XTRAX SHORTS BOOKLET

Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 June 2013

www.festival.org | www.xtrax.org.uk XTRAX Showcases are supported by:

Greenwich & Docklands International Festival is supported by:

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XTRAX SHORTS PRESENTING ARTISTS SCHEDULE

VENUE: Festival Central Marquee, Pepys Lawn Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich SE10 9NN

SATURDAY 22 JUNE 2013 10.00 – 10.30 Coffee & Networking 10.30 – 12.00 XTRAX Shorts and Spotlight on Catalan Artists

XTRAX Shorts Artists: 10.30 Acrojou, Jeni Barnard and Barney White 10.40 Candoco Dance Company, Dan Daw and Nadja Dias 10.50 Emergency Exit Arts (EEA), Daniel Bernstein

Catalan Artists: 11.00 Mar Gómez Dance Company, Marta Riera 11.10 Ponten Pie, Gemma Segarra 11.20 Transforma-T, Toni Mira 11.30 Insectotròpics, Maria Thorson 11.40 Joan Català, Melina Pereyra 11.50 Itinerària, Paco Hernández

12.00 Short introduction to FiraTàrrega (Catalonia, Spain), from Artistic Director Jordi Duran 12.15 Meet the delegates – all delegates are invited to briefly introduce themselves. We invite you to join us for a drink whilst you meet other delegates and colleagues before the programme starts

SUNDAY 23 JUNE 2013 10.30 – 11.00 Coffee & Networking 11.00 – 12.00 XTRAX Shorts artists’ presentations

XTRAX Shorts Artists: 11.00 Chris Pavia /Stopgap Dance Company, Sho Shibata 11.10 Curious Directive, Jack Lowe 11.20 The Institute for Crazy Dancing (ICD), Jason Hird 11.30 Gravity & Levity, Lindsey Butcher and Judith Hibberd 11.40 Highly Sprung Performance Company, Mark Worth 11.50 Casson and Friends, Tim Casson

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XTRAX SHORTS AT GDIF2013 SHOWCASE XTRAX is delighted to bring the fourth edition of XTRAX Shorts to the GDIF2013 Showcase weekend. XTRAX Shorts gives selected artists an opportunity to present their ideas in a concise format and a supportive environment, and to give showcase delegates a sneak preview of projects that are hoping to reach production or tour in the next season. We are very pleased to have such a great range of work from new and established artists to share with you; we are also very pleased to be working once again with our colleagues at Catalan Arts to bring you a selection of work from artists based in Catalonia. The following pages will introduce you to the artists presenting at this year’s XTRAX Shorts; this information will also be available via our website www.xtrax.org.uk, and should you prefer to talk to the artists directly, you’ll find their contact details here too. XTRAX would like to welcome Angus MacKechnie, Producer and Programmer of the National Theatre’s Watch This Space Festival, who will be introducing each XTRAX Short company and chairing both morning sessions. Angus has collaborated with many companies including Circus Space, WildWorks, Les Grooms, the Gandinis, Teatr Biuro Podró!y and Metro-Boulot-Dodo. He is a member of the Independent Street Arts Network and sits on the boards of Mimbre and Upswing. Angus also heads the National’s Platforms programme of talks, debates, discussions and interviews, having worked in various capacities for the National for almost thirty years. Prior to that, he ran a small-scale touring theatre company and worked as an actor, director and writer. XTRAX would like to thank all the artists who are sharing ideas with us at GDIF2013, Mar Pérez Unanue from ICEC/Catalan Arts, Angus MacKechnie and also, Arts Council England for supporting this programme. We hope you will find the presentations of interest and very much look forward to hearing your feedback. The XTRAX Team

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ACROJOU Jeni Barnard, Artistic Director A: Creek Creative Studios,

1 Abbey Street, Faversham ME13 7BE

T: +44(0) 7727 688 485 E: jeni@acrojou.com W: www.acrojou.com Using breathtaking acrobatics, bespoke structures, physical theatre and rich visual design, Acrojou create eloquent, emotive and vivid non-verbal performance. Previous creations include: German wheel duets, Rotations, Dust and Lifted; venue-based show Wake (“a complex and fascinating piece of theatre”, Total Theatre); and rolling acrobatic theatre show The Wheel House (“Acrobatic virtuosity combined with poetic design." City Mouse, Israel). With a broad range which includes circus spectacle, venue-based shows, promenade and outdoor theatre, interactive characters, and bespoke productions, Acrojou have so far toured to nine countries and performed to nearly 60,000 people along the way.

