Matthew Bourne‘s New Adventures, in partnership with Farnham Maltings, has announced the return of Doorstep Duets, which will tour to communities across the South-East this summer from 13 August to 10 September 2024.
Now in its fourth year, Doorstep Duets offers free opportunities for people to enjoy world-class performances in their local neighbourhood, on their street, in local parks, and through community-based organisations “bringing the joy and wonder of dance to all and making dance more accessible to everyone”.
Performances begin on Tuesday 13 August at Farnham Maltings, before visiting Woking, Faversham, Canterbury, Dover, Ramsgate, Margate, Colchester, Norwich and various locations throughout Surrey and Norfolk.
This year, Doorstep Duets visits include care homes, youth clubs, libraries, children’s hospices, a men’s mental health group in Farnham and The Turner Gallery in Margate. In addition, it will be livestreamed for the first time.
Hum has been created by choreographer and movement director Anjali Mehra with original music by Grammy nominated vocalist and composer Luke Brady. Just as the actions of the hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world, are essential to life in the towering rainforest, in Hum one small gesture of kindness to a stranger ripples out to create a community for those who need it most. The piece features New Adventures dancers Anna Maria de Freitas, Luke Murphy, Holly Saw, Molly Shaw-Downie, Xavier Andriambolanoro Sotiya and Mami Tomotani.
Choreographer and Movement Director Anjali Mehra said:
Bringing dance to people who would not normally experience theatre is hugely important and Doorstep Duets is doing incredible things for many communities who, for a variety of reasons, would not otherwise be able to see live dance. I’d love for audiences who don’t normally experience live dance to join us at a performance of Hum, and discover how much dance can bring us together in shared joy.
Anjali Mehra joined New Adventures in 1999 and has performed with the company in Play without Words, The Red Shoes, Swan Lake, Cinderella, and Nutcracker! Anjali happily hung up her dancing shoes to focus on her career in choreography and movement direction in 2019. As a choreographer, Anjali’s career highlights include Lord of The Rings at The Watermill Theatre, Flowers for Mrs Harris at Riverside Studios, Daddy, A Melodrama by Jeremy O’Harris at the Almeida Theatre, The Ballad of Hattie and James at the Kiln Theatre, and Rumi the Musical at the London Coliseum. Anjali is currently Movement Director on the World Premiere of Tupperware of Ashes at The National Theatre written by Tanika Gupta and directed by Pooja Ghai starring Meera Syal.
Doorstep Duets is created with support from Arts Council England.
Find out more www.new-adventures.net/doorstep-duets
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE LISTINGS 2024
15 August 2024 – Farnham Maltings 1.45pm
16 August 2024 – Gostrey Meadow 1.45pm
20 August 2024 – Faversham Market Square 10.30am & 12.30pm
21 August 2023 – The Marlowe, Canterbury 6pm
23 August 2024 – Margate – Dalby Square 10.30am
23 August 2024 – Margate – Turner Contemporary 12.00pm
24 August 2024 – Ramsgate – Newington Community Centre 12.00pm
24 August 2024 – Ramsgate – Bandstand at East Cliff 2.00pm
24 August 2024 – Ramsgate – Bandstand at Ellington Park 4.30pm
27 August 2024 – Haslemere Library 10.00am & 11.00am
27 August 2024 – Cranleigh Library 2.00pm & 3.00pm
28 August 2024 – Camberley Library 10.00am, 2.00pm (BSL Performance) & 3.00pm (Audio Described Performance)
29 August 2024 – Egham Library 10.00am
29 August 2024 – Staines Library 2.00pm & 3.00pm
30 August 2024 – Banstead Library 10.00am
30 August 2024 – Ewell Library 2.00pm & 3.00pm
31 August 2024 – Reigate Library 10.00am & 11.00am
31 August 2024 – Oxted Library 2.00pm & 3.00pm
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.