept towards the tiny little green platforms shimmering in the sunlight...she went under the branch and felt trapped in a bubble as she watched the shadows and reflections...spiney spikey branches caught her jumper pulling her down to tilt her body up to catch the canopy of the trees whistling."
(The beginning of my journey in the dark forest.)

The performance and investigation took place in
Haldon Forest, Exeter.

Visa Concessions

Contemporary dancers call for visa concessions to match ballet

Published Thursday 7 August 2008 at 11:05 by Lalayn Baluch

Leading figures from the contemporary dance world are up in arms after it was revealed that international ballet stars are in line for an exemption from stringent new visa regulations, but the concession is not being extended to non-classical performers.

According to officials at modern dance company Rambert, draft guidelines for the new points-based visa system reveal that the Migration Advisory Committee is considering classifying ballet as an occupation with a shortage of workers - a move that will make it easier for foreign classical performers to gain visas for the UK.

Now Nadia Stern, Rambert chief executive, is calling on the Home Office to urgently consider a similar concession for contemporary artists.

She warned that without such a provision, the organisation will struggle to bring in talent from overseas when the new rules are implemented this autumn.

She told The Stage: “This is the first indication we have had that there is going to be a distinction [between the dance forms]. It will be extremely difficult for Rambert to maintain its position if we are not able easily to continue recruiting dancers from around the world.

“The loss to the cultural life of this country will be devastating. When you are talking about internationalism, it is not just a question of bringing companies from overseas into Britain - 25% of our dancers are from outside the European Union. I am sure this is an unintended consequence of what the government is trying to do, but I would plead with them to listen to the industry, in terms of the impact that this could have if they don’t get it right.”

Stern is now calling for an urgent meeting with the advisory committee, in an attempt to ensure that contemporary dance is considered for a concession.

Meanwhile, Caroline Miller, director of advocacy body Dance UK, said she was “alarmed” by the news, and supported Stern’s call to action.

She added: “These companies attract the most exceptional dancers from across the world who specifically desire to work with leading British companies and artistic directors.

“Without their talent, Britain’s international status in dance will be diminished and the dance economy weakened.”

Sadler’s Wells director of programming Suzanne Walker added that it is vital to bring in “inter-national calibre” performers from abroad to keep up the “health and quality” of the arts.

“All dancers, whether specialising in flamenco, tango, ballet or contemporary dance, to name just a few, experience the same levels of rigorous training, and we certainly agree that contemporary dance should receive equal visa concessions,” she added.

However, a spokesperson from the UK Border Agency claimed that it had been advised by representatives of the dance world to categorise ballet separately.

He added that these representatives were working with Equity to define the code of practice for the system, which will be used to test its impact on resident artists.

Dancer in a Harlequin Costume