FRANTIC Frantic is a brand new piece of work, created in 2013 with the support of Gi20. It is the first piece of work directed by emerging Designer-Director and Acrojou co-founder, Jeni Barnard. The show is non-verbal and conceived specifically for outdoor performances. Drawing from circus, dance, and physical theatre, Frantic uses a rich physical language to pull apart its subject: our dogged devotion to busyness, the reality of a running mind, and the simple task of learning to sit still. Frantic is set within the bubble of a large wheel, containing only a chair. The structure is designed to allow a heightened physicality between the performers and the set, through its ability to weight bear from any direction, and allows the use of aerial, acrobatics and German wheel in the choreography. The set also contains a concealed internal water system, giving the piece an exciting and highly visual conclusion. Frantic builds on Acrojou’s work to date: theatre created at the dynamic meeting point between physical dexterity and visual design. ‘Your old life was a frantic running from silence. The speechless full moon comes out now.’ (Rumi)

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CANDOCO DANCE COMPANY Dan Daw, Assistant Creative Producer A: 2T Leroy House, 436 Essex Road,

London N1 3QP T: +44(0)20 7704 6845 E: dan@candoco.co.uk W: www.candoco.co.uk Established in 1991, Candoco Dance Company is a contemporary dance company of disabled and non-disabled performers. At the heart of our work are our national and international productions, created in collaboration with world-class choreographers. Until now, we have predominantly toured our work to medium scale theatre venues in the UK and internationally. As we aim to increase our flexibility in terms of the work we produce and how we present it, we are taking steps toward presenting work outdoors and in less conventional settings. With this in mind, in June 2012, we commissioned Javier de Frutos to work with two of our dancers to create Studies for C, a duet based on Tennessee Williams' Camino Real.

STUDIES FOR C – A SEQUEL Presented end on or in the round on a 4x4 carpet with two wooden chairs, Studies for C examines a day in the life of two characters in limbo - trapped by their own circumstance. Not having the courage to leave, they find the strength to stay. Will tomorrow be any different? Studies for C features a punchy and vibrant Ranchera score with Mexican wrestling masks and a dose of dark humor. Building on the success of STUDIES FOR C, we have invited Javier back to create its sequel. Also a duet, the sequel will be created in June 2013 with two different performers. Specifically commissioned for small to medium scale outdoor performance in the round, the sequel will start where Studies for C ends. Two new characters, also wearing Mexican wrestling masks, will enter the same set to play out a different scenario. Influenced by the performers' particular abilities, Studies for C - A Sequel will explore what happens when the starting point is not one of equality, but one of perceived disadvantage, possibly because of a more 'visible' disability. Studies for C (15 minutes) and Studies for C - A Sequel (10 minutes) are available to tour from Autumn 2013 and can be presented together or separately. Commissioned by Without Walls

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CASSON AND FRIENDS Tim Casson, Creator and Performer A: 1 Draymans Court,

41 Stockwell Green, Stockwell, London SW9 9QE T: +44 (0)7736 287 404 E: tim@thedancewemade.co.uk W: thedancewemade.co.uk

Casson & Friends has been created to acknowledge the value of interaction and collaboration in our creative processes. Creating dance-focused work through interesting dialogues with interesting people, from dancers and digital artists to musicians and members of the public. Sometimes the focus is on product, other times it is process; but the work is always driven by a passion for sharing and challenging dance as well as using technology and social media to enhance, promote and distribute our dance work across the globe.

THE DANCE WE MADE The Dance WE Made is the record breaking interactive dance performance that invites YOU to be the choreographer - no experience required! The project roams public spaces, inviting members of the public to devise original choreography in collaboration with UK based dancer and choreographer, Tim Casson. The newly created dances are then performed by Tim in each location, filmed, and posted online for the world to see! By creating unique, site-specific performances that are filmed and shared online, The Dance WE Made gives a new perspective on the locations and spaces in which the dance is created and performed, reflecting local communities and providing a unique performance that animates any city or festival. The Dance WE Made was started in 2012 and presented as part of Big Dance, visiting over 20 iconic locations across London and working with over 150 members of the public to create site-specific dances and unique online videos. The videos have received thousands of views to date from more than 100 different countries and in 2012, the dance moves collected were combined into a single performance, creating a new World Record for ‘The Dance Piece with the Most Choreographers’. The project was supported by Big Dance, Sadler's Wells, The Swarm, Legacy Trust UK, Arts Council England, Mayor of London and Camper. The project will continue throughout 2013 and beyond, taking place at Glastonbury Festival & The Downtown Dance Festival in New York. "

