Wedding-Inspired Dance Theatre Work THE KNOT Will Tour This Autumn

In three weeks' time the much anticipated autumn tour of Didy Veldman's The Knot, for her company Umanoove, kicks off at Lakeside Arts, Nottingham on Tuesday 6 November.

The autumn tour of the wedding-inspired dance theatre work follows a successful spring tour and also heads to Cambridge, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Bracknell, Worthing, London, Jersey, Plymouth, Bournemouth and Malvern.

In The Knot, by Dutch-born choreographer and director Veldman, an international cast of seven exceptional dancers play the roles of the bride, groom, best man and bridesmaids. Audience members become wedding guests as the dance performance unfolds.

Veldman, a former dancer with Rambert, left the company in 2000 to pursue a choreographic career. In the last 18 years she has become a highly sought-after choreographer and has created works for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Cedarlake (New York), Cullberg Ballet (Sweden), Introdans (Netherlands), Gothenburg Ballet, Iceland Dance Company and Royal New Zealand Ballet.

In the UK, Veldman has been commissioned by Rambert, Northern Ballet and Scottish Dance Theatre and in 2019 she creates a new work, collaborating with composer Gabriel Prokofiev, the grandson of Sergei Prokofiev, for Birmingham Royal Ballet's inaugural 'Ballet Now' programme.

Known for a sharp-eyed approach and humorous flair, The Knot is Veldman's second work for her company Umanoove since it launched with her critically acclaimed The Happiness Project in 2016. In The Knot, Veldman scrutinises what a wedding means and how it feels, the role of ritual, doubt, religion and gender is examined and the romanticised ideas of Walt Disney will challenge our perceptions of marriage.

For Umanoove, Veldman tailors each company of dancers to suit each work. The cast of performers interpret the themes of Veldman's work through her extremely physical and theatrical movement style.

Dancers returning to The Knot this autumn are: Dane Hurst (Rambert, National Dance Company of Wales, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Company Wayne McGregor); Mathieu Geffré (Dansgroep Amsterdam, Noord Nederlandse Dans, National Dance Company Wales, Theo Clinkard); Oliver Chapman (Henri Oguike Dance, National Dance Company of Wales, Icon Dance); Sara Harton (erSa Danse, Les 7 doigts de la main, PPS Danse, ezdanza); and Angela Venturini (recently a post-graduate student at The Place). Joining them is Mai Lisa Guinoo (Rambert, GoteborgOperans) and apprentice dancer Sam Costello (London Contemporary Dance School).

Stravinsky's masterpiece Les Noces (The Wedding) is intertwined with specially commissioned music by London and Paris-based British composer Ben Foskett. His work has included commissions for CBSO Youth Orchestra and London Children's Ballet.

Lighting design is by Ben Ormerod, a regular collaborator of Veldman's, and set and costume design is by Joana Dias.

The Knot is commissioned by DanceEast, with support from Studio Wayne McGregor through the FreeSpace programme and funds from Arts Council England, Linbury Trust, The Master Charitable Trust - The Marina Kleinwort Trust, Beth Krasna and an anonymous donor.

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