Top dance company Rambert bring exciting fusion of dance, film, sound and music

Royal & Derngate is thrilled to welcome the return of Rambert, with their powerful new stage work, Aisha and Abhaya, which comes to Northampton for two performances only, on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 January, promising an intense, intoxicating theatrical rush, fusing dance, film, sound and music.

Rambert’s fearless dancers take centre stage performing Sharon Eyal’s fierce, pulsating choreography to an original soundtrack of driving techno from Ori Lichtik and GAIKA. Director Kibwe Tavares brings this together with a vast film fantasy, thick with atmosphere.

Sisters Aisha and Abhaya are seeking refuge from a violent homeland. We encounter them washed ashore in a strange land; a fireside ritual; Blade Runner-style cityscapes, and a huge augmented-reality Spirit.

A one-of-a-kind theatrical experience and a feast for the senses, Aisha and Abhaya is a co-production between Rambert and The Royal Ballet, in association with BBC Films and Robin Saunders.

Rambert take to the Derngate stage with this ground-breaking performance on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 January at 7.30pm. Tickets for Aisha and Abhaya are priced from £18* and can be booked by calling Box Office on 01604 624811 or online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk.

* A charge of £3.50 applies for all transactions of £20 and over. Does not apply to Groups, Members or Disabled Patrons, and is per-transaction, not per-ticket.

Production Credits:

Director

Kibwe Tavares

Choreography

Sharon Eyal

Choreography co-creator

Gai Behar

Soundtrack Design and Original Music

Ori Lichtik

Music

Gaika

Costume Design and Style Supervisor

Uldus Bakhtiozina

Projection Designer

Gillian Tan

Visual Effects

Factory Fifteen

Co-production with Rambert and The Royal Ballet in association with BBC Films and Robin Saunders.

Generous philanthropic support from The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund

Supported by PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund & Cockayne Foundation – Grants for the Arts, a donor-advised fund of the London Community Foundation.

Kibwe Tavares combines his training as an architect with his love of storytelling and animation to create futuristic 3D animated/live action films with social and political depth, creating incredibly detailed, vivid and kinetic visual environments to entice audiences. He is a founding member of Factory Fifteen, a design-led creative studio working with animation, VFX and emerging technologies. His first short, Robots of Brixton, made a big splash in 2012 leading him to win the Special Jury Award at Sundance, where his second film, Jonah, written by Jack Thorne, also premiered. Robot and Scarecrow starring Jack O’Connell and Holiday Grainger followed, premiering at the London Film Festival (2017). Kibwe is currently developing two features for Film4.

Jerusalem native Sharon Eyal is an award-winning international dancemaker and performer. While dancing with the Batsheva Dance Company (1990-2008) she began choreographing for the Batsheva Dancers Create programme and served as Associate Artistic Director (20032004) and as House Choreographer (2005-2012). Sharon has created works for several other dance companies – including Nederlands Dans Theater, The Royal Swedish Ballet, Carte Blanche Dance of Norway, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Tanzcompagnie Oldenburg, Germany. In 2013 she founded L-E-V alongside long-standing collaborator Gai Behar. The organisation has been touring exciting repertoire to some of the top dance venues around the world. Sharon’s work has received a series of awards for its excellence – including the Faust theatre award in Germany (2018), the FEDORA Van CLEEF & ARPELS Prize for Ballet (2017), the French Professional association of Danse & Theatre critiques awards 92017), the Jovan Cirilov Award (2017), and a Landau Prize for the Performing Arts in the category of dance (2009).

About Rambert:

Rambert believe that to give brilliant and daring people the chance to inspire others is to give them the power to change the world for the better. As one of the world’s most diverse company of dancers Rambert transform everyday spaces by making dance that is awe-inspiring, adventurous, dynamic and relevant, and take it to their neighborhood, the nation and the world. Rambert wants to hear the most exciting and radical ideas wherever they may come from and connect with brilliant and daring audiences and participants from all backgrounds. Through performances; dance and wellness classes and courses for people of all ages and abilities Rambert want to ensure they are inspiring, engaging and relevant to everyone.

About The Royal Ballet:

Under the directorship of Kevin O’Hare, The Royal Ballet unites tradition and innovation with exceptional standards of artistry, creativity and stagecraft to produce supreme theatre for diverse audiences worldwide. It is a driving force in the development of ballet as an artform and brings together today’s most dynamic and versatile dancers with a world-class orchestra and leading choreographers, composers, conductors, designers and creative teams. As The Royal Ballet’s international stage for dance, the newly reopened Linbury Theatre offers increased opportunity to experience extraordinary dance in an intimate setting.