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CHRIS PAVIA STOPGAP DANCE COMPANY Sho Shibata, Company Producer A: Farnham Maltings, Bridge Square,

Farnham, Surrey GU9 7QR T: +44 (0)1252 745443 /

+44 (0)7729 978278 E: sho@stopgapdance.com W: www.stopgapdance.com Chris Pavia is a dancer with Downs Syndrome, who has been working with Stopgap Dance Company for fifteen years. Since 2004, Stopgap has been giving Chris opportunities to practice his dance-making and to build a portfolio of choreographic works. As an artist, Chris is interested in exploring the process of self-discovery and the sense of yearning for a better life. He expresses his subject matter through hypnotic and dreamy choreography. His work reflects his introspective nature by being somewhat ambiguous, and his choreography points to his process of self-analysis.

THE CAVE (working title) Chris would like to portray his artistic interest by choreographing on four dancers from Stopgap Dance Company. He would like to place the dancers in a cave like structure, which will represent the sense of entrapment, but it could also represent a false sense of security. Chris would like to work with a theatre designer to create a cave structure. The structure will have different heights built in, allowing the dancers to navigate up and down as well as moving on the ground level. This cave structure may be abstract in design, or it may be made to look like a cave. He would like to decide this in collaboration with the designer during R&D. The Cave would work well in an outdoor setting because the structure will be a prominent presence in an urban area. Having a theatre set like this will raise the curiosity of his audience and draw in passers-by to watch the piece. The cave will also give better sight lines for audiences, which can be an issue for an outdoor work. More importantly however, Stopgap Dance Company would like to take Chris’ hypnotic work to outdoor spaces because it will create a captivating contrast to today’s chaotic urban lifestyle. The mesmorising quality of his work pulls the audience into his unhurried world where there is time to consider more fundamental questions. We hope that by placing his hypnotic work in an urban space, we can remind the audience to find some time in their everyday to be more contemplative. This kind of internal discourse makes Chris’ works thought provoking for a wider cross-section of the society, and it goes some way in changing people’s perspective on the type of work learning disabled artists can create.

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CURIOUS DIRECTIVE Claire Turner, Project Producer A: The Studio, White House Farm,

West Somerton, Norfolk NR29 4EA T: +44 (0)7846 239 189 E: claire@curiousdirective.com

claire.hj.turner@gmail.com W: www.curiousdirective.com Curious Directive creates accessible and innovative work, which encourages its audiences to be curious about the world, peering through the lens of science. Based in Norwich, the company was founded in 2008 and has evolved in to a multi-award winning ensemble of actors, directors, bio-medical scientists, choreographers, writers, technicians, composers and designers. Our work is defined by our devising process and we are continually seeking new collaborations. Our 2013 season includes critically acclaimed, After the Rainfall (UK Tour); a pan-city ambulance promenade show, The Kindness of Strangers (Norwich & Norfolk Festival); Island Mass (LIFT/Imagine2020 commission).

DARK SKY STATUS A famous Chinese maxim states that women hold up half the sky. Liu Yang stands in front of a large crowd outdoors at a “women in space” conference in an unspecified European city. She talks about what it means for her to be the first Chinese woman in space and to be in Europe talking about it. Her central story is about China’s new space age emerging out of an old conceptual framework; she was raised by her grandparents, who were firework manufacturers, in the provinces of China. Her speech drifts into memories of her grandmother who wanted her to work in the family business of fireworks rather than studying Astro-Physics in Shanghai. We see her grandmother setting off fireworks, testing them and explaining where the ideas for them came from. Liu talks of the "Book of Silk" which lists all the comets seen in the 11th century as well as the supernova of 1064, a "guest star," which was observed from China and all over the world. The Chinese are now looking to update the "Book of Silk", building a space station which will service some of the most powerful telescopes in the history of mankind. Through Liu, we learn about the ancient relationship between the two fields and what the future holds for Liu, her grandmother and for China. The story thus explores themes of perspective, the neuroscience behind sublime spectacle, East-West relations, history and the cutting edge questions around answering some of the biggest questions in Astronomy. The audience will be in the round, around a large white telescope dish. This will act as a playground and video projection surface for the show in an inverted Planetarium form. The set would be comprised of a simple centrepiece, which will resemble a traditional Chinese Armillary Sphere and on the white floor could have etchings of the 28 mansions. The development of the piece is being led by Jack Lowe, who will work closely with academics, scientists and actors drawn from the dual cultural perspectives of China and the West. Relationships are already established with Marek Kukala (Astronomer, Greenwich Observatory), Simon Werret (Fireworks Historian, UCL), Ruth Angus (Physicist, University of Oxford), Mike Roberts (Formerly of The World Famous, Fireworks Designer). Dark Sky Status will be accessible to large audiences, adaptable to a range of settings and will combine breath-taking spectacle and cutting-edge technology with artistic and intellectual engagement.

