Leicester's Curve Theatre Announces First Associate Artists

As part of Curve's on-going commitment to supporting and developing talent within the East Midlands, the Leicester theatre has announced the appointment of its first Associate Artists; Aakash Odedra Company, New Art Club and METRO-BOULOT-DODO.

Artistic Director, Paul Kerryson commented:

"Over the past five years, Curve has supported the work of emerging artists from across the East Midlands through an extensive programme of residencies, commissions and collaborations. As Curve celebrates its 5th Birthday, we are now delighted to be formalising our relationship with these three diverse and acclaimed local companies as Curve's first official Associate Artists. Over the next two years each company will be working alongside Curve Associate Director, Suba Das to deliver new projects for Curve's theatre spaces - including Curve's upcoming 5th Birthday Open Day - and for venues across the UK."

Training initially in the classical Indian dance styles of Kathak and Bharat Natyam in India and the UK, Leicester-born Aakash Odedra is one of the hottest rising stars of British Dance and said:

'I am delighted that Curve has selected Aakash Odedra Company as an Associate Company. We have established a relationship with Curve for the past fiveyears and were involved in the opening ceremony. The facilities here are world class, and the artistic vision is forward thinking. All of these things make it very exciting to be closely involved."

At Curve, Aakash will take advantage of the theatre's extraordinary technical resources to further develop his new evening-length work, Murmuration, a fusion of dance and digital technology created in collaboration with Austrian company ARS Electronica Futurelab.

Continuing a strand of interactive work which has been programmed at The National Theatre and internationally, Metro-Boulot-Dodo's first new project with Curve will be a secret installation commemorating the history of Curve as part of the 5th Birthday Open Day on 7 September. Curve will also support the development of SAFE HOUSE, a collaboration between MBD and Wired Aerial.

Esther Simpson, Co-Artistic Director of METRO-BOULOT-DODO said:

"We're delighted to become an Associate Artist of Curve and look forward to a flourishing relationship. Over the next two years MBD will be making a number of arts projects which will be strengthened by this new relationship with the building and the creative team that work within the organisation. MBD will tour locally, nationally, and internationally and will proudly take the names of METRO-BOULOT-DODO and Curve around the world."

New Art Club's appointment as Associate Artists formalises a relationship that has seen Curve over the past two years support the duo's work, which fuses comedy and dance. New Art Club will return for the Comedy Festival in 2014, following performances at the Soho Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre and Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer.

New Art Club founders Pete Shenton and Tom Roden commented:

"New Art Club is proud to be an associate company at Curve. It is a great opportunity for us to work closely with the venue's team of creative, highly skilled and experienced arts professionals. It is thrilling to know that our growing reputation in the unique place we have carved between comedy, dance and theatre practice, both internationally and here in the UK will be underpinned and enhanced by our relationship with Curve.

"The support and advice they offer will be invaluable to our development as we move into the next phase of our company's life and we hope that equally we can add value to Curve's programme of work."

Aakash Odedra Company: Training initially in the classical Indian dance styles of Kathak and Bharat Natyam in India and the UK, Leicester-born Aakash Odedra is one of the hottest rising stars of British Dance.

In 2011, supported by Curve, Aakash worked with renowned choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Russell Maliphant and his mentor Akram Khan, shadowing the creation of several of their works as they each made solos on him. The culmination of this was presented in the full evening work, Rising, staged at Curve in March 2012 and which continues to tour extensively throughout the world. More recently he performed Akram Khan's solo work, In the Shadow of Man at the Royal Opera House in London.

His own choreographies range from large-scale classical evenings to contemporary works and opera, such as the Theatre Freiburg production of God's Little Soldier. He has been honoured with prestigious awards and bursaries including a development grant by Arts Council England, a two year choreographic bursary from Akademi and the Danza&Danza award for best new interpretation in Italy (2013). In June 2013 he received both the Dora Award for 'Outstanding Male Performance' at the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto and the 'Audience Choice Award at a dance festival in Zagreb, Croatia.

In 2009, Aakash was invited by Akram Khan to present a solo during his festival at Sadler's Wells in London. He subsequently joined Akram Khan Company during the research and development phase of Khan's multiple award- winning Vertical Road. This was followed by a duet with Indian Kathak artist Sanjukta Sinha at Southbank's Alchemy Festival. Aakash took part in ENPARTS's (European Network of Performing Arts) Choreolab Body is What Remains in Serbia in 2010 and most recently choreographed for HRH The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the closing of the London Cultural Olympiad.

Along with the continuing international tour of Rising, Aakash has just won the Sky Arts Ideas Tap award and he is also working with the Apollo Theater in New York on an evening of work that celebrates the life and work of JAmes Brown, which will premiere in October 2013 and tour extensively. www.aakashodedra.com

New Art Club: New Art Club aka Roden & Shenton are comedians, choreographers and dancers Pete Shenton and Tom Roden.

The New Art Club duo have been creating and performing funny, art-fuelled shows since 1998 and have secured the love and attention of press and audiences in both the comedy and dance worlds.

They were Place Prize finalists in 2004 and in 2010 they won The Edinburgh Spotlight Best Comedy Award for their show Big Bag of Boom. Their work is regularly presented at Soho Theatre and at festivals around the UK. Big Bag of Boom and their most recent show, Quiet Act of Destruction have both had successful runs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. They have worked as presenters on The Culture Show, their work has been featured in Channel 4's Random Acts series and in 2012 the duo scripted and presented Come Dance with Me - an internet TV project for Space, an initiative of the BCC and Arts Council England. Last year also saw the creation of New Art Club's Herculean Cabaret, a commission for Dance 4's Splash Dance Festival.

This year the duo are being commissioned to create a new work for the celebrations around the Rugby League World Cup which is being hosted in the UK in autumn 2013; and are creating a new short work that is their own unique take on Verdi's operas for the Deloitte Ignite season at the Royal Opera House.

In February 2012, Roden & Shenton presented an early preview of their new show Feel About Your Body at Curve within the frame of the Leicester Comedy Festival and they are now finishing in preparation for the Edinburgh Festival. http://newartclub.org/

METRO-BOULOT-DODO: Leicester based METRO-BOULOT-DODO (MBD) began in 1997 as a touring theatre company. The company quickly gained critical acclaim and won numerous accolades including, Total Theatre's Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Time Out (London) "Critics' Choice". In recent years, MBD have created a number of projects for galleries, street arts and more unusual spaces such as National Trust properties, nightclubs, or the roof top of Lincoln Cathedral.

MBD has toured nationally and internationally including: Singapore, Holland, Germany, Ireland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and France. MBD are based in Leicester and have created a number of unique projects in their home town, including the much talked about, FIB (that took place in the basement of the Rutland Centre Car Park), and the breath taking installation, AUTUMN, at The City Gallery.

For 2013 MBD has been commissioned by The National Theatre to create a unique trail celebrating their 50th birthday.

MBD will also be working with Leicester University to create a unique illumination event that celebrates Leicester's Boot and Shoe Heritage, and have been commissioned by Northamptonshire County Council to create a large scale illumination that retells the story of the Gunpowder Plot. www.metro-boulot-dodo.com

Pictured: Esther Simpson, Co-Artistic Director of METRO-BOULOT-DODO; Aakash Odedra, Tom Roden, New Art Club founder; Suba Das, Curve Associate Director for Community Engagement; Pete Shenton, New Art Club founder; Paul Long, Artistic Director of METRO-BOULOT-DODO. Photo Credit: Pamela Raith Photography.

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