The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Plan B for Utopia
Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling,. September 8
That is the question posed by Plan B for Utopia, one of the most exciting new Scottish dance productions.
The playful work has been put together by Dundee-based independent dance company Joan Clevillé Dance.
Since its premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015, the show has enjoyed an excellent reception from audiences in Scotland and the rest of the UK. In June it sold out at London’s Battersea Arts Centre.
Charismatic performers Solène Weinachter (a former dancer at Scottish Dance Theatre) and John Kendall (balletLORENT) explore the notion of utopia and the role that imagination can play as a driving force for change in our personal and collective lives.
Mixing dance, theatre and storytelling with a good dose of humour, the performance features classic songs such as Somewhere Over the Rainbow and When You Wish Upon a Star.
Since it was founded, Joan Clevillé Dance has put on eight shows and productions, including The North, Love Games, and Dreamt for Light Years.
Joan Clevillé was born in Barcelona and combined dance training at Elise Lummis’ La Companyia with his studies in Humanities at University Pompeu Fabra.
Having developed an interest in choreography he completed a masters degree at London Contemporary Dance School in 2012.
He has spent 13 years working as a dancer, teacher and rehearsal director in companies across Europe, including Scottish Dance Theatre, the Ballet of the Graz Opera (Austria), the company of the Choreographic Centre of Valencia, and Ballet Carmen Roche (Madrid) and has been based in Dundee since the summer of 2014.
Plan B for Utopia has recently returned from performances at three different festivals in Italy.
Joan said: “We’re about to head off to ‘internationale tanzmesse nrw’ in Dusseldorf this Thursday. As an independent company based in Dundee, I think people in the city can be really proud of our achievement.
“Tanzmesse is a curated showcase which happens only every two years presenting companies from all over the world. We are really honoured to have invited to present Plan B for Utopia there.
“For those who missed our performance at Dundee Rep last September (or want to see it again with myself performing in it!) we will be presenting the work at the Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling next week.”