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EMERGENCY EXIT ARTS (EEA) Daniel Bernstein & Deb Mullins, Directors A: Rothbury Hall, Azof Street, Greenwich,

London SE10 0EF T: +44 (0)208 853 4809

+44 (0)79681 75060 E: daniel.bernstein@eea.org.uk W: www.eea.org.uk Emergency Exit Arts creates unforgettable events and participatory experiences using visual performance, processions, puppetry, music and pyrotechnics. The company has a national and international reputation for excellent site specific and touring work, community and cultural celebrations and interactive performances in public spaces. We work with a large team of creative specialists, giving us the ability to deliver on every aspect of a project – artistic direction, design, construction, performance, facilitation, community engagement, production and event management.

SPIN CYCLE Spin Cycle is a new participatory, processional outdoor show being developed by Emergency Exit Arts. The performance takes the form of an outdoor Game Show. Participants and audience join in the journey from market stall bargain hunting to a dangerous game of extreme shopping that ends in tragedy. This is a fable about waste and recovery, the individual's power to initiate change and the collective responsibility of us all to make it happen. The audience is drawn into this super sized shopping trip through a series of thought provoking and playful interactions – combining dressing up, clothes swapping, competitive recycling and learning to dance the Spin Cycle. In celebrated Emergency Exit Arts style, the company presents a show with all the best elements of outdoor performance: an ensemble of outrageous characters, flash mobs, carnival, audience participation, digitally interactive installations, day or night time pyrotechnics and gigantic mechanical structures. The show is both playful and thought provoking, challenging our assumptions that to have all that we desire will make us well and happy. EEA will work in advance of the performance to develop young (14-21 yr olds) participants’ confidence and appetite for outdoor performance. The young ensemble will in turn, help recruit friends and family of all ages and abilities, to develop a Participating Ensemble (approx 40) in each show. During the show there is another level of participation where unsuspecting audience members are swept up and asked to take on different roles in Spin Cycle.

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GRAVITY & LEVITY Lindsey Butcher, Artistic Director A: 2A Prestonville Rd, Brighton BN1 3TL T: +44 (0)7970 968069 E: info@gravity-levity.net W: www.gravity-levity.net Gravity & Levity, launched in 2003, specialises in aerial dance theatre productions & is led by Artistic Director, Lindsey Butcher, one of the UK’s leading aerial dance artists. G&L exists as a project led company to create and present innovative, ambitious aerial dance theatre and has a rich history of collaborating with respected and experienced artists, backed by a strong production & management team. To date we have produced 2 middle scale touring theatre shows, 2 outdoor shows, plus several short films and site specific commissions. We have recently completed ACE funded R&D for our next intended touring production, Rites of War which will premiere At Stratford Circus in early May 2014.

RITES OF WAR Rites of War tells the stories of two soldiers: one from WW1 and one from the current conflict in Afghanistan; 2014 not only marks the centenary of the Great War but also the intended deadline for the withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan. A 60 minute-long, touring live production, RoW tells the personal stories of those involved and asks, ‘How do we survive? What are the sights, sounds, tastes and textures of war’? How does war shape lives?’ Created in collaboration with renowned director / choreographer, Darshan Singh Bhuller (www.darshansinghbhuller.com) & the BBC’s correspondent in Afghanistan and Head of International Development, David Loyn, Rites of War uses aerial work & dance vocabulary to delve into the personal stories and collected histories from these two conflicts. As an Imperial War Museum centenary partner, G&L have access to WW1 archive material and expertise and in David Loyn, an authorative advisor who will additionally contribute front line commentary footage from Afghanistan to the live production. (David acted as consultant on National Theatre of Scotland’s ‘Black Watch’ & has collaborated with Darshan on several previous productions.) To assist in driving the narrative and in shifting time periods and settings (2014 to 1914) other key collaborators will be Olivier award winning animation company, ‘Knifedge’ (www.knifedge.net) who will create the film and projections; plus artist and sound designer, Thor McIntyre Burnie (www.aswarm.com) who will create a pre-recorded & live sound score. The current envisaged production will tour with 3 crew and 6 performers, including 2 deaf & disabled physical performers - one with a hearing impairment, the other an amputee. RoW will play on a free standing aerial box truss and abseil wall and requires an 8 m deep by 10 m wide footprint plus 6.5 ms height. It will be suitable for middle scale size venues where we can create an intimacy with the audience.

