Professional Training: Flexer & Sandiland

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7 Oct: Luke Birch (he/him)
14 Oct: Yael Flexer (she/her)
21 Oct: Flexer & Sandiland company members

Luke Birch, Yael Flexer & members of Flexer & Sandiland company members will teach a release-based class, drawing on movement and ideas from their current touring production Imagining Otherwise. The company teaches a dynamic release-based class focusing on skeletal connections and imagery to find a functionality and flow of movement. Classes begin with short improvisations, moving on to formal exercises and building towards driving movement sequences. Emphasis is placed on momentum, inversion, and an expansive use of space combined with core strength. Imaging Otherwise will be performed at The Dance Space on Sat 26 Oct as part of Dreamy Place festival! Bag your tickets from Imagining Otherwise | South East Dance.

Luke Birch(performer): Luke began his dance training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and completed his BA Hons degree at Laban in 2008. In 2009 he joined post-graduate dance company Edge at The Place/LCDS. Professionally he has performed for Flexer & Sandiland, dybwikdans (Norway), Charles Linehan, Dog Kennel Hill Project, Rosemary Lee, Punchdrunk, Florence Peake, Rahel Vonmoos and J Neve Harrington. He has also performed in gallery-based projects with Pablo Bronstein, Martin Creed and Aya Kobayashi for Tate Modern and Tate Britain, a restaging of Yvonne Rainer's Trio A and the Mirror City exhibition, both at The Hayward Gallery. His choreographic work has been shown at Canterbury Festival, Saddlers Wells (Elixir Festival), The Place, Siobhan Davies Studios, Move it and Arts Depot. Luke teaches students & professionals at The Place, Laban, London Studio Centre, SEAD & Candoco. 

Lorna Cross Clark(performer): Lorna is a freelance dance artist based in London. She trained at the University of Chichester where she achieved a First Class BA (Hons) Degree in 2020 and a First Class MA Degree in Dance Performance, graduating in 2021. During this time, Lorna completed two international and national tours, performing works by Robert Clark, Joseph Toonga, Ceyda Tanc, Yael Flexer, Kay Crook, Carrie Whitaker, Marisa Zanotti and Amy Morvell. In June 2021, Lorna joined Flexer & Sandiland as an apprentice dancer for the work Imagining Otherwise. Since then she has taught extensively for the company as part of the Royal Opera House Thurrock Trailblazerprogramme as well as working with Project Female and premiering her collaborative work with the Glitch Collective in this year's Brighton Fringe.

Yael Flexer (choreographer): Yael is co-artistic director of Flexer & Sandiland, creating and touring dance and digital installations across the UK and internationally. Yael formed her company as Choreographer in Residence at The Place Theatre, London, and to date she has created 15 full-length productions for the company. Choreographic commissions include works for: Rita Evans at Towner Gallery, Dance East CAT, London Contemporary Dance School, The Place, Stavanger University (Norway), Hull Dance, Three Score, Encore East/Dance East, National Youth Dance Company Scotland, Trinity Laban, Motus Dance Festival, and Maslool, as well as a music video for Birdmask and Manuel Gagneux. Yael leads choreographic labs, workshops and professional training in the UK and internationally, and mentors other choreographers and theatre makers. Since 2020 in response to the first lockdown, Yael set up the ongoing Acting Our Age intergenerational online classes. Since then, Flexer & Sandiland run three intergenerational studio classes as partner company with South East Dance, together with participants, creating a thriving and welcoming dance community of all ages and abilities. Yael is a reader in Dance at the University of Chichester & co-directs mapdance.

Bios provided by the artist.