BE FESTIVAL 2010 - BE FESTIVAL

Crossing Borders in Performance

Dr Charlotte Ross, lecturer in Italian Studies at Birmingham University, will chair the discussion, with an invited panel of arts professionals and academics. All are welcome to attend and contribute

Shut Up and Listen with Bert Roman

A dance workshop exploring contemporary dance technique (body awareness) and how to build movement using text material. Body Awareness work will include using the breath to find your centre, and enjoyable movement phrases where we will eat space and play with rhythm, attraction and repulsion. Bert trained at the Royal…

Post Show: Scandimaniacs

Scandimaniacs have not fallen out. There is no conflict at all! But if Sara and Emil manage to patch up their non existing conflict they might both be on stage...if not, Emil will do a one man version of their critically acclaimed cabaret act. "Hint of undescribable genius" - Fringe…

The Neutral Mask Part I and II with Heriberto Montalván

The Neutral mask is an invitation for participants to set aside the personal and discover first what we all have in common. Exploring the natural world, the mask will help to essentialise natural movement, developing both calm and risk taking. This mask offers the chance to explore a state of…

BE Next 2010

BE Next is BE Festivals's free programme of workshops for young people based in Birmingham. Crossing Borders is going to be the Central Theme of the workshops. 'Border': any kind of boundary which may establish differences or similarities among people or groups of people (countries, neighbourhoods, language, clothes...). The workshop…

Post Show: Karnival

Karnival is an experience like no other; it combines the energy of clubland with the magic of Theatre to create an encounter different to anything that has come before it. Music and performance merge on the dance floor and carry the audience on a journey through Life and Death before…

The tales a body tells with David Hernandez

In this workshop we will explore physicality as a tool and movement as language. How well does the body tell stories and what kind of stories does it tell? Through improvisational experiments, we will explore how the body can convey a plethora of meanings through physicality. David worked as an…

Post Show: TG Collective

A glorious combination of gypsy hotclub, flamenco, jazz and contemporary classical influences underpin this superb ensemble, built around a core of two guitarists, alongside flutes, violin, double bass, trumpet, cajon and flamenco dance. An exciting sensuous sound described by THE TIMES **** as 'Stylish, very stylish'...the group perform an intriguing…

World Singing with Sofia Paschou

Learn how to sing as part of a group through listening and empathising with those around you to create rich and beautiful harmonies. The songs come from traditions where singing comes naturally and is a vital part of everyday life. All songs are taught by ear in the original language,…

Feldenkrais Workshop with Danièle Sanderson

Feldenkrais is a movement technique that explores possibilities, releasing people from physical tensions and increasing their potential as performers. By engaging your curiosity, gently and at your own rate, you learn to explore the world of your internal sensation. You learn to use this awareness to change your habits and…

Tools for Devising Part I and II with Michael Brown

Friday: Igniting CreativityAs we all know, a devising process requires a high level of creative engagement and risk-taking from all involves. But where do we begin, in order to unleash that level of creative energy? Using a series of proven exercises and games from various masters of creating physical theatre,…

Feedback Café 2010

You are warmly invited to drop into to AE Harris each afternoon at 4pm for Feedback Cafe. The previous nights performers will be there to share the ideas and process behind their work, to receive feedback from those that have watched it and to explore possibilities for the future. Delicious…

Business is Business by Pas de Dieux (France)

The setting: a young company, ordinary, full of hope and creativity. The project: a banal step-stool, a product to be sold at all costs. Around this step-stool, an incessant ballet of employers, bosses and cleaning workers reveal a large palate of colourful personalities. The daily lives of these people are nothing but…

Pasada-Par-Agua by Hannah Shakti (Italy/Germany)

A lonely clown is waiting on a bench under the rain... nothing else seems to happen. The rain drops dissolve the colours of her clothers, her mind, and her personality culminating in a final dance where the character is not a clown anymore. Hanna Shakti studied Dance Theatre at the…

Look At Them Now by Unicorn (Austria)

Look At Them Now explores the absurdity of watching and being watched, and crosses borders between going to the zoo and going to a performance. The work is inspired by the experimental sort film The Perfect Human (Jorgen Leth, 1967). The piece has toured Europe, winning a Special Selection at the Bilbao…

Contratiempos by Compañia Nenacaracol (Spain)

This is the story of a woman that wants to become a fashion model, and of the problems she encounters trying to reach that dream. The piece combines clowning, flamenco dance and rhythm work in a unique concoction. Belen Gordillo Perales graduates in Spanish dance and flamenco from the Cordoba…

Herencia Española by Limping Father Francisco (UK)

Set in a period of high tension before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Herencia Española examines the highly personal nature of political allegiance and war. Born into a fascist family, Miguel is torn between his friendships with Pablo - the passionate communist - and love for his father.…

Kiss me… still your death tore us away by A Tempo Dansa (Spain)

In this performance, an actress-dancer shows us the beginning of a marriage - an illusion... a dream trip that ends in violence, impotence, loneliness and fear. A simple and minimalist reflection on domestic violence. A Tempo Dansa was founded in 2003 and has toured in Europe and America. The company…