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HIGHLY SPRUNG PERFORMANCE Sarah Worth, Director A: Studio 3, Fargo Studios,

54 Grafton Street, Coventry CV1 2HW T: +44 (0)7810 263355 E: sarah@highlysprungperformance.co.uk W: www.highlysprungperformance.co.uk Highly Sprung Performance Co. produces innovative and original projects that inspire creativity and develops the use of physical performance. All of our work aims to create movement that speaks and text that moves. Our artistic programme looks to attract new audiences with an emphasis on young people, new to theatre or the art form. The company has a legacy for the creation of work outside and in unconventional spaces. Highly Sprung has also worked as a partner on other projects that have shaped and developed our passion for working outside. We have developed a strong relationship with Imagineer Productions and have created walk about performance and choreographed for the annual Godiva Carnival, as well as working as performers (puppeteer and aerialist) in the Artists Taking the Lead project, Godiva Awakes as part of the cultural Olympiad. TRAVELLING TREASURY Highly Sprung and its team of three performers are currently working in partnership with Vortex Creates, specialists in the creation of large-scale costumes and venue transformations. The partnership is looking at how we can combine our skills in physical theatre and large-scale design to create a unique outdoor performance event. Using large-scale walkabout costume, paper-craft, storytelling and physical performance, we are exploring the idea of a vintage pop-up book come to life; Travelling Treasury – a world of books spilled out onto the pavement. Celebrating the beauty of books and the treasures within, this work will alter the environment where it is presented into something unrecognizable. Performers and paper installations look like they’ve leapt from the pages of a book. Concertinaed flats, paper objects and costumes create the pop up world. Arriving on a bike comes, The Archivist, a man who has travelled the world and collected the stories we tell to be kept as his treasure.

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INSECTOTRÒPICS Maria Thorson, Manager Catalonia, Spain M: +34 610662795 E: insectotropics@gmail.com W: www.insectotropics.com Insectotròpics is an artistic collective founded in 2011 in Barcelona. Made up of practitioners from different artistic fields, the group experiment by fusing and interacting between their various disciplines and artistic languages, to create new multidisciplinary performances. Mixing live painting, music, video and theatre, their shows are taking them to Korea, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Mexico among others.

SHOWS La Caputxeta Galàctica, the first show by Insectotròpics, is a multimedia stage show based on the well-known tale of Little Red Riding Hood, in which they create a film ‘live’ in such a way that the audience can enjoy both the finished work- projected on a large screen - and simultaneously see its ‘making of’. The story hooks the audience from the first minute by the magic world it creates, the images it shows and the way it is told. Bouazizi, their new show, is based on a real story. On 17th December 2010, an act by Bouazizi - an anonymous and insignificant man - was the spark that changed history by igniting the Arab Spring. It is still a great mystery to know why the action of an unknown individual created this enormous shock wave. It is true that following the unexpected effect that his gesture caused, Bouazizi became a legend for millions of Arabs. His story was told and written, for the first time, from a different point of view than that of the official state media, via social networks. Now the Insectotròpics, with their own multidisciplinary artistic language, rewrite the history that generated this man who everyone knows, but nobody knows his name. R.I.P Bouazizi. The show incorporates the audience as a character, making them participate. The show is co-produced by Fira de Tàrrega and opens there (September 5th to 8th, 2013) and at Festival TNT - CAET Terrassa (October 5th, 2013). Outdoors or indoors // medium or large scale // 45’ // easy set up

