'Expedition'

Act 1

Sterran Touring Company & Flexus Youth Dance: 'Trust the Process'

An insight into the new works of Sterran Touring Company and Flexus Youth Dance as they navigate the unknown territories through live and online sessions.

Sterran Touring Company - Choreographed by Katy Sterran, company in residence at Arena Theatre. Rehearsal directors and co-choreography: Mersadies Morgan & Molly Holmes.

Flexus Youth Dance - Choreographed by Jade Barton.

Scott McConnachie: 'On the Other Side'

Scott is an A-Level Dance Student and Youth Dancer for Sterran Touring Company.

This self-choreographed solo explores the concept of achieving goals, of how we are always focused on the final outcome without appreciating the journey along the way. But is the grass always greener 'On the Other Side'?

Mikaela Cleal: 'Send in the Clowns'

Mikaela is a young choreographer studying at Burton & South Derbyshire College, with an interest in using dark stimuli to evoke apprehension through her choreography.

'Send in the Clowns' explores the sinister features of clowns and other characters.

Burton & South Derbyshire College: 'Searching'

Choreography by Zoe Hopkins.

The piece is a work in progress, derived from searching for self-existence and for the answer to what that might actually mean. Dancers have used improvisational methods to begin the choreographic process, exploring each individual dancers' interpretation for the answer to the search. Sections include searching for happiness, searching for a way out and searching for loss and the cause.

Ella Stanton-Warren: 'Moving Still'

'Moving Still' is the start of a Research & Development process using poetry, natural surroundings and movement, to explore how amongst all the uncertainty, there is always the consistency of everyday.

Morgan Williams: 'Only When You're Lonely'

Morgan is a Flexus Alumni currently studying in his second year diploma at The Urdang Academy. 'Only When You're Lonely' is an exploration of how we come to terms with dysfunctional, unhealthy relationships.

Highflyers Youth Dance Company: 'Into the Light'

Produced by Shropshire Inclusive Dance

Our new dance film captures the shift from 'home dancing' to meeting the SiD team and dancing, in person, for the first time. Placing six young people centre stage, the dance how they feel right now - in five different locations in Shropshire.

The film produced by SiD captures immediate, intimate, playful dancing and beautiful 'portraits' of each individual dancer.

Produced by Shropshire Inclusive Dance for Highflyers Dance Company
Film maker: Calum Barre
Director: Rachel Liggitt
Assistant Director: Anna Belyavin

Highflyers Youth Dance Company is a new, exciting, high-quality dance company taught by great dance artists. Highflyers is inclusive, meaning we include people who are disabled and non-disabled. Developed during lockdown, Highflyers Youth Dance Company provides fun, high quality dance classes at home.

Act 2

ME Dance Company: 'Historical Ties' (Chain Stories)

Choreographed by Marcia Edwards

We find ourselves connected to stories of the past and realise that they still exist in society today. 'Historical Ties' looks back at the men and women of the Black Country and those who came to live here - showing their work and struggle to survive. This piece shows our universal links to each other through space and time.

Patsy Browne-Hope: 'Her'

'Her' is a structured improvisation by a daughter exploring grief, loss, nostalgia and hope.

Addiction is crap. It's messy, chaotic and it pushes loved ones to the absolute brink of their emotions and beyond. It steals souls and it fools people into thinking the addicts are someone they are not. 
My Mom was selfless, caring, empathetic and annoyingly sarcastic with a wicked sense of humour, she loved deep and felt deep. I think she felt so deep that she began drinking to help numb her from the world. And sadly, as much as she tried and failed and tried again her body couldn't go on.

My Mom wanted conversations around her addictions to happen, she wanted to somehow help others not disappear into their abyss. 

She said 'if I can help one family then I would've done good' so today I take that opportunity to do exactly that on behalf of her.

Why tonight?

Firstly, it's my birthday and I'd like to pay homage to the woman that birthed me. It will be our first one separated by this life and the next. Exploring the grief and loss that still sits so raw in my body but also embracing the nostalgia and celebrating the fun and loving childhood memories she gave me.

Secondly, it's estimated that 1 in 5 children are affected by alcoholism in the home. Lockdown produced a 38% increase in calls to Nacoa (National Association for Children of Alcoholics) and the Christmas season can easily produce the perfect storm for a household affected by drinking. I'd like to raise some awareness around this charity's work - you may know someone that needs them or you may feel compelled to donate. 

Please check out their amazing work at www.nacoa.org.uk

Linden Dance Company: 'Amygdala'

Choreography by Sara Macqueen & Christopher Radford

Amygdala is a duet inspired by the constructs of our physical minds; how our visceral and often confusing emotions can be rationalised and understood when broken down to simple chemical reactions. The dancers, Christopher and Sara, explore how an understanding of human reactions can allow us to avoid misunderstandings and achieve more empathetic interpersonal relationships.

Jaivant Patel Dance: 'Awakening' (Extract from YAATRA)

Choreography by Nadid Siddiqui

This extract is from a piece entitled Awakening from YAATRA, a solo bill of Kathak and contemporary exploring the rich possibilities rooted in South Asian LGBTQ+ narratives. Awakening utilises Kathak, an Indian classical dance form and explores the gender fluidity and gender binaries present within the iconography of Indian mythology.

In Kathak, we often see a role-playing performer (regardless of gender), in mythological narratives of a Nayika or heroine, relating the many guises of emotion such as love, with Indian deities like Krishna as her hero.  

What do these narratives look like with a male performer playing the role of a genderqueer hero falling in love with his male god?  

Awakening revisits Jaivant’s personal heritage and examines his present relationship with being a homosexual man with faith.

Sterran Dance Theatre: 'Axis' (Excerpt from 'Adjudication')

Choreography by Katy Sterran

“An unfathomable moment, a pinnacle point, an unexpected time of recollection.
A sense of paralysis, while a hand pushes the globe so hard it breaks the atomic clock.
We are left disorientated, disconnected from our moral compass, floating off our axis, spinning in our own chaos, left grabbing for something tangible.”

‘Adjudication’ was originally created in 2018 in collaboration with The Wulfrun Singers of St Peters Choir and supported by Arts Council England.

This new restaging and reconstruction with Sterran Dance Theatre recognises an appropriate new journey with Katy Sterran as newly appointed Associate Artist of Arena Theatre Wolverhampton, and Sterran Dance Theatre as Company in Residence.