Floor Plan by Openbatch Theatre (UK)

The audience witness the space transform into a factory when a floor plan is laid with electrical tape. The factory is bought to life. The action is punctuated by a series of narratives that focus on moments of humanity in an oppressive environment. Opembatch is a theatre company of seven…

Fire Shadow Silence by Jessie Brett (UK)

Inspired by the life of Tina Modotti. With music composed by Jered Sorkin, Fire Shadow Silence is Jessie's unique response to Tina MOdotti's extraordinary life. The pieve revolves around two performers; one is the younger tina, the other is the older Tina. Intertwined solos explore the connection they have with each other,…

Hamlet in Maschera by Compañía INJAM (Spain)

The piece was born from the need to share the great human passions of Shakespeare's work without the constraints of the text. This version of Hamlet uses only the symbols and images taken from the text, bought to life through the use of masks, puppets, models and clown noises. Founded…

Ros. Melógamo Mínimo by Angélico Musgo (Spain)

The story of a character trying to find his place. A journey of tenderness with only a hand and a ball: Ros discovers that the smallest details are what really matters and they give him the strength to carry on. When everything seems lost, and you feel alone and disconnected,…

Set Menu by Chiscón Teatro (Spain)

Set Menu explored human conflict in relation to food: a basic necessity but sometimes we take it too far. The piece investigates how a person's relationship with food can change from healthy to pathological. It also explored, from a social point of view, how the food cultures and industries of…

Posthumous Works by Out of Balanz (Denmark)

Inspired by the loss of his bike, Ivan Hansen's Posthumous Works is a mediation on life, death, family secrets, and the inevitability of the unknown. Through a mix of movement, music, imagis and text, this piece explores the complexities of saying goodbye. Out of Balanz is a constantly evolving ensemble…

The Planet by AbOvo (Greece)

The first Greek spaceship is launched into space. The crew discovers an uninhabited planet, but soon after the flag-raising celebrations they realise they're not alone... A highlt physical and hilariously satirical exploration of society's strengths and weaknesses. AbOvo was formed in 2005. The company's first show Eki, Eki Stin Kolasi…

Un Gouffre Sous L’Epaule by Mala Hierba (Belguim)

A compelling and atmospheric dance piece where the performers put on and take off the masks that separate human from animal, and experience the impossibility of communication. The Mala Hierba company find its physicality in people's instinctive movements. The company is supported by Belgian and Spanish theatres and institutions. Choreographer…

Translunar Paradise by Theatre ad Infinitum (UK)

An old man loses his wife to cancer and is unable to accept that she is dead. He lives as if she were alive - making tea for two, and cooking double portions. So she finds ways of communicating with him across the frontier between life and death. A journey…

Eat Your Heart Out by Kindle Theatre

In the last remaining corner of the human world, three cooks are summoned to create a celebratory meal using only the carcass of their once great kitchen. Inspired by the Baroque world, select masterpieces of Caravaggio, and the contemporary obsession with, Eat You Heart Out mixes the leftovers of disaster…

BEFed – Interval Dinner

Dinner, cooked on site by BLANCH & SHOCK, is available every night to audience members and performers alike. Please buy your dinner pass at the box office. Blanch & Shock is a team of cooks and artists specialising in innovative and thought-provoking food. At the heart of their practice is…

Post Show: Mellow Peaches Live

Mellow Peaches are Amit Dattani and Rich Harris, two West Midlands-based multi-instrumentalists with a love for roots music. Beginning as a virtuoso country blues duo, the Mellow Peaches have expanded their palette to include jazz, ragtime and West African grooves. Behind their raconteur spirit lies superb musicianship, nimble finger-picking and…

Archive 2010

Crossing Borders in Performance

Shut Up and Listen with Bert Roman

Post Show: Scandimaniacs

The Neutral Mask Part I and II with Heriberto Montalván

BE Next 2010

Post Show: Karnival

The tales a body tells with David Hernandez

Post Show: TG Collective

World Singing with Sofia Paschou

Feldenkrais Workshop with Danièle Sanderson

Tools for Devising Part I and II with Michael Brown

Feedback Café 2010

Business is Business by Pas de Dieux (France)

Pasada-Par-Agua by Hannah Shakti (Italy/Germany)

Look At Them Now by Unicorn (Austria)

Contratiempos by Compañia Nenacaracol (Spain)

Herencia Española by Limping Father Francisco (UK)

Kiss me… still your death tore us away by A Tempo Dansa (Spain)

Floor Plan by Openbatch Theatre (UK)

Fire Shadow Silence by Jessie Brett (UK)

Hamlet in Maschera by Compañía INJAM (Spain)

Ros. Melógamo Mínimo by Angélico Musgo (Spain)

Set Menu by Chiscón Teatro (Spain)

Posthumous Works by Out of Balanz (Denmark)

The Planet by AbOvo (Greece)

Un Gouffre Sous L’Epaule by Mala Hierba (Belguim)

Translunar Paradise by Theatre ad Infinitum (UK)

Eat Your Heart Out by Kindle Theatre

BEFed – Interval Dinner

Post Show: Mellow Peaches Live