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INSTITUTE FOR CRAZY DANCING (ICD) Jason Hird, Artistic Producer T: +44 (0)7887 681 598 E: jason@icdancing.com W: www.icdancing.com The ICD is a performance collective of thinkers, do-ers, dancers, musicians and clowns. We collaborate with people, councils, museums, galleries and venues in order to create unexpected experiences in familiar and unfamiliar places. We have created numerous site-responsive participatory performances – notably: Treasure Hunt (Leeds): a participatory journey & extravaganza through the city at night; Deep Water (Goole): an immersive, spectacular and intimate event over three sites and Our Life Boat (a prototype for the current project) won the jury prize for the Gi20 Showcase in 2012. We aim to create work that provokes curiosity, engages people in conversation and changes the way we look at the world… Here follows the plan for the next phase of this journey to develop the Universal Peace Machine (Patent Pending).

LONG BOAT The Long Boat is the second of three participatory installations – all sharing very similar dynamics, but increasing in scale. It is a spectacular and beautiful 16metre long keel with 14 rib sections supporting 14 hammocks. It is the skeleton of a boat that rotates and tilts. It is a work about slowness, kindness, and getting your bearings. The installation turns within a heavy rope circle. At the South West sits a figure of Death (a skeleton sat on a log), and to the North East a mirror spelling the word HOPE is sited. Drums and percussion instruments are positioned at stations to the North, South, East and West of the structure. A meditative call and response musicality is generated. Provocations with regard to trade, ethics, sustainability and migration are called and whispered as participants embark, rock, rotate and disembark. Participants are welcome to lie in hammocks, contribute to the musicality, power the journey, consider the provocations and whispers, and post their forecasts for the future / reflections from the voyage in the Ship's Log. This slowly rotating fairground antithesis becomes an intimate and contemplative experience. It involves being differently oriented in the world, being rocked gently and turned around. It is about how we value ourselves and each other on a voyage to a fairer future. It is about slowness and conversation, thought and consideration. It is both a sight to behold and joyous to be held by. There will be occasional storms – when the percussion increases in tempo and volume: the Ship turns more quickly and tilts more vigorously. All voyages have their ups and downs… SHAPE of the EVENT: The set-up will take one day, with the Boat ideally in-situ for two days. We aim to create a concluding event at each site – with all participants returning for a final ‘concert’. The take-down will take one day.

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ITINERÀNIA Paco Hernández, Co-founder Sandra Alfaro, Production & Management A: C/Roser 63-65 baixos

08004 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain T: +34 672 875 758 E: info@itinerania.com W: www.itinerania.com Itinerària claims the street as a meeting place, practicing an ephemeral and festive intervention in everyday space. It uses visible basic mechanical structures and devices with a strongly participatory proposal. With ironwork at the base of its creation, Itinerària was born in 2006, backed by the Fira de la Pesseta in Tona (Barcelona), where they premiered Les Cibicletas (2006-2008) and El Laberint, which has appeared at several events and is ever growing in size and subject matter. With this maze, the company has challenged a variety of audiences´ curiosity and ingenuity, as demonstrated in La Mercè in Barcelona, in Festival Luglio Bambino in Florence (Italy), in Norwich & Norfolk Festival in the UK and the Greenwich & Docklands International Festival 2012, or the Flipside Festival 2013 in Singapore, among other events. Itinerània members take pride in having learned much of the craft from Guixot de 8 and collaborate regularly with La Guarderia Teatre, Katakrak , Tombs Creatius and StRaDaCtiva. Last year they presented Titeretú here at the GDIF Greenwich Fair, that was first premiered in September 2012 at MAC Festival in Barcelona; now you can enjoy it here at GDIF 2013. Titeretú is an interactive street installation that plays with and explores the potential of those who dare to enter the skin of a puppet.

LABERINT II Laberint II is an open-air, interactive installation capable of transforming any everyday space (a square, a street, a park) into a playful gathering for all audiences. It is a sea of coloured walls full of crossroads, which challenge the most intrepid participants with its visual enigmas. Large format becomes bigger with this free participation installation where being lost will be the best adventure. Medium/Big scale

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JOAN CATALÀ Melina Pereyra A: Asociación Cultural Ulls Art, P.O. Box 209, 08080 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain T: +34 934 568 550 M: +34 617 512 528 E: managment@ulls.org W: www.ulls.org Since 2003, Joan Català has been working as an actor and acrobat in several different shows, cabarets and large events on the national and international level, with companies such as Circus Sincler and Bolna kist, as an acrobat. In 2004 he worked with Sarruga, Fura dels Baus and Mortimers. He has been part of the Klezmer Circus since 2005, participating in several festivals around the world, among which The World Championchip of Shizuo- ka in Japan, the International Mime Festival of London, La Estrada in Austria, the Sziget Festival, Theater of the Markt Neerpelt, and the Brighton Festival; he has been in several European tours in various theatres and festivals in France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Belgium and Holland. In 2008 he participated in a circus solidarity, working in Nepal with the La Cosa Nuestra artist collective and in 2009 he started with the Daraomai company. In 2012 he directed the end-of-the-year performance Insuflando at the Rogelio Rivel Circus School. He participated in the Dance Days with the dancer Roser Tutusdaus and in the Sâlmon European Talent Festival at the Mercat de les Flors of Barcelona. He is currently active with the Circus Klezmer and Daromai companies and works on new processes of creation and residencies investigating movement, theatre and circus.

PELAT Pelat is silence, expectation, strength, tension, and magical, spontaneous participation. Pelat is innovation, movement and collective action. Pelat is a risky, sincere, different, peculiar and daring approach. It is an original performance combining dance, theatre and circus. This unique performance is based on the study of the body, movement, people's behaviour, craftsmanship and traditions. Pelat is Joan Català's first solo performance. Production by Fira Tàrrega and El Graner. With the support Cronopis Espai de Circ a Mataró, L'animal a l'esquena, Festival Sismògraf (Olot), Teatre Municipal de l'Excorxador (Lleida), Trayectos (Zaragoza) y Festival TNT (Terrassa), Mika Project.

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MAR GÓMEZ DANCE COMPANY Marta Riera, International Distribution A: C/Feliu 18

08041 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain T: +34 932 216 695 M: +34 620 549 770 E: tour@ciamargomez.com W: www.ciamargomez.com Mar Gómez Company was created in 1992, the year in which it publicly performed the amalgamation of its two award winning works, A la largo algo te hará at the Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid and the Concurso Ricard Moragas of Barcelona. In this first project, you could already see the characteristic traits that would define its line of work, all of which have been consistent during these past twenty years: theatricality, narrative ability, gesture, a personal choreographic language and, above all, a marked sense of humour. Throughout this journey the company has concentrated on creating and performing works of varying formats, always provoking an extraordinary complicity with the audience as a result of these characteristics. This has led to numerous and widespread national and, in recent years, international tours. Amongst its creations, it is worthy to mention La Matanja de Tezas (premièred in 1993 in the Teatre Lliure, Valencian Critics’ Prize); Levadura Madre (1998, l’Espai de dansa i música de Barcelona); Hay un Pícaro en el Corral (2001, la Generalitat Valenciana Prize for best dance production and female artist); La casa de l’est (2002, Teatre Nacional de Catalunya); Después te lo cuento (Grec 2004, in collaboration with the British director Lindsay Kemp); Dios Menguante Teatre Modern del Prat 2006, Max Prize for best female artist and Premi Ciutat de Barcelona 2011 for the representation in the Villarroel Teatre during the Festival Dansalona); Heart Wash ( Festival Mercè Arts de Carrer 2010) adaptation of the former piece for urban spaces; Aquí amanece de noche ( 2009) and Perdiendo el tiempo (Festival Cos de Reus- Mercat de les Flors 2011, in collaboration with the acrobat Ignasi Gil).

BETWEEN YOU AND ME – ENTRE TU I JO In Entre tu i jo Cia MAR GÓMEZ uses a characteristic sense of humour to tell the story of a couple that finds themselves in a peculiar situation: a man that tries to take a step forward in the relationship and a woman that insists in prolonging (to the absurd) the idyllic stage of seduction. His persistence will be as immense as her convinction that once the lover comes into her home the relationship will initiate an irreversible process of decay. This starting point will take us to scenes full of humour, tenderness, sarcasm and poetry. This outdoor small/middle scale dance theatre show, directed by Mar Gómez and performed by Gomez and Xavier Martínez, is at the moment in creation process. The latest show of the company is For Ever and a Day, a complementary indoor show in which is based Entre tu i jo. The show hasn’t been performed in the UK yet, and will be premiered at Fira Tàrrega 2013, on Sept 6th, 7th and 8th.

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PONTEN PIE Gemma Segarra, Booking Agent Catalonia, Spain T: +34 644 361 180 E: info@ponten-pie.com W: www.ponten-pie.com PONTEN PIE is a theatre company from Barcelona founded in 2009 and directed by the actor, Sergi Ots. His creations present an unusual performance and staging methodology, reaching out for the audience and directly involving them in the story. In Ponten Pie’s projects, different theatre disciplines combine and speak through a new theatrical language. Copacabana is the first creation. A show for all ages and a combination of visual theatre, puppetry, live cooking and cabaret, all in an unusual set up. Ponten Pie transforms a theatre into a restaurant where there has not been much business for a while. The staff (three chefs: Rita, Laura and Marco) is trying to keep the place alive with the few resources they have left. The audience, an essential character in the show, will become the customers of the Copacabana restaurant and will taste small quantities of the delicious food cooked live by the three chefs. It was the opening act at the Salisbury International Festival 2013. It has been on tour for 4 years and performed over 200 times in 12 countries. Artica is Ponten Pie’s third creation, without text, where the theatrical experience becomes a sensitive adventure. The show is designed for a group of twenty people and has a duration of 40 minutes. Each spectator will wear a recycled warm coat to protect them from the cold temperature inside the shed. Every day several coats arrive to this shed from different parts of the world. After checking them thoroughly, the characters find the “soul thread” of every coat. With the help of a particular device, they can read the last story that was experienced before arriving. In a mysterious way, the stories behind the threads become alive in the shed. This show is currently going through a second creation process and will be presented in co-production with Fira de Tàrrega in September.

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TONI MIRA Toni Mira, Choreographer A: C/Torrent d’en Vidalet, 43, ppal.

08012 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain T: +34 93 5896260 E: toni@natsnus.com W: www.natsnus.com/ After completing five years of architectural studies, Toni Mira graduated in Contemporary Dance at Institut del Teatre, Barcelona. His unique awareness about spatial limits, thanks to his architectural training, is often reflected on stage, with the combination of other languages, such as theatre and video, a constant element in his dance performances. He has also choreographed for a number of European dance companies, such as the Diversions Dance Company, in Wales, and for several theatre shows and musicals in Barcelona. He is associate choreographer for the Dance House at the Wales Millennium Centre (Cardiff) and a founder and active member of the centre for creation La Caldera (Barcelona). He was chairman of the Association of Dance Professionals of Catalonia from 2004-2008. In 2009 he won the City of Barcelona prize in the category of dance for his involvement as a creator in broadening the limits of dance within the social sphere, with the project Dansa a les presons (Dance in Prisons). In 2010 he won the National prize of Dance. He is currently performing En attendant l’inattendu, together with dancer Claire Ducreux. http://www.freeart.es/?lang=en&section=show&show=171 Toni Mira was a member of the Ballet Contemporani de Barcelona for three years, where he also debuted as choreographer with the short piece Saxo de Hielo (1985). Since 1987, he is the director, choreographer and dancer of the company Nats Nus, with which he has created more than fifteen works that have been performed at dance and theatre festivals in more than twenty countries across the five continents http://www.natsnus.com/ The success of his short choreographies Iunx, winner of the IV Festival Oscar López festival, and 5am, first prize in the II Certamen coreográfico de Madrid, enabled him to carry out the first show produced by Nats Nus, Strangers in the night (1989), which is the epitome of the company's philosophy: interpersonal relationships, visual poetry and a touch of humor. This piece was followed by Newton (1990), Penjim-Penjam (1991), Som-cinc (1992), Graons (1993), Bolero (1994), Què dius que què (1995), Concert (1996), Pòpulus (1997), 19.99 Impressions sobre un final de mil·leni (1999), Ful (2001), Loft (2003), Límit (2005) and Mies (2007).

Transforma-T Transforma-T is a big scale outdoors dance show that will be premiere at Fira Tàrrega 2013 opening ceremony. The show explores and uses different performance techniques: acrobatics, contemporary dance, object manipulation, percussion, light, shadows, and visuals. Inspired by today’s reality, Toni Mira is asking the audience to take into consideration the transformation and struggle in today’s world, and the necessity of a change, reinvention and transformation of our society. Transforma-T is a stage play using a very visual language to propose change and transformation thanks to movement, image, and the versatility of a big cube structure, where the action takes place. The cube structure allows a 360º enjoyment of the performance. The 8 Dancers, 4 men and 4 women, will also be playing with sound, using their voice and the cube’s metallic surfaces as a percussion instrument.

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