Performance coming up!

We've been silent but not inactive...
The last 6 months have been busy with funding applications, workshops, and rehearsals.

All of it leading to our next appearance, at Ovid's Garden Party...

Come and join us in Birmingham, where we'll be presenting our newest pieces:
- Medea, Mother of All Dragons
- Pan & Syrinx
- Circe the Enchantress
- Apollo & Daphne

Free event, but admission fee to Winterbourne House and Gardens apply (£6 - £5 concession).
Read about Miriam Bay's Roman garden recreation project here

Ovid's Garden

Ovid's Garden - December 2015 - Winterbourne House and Garden

Avid for Ovid are very excited to announce that in summer 2016 we will be performing at the official opening of Ovid's Garden at Winterbourne House and Gardens, a unique Grade II listed heritage site.

Ovid's Garden forms part of University of Birmingham postgraduate Miriam Bay's PhD exploring the invocation of classical mythographer Ovid in Italian Renaissance gardens. Designed by acclaimed landscape designer Kathryn Aalto, in Miriam's own words, 'the purpose of this garden is to recreate the plantings of the past, enabling me to explore how Italian Renaissance gardens were designed to impart narrative, retelling ancient mythology through botany and its inherent symbolism.' Needless to say, we are thrilled to have been invited to perform in this beautiful, multi-sensory living museum...

The team made a first site visit to Ovid's Garden yesterday and, despite the heavy December rain, were very excited by the different performance possibilities with which the garden presents us – both in terms of space and of subject matter. Now to work on new episodes inspired by Ovid's narratives of the plants in this garden...

Date and time of performance to be announced shortly...

 

Night at the Museum

Avid for Ovid were thrilled to perform at the Ashmolean Museum's DEADFriday evening event on Friday 30^th October 2015. It was a very fitting setting: under the shadow of Nike in the museum's Cast Gallery, we performed for hundreds of evening visitors. It allowed us to showcase some new pieces, created for the evening – sorceresses Kirke and Medea, Mother of Dragons – as well as revisit some old favourites: mourning Aurora, werewolf Lycaon, Tisiphone, Shades of the Styx,  and Myrrha's transformation, all suitably eerie subjects for this special Hallowe'en event. We also engaged the audience in some participatory activities – the casting of Roman curses for us to embody / improvise through movement and music. Thanks to the team at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, especially Sarah Doherty, Public Engagement Assistant, and, of course, to our wonderful audiences.

Tisiphone -
Dancer: Susie Crow; Musician: Malcolm Atkins
Photo: Marcella Vigneri

Lycaon -
Dancer: Ségolène Tarte; Musician: Malcolm Atkins
Photo: Marcella Vigneri

Myrrha -
Dancer: Marie-Louise Crawley; Musician: Malcolm Atkins
Photo: Marcella Vigneri

Kirke -
Dancer: Ségolène Tarte; Musician: Malcolm Atkins
Photo: Marcella Vigneri

Myrrha, Birmingham Dance Network Introducing event, mac Birmingham, October 2015

Some beautiful photographs of Myrrha (performed by Marie-Louise Crawley) at Birmingham Dance Network's Introducing new dance platform event, October 2015 at mac Birmingham. Photo credit: Christian Hunt www.huntfoto.com

Myrrha -
Dancer: Marie-Louise Crawley; Musician: Malcolm Atkins
Photo: Christian Hunt

Myrrha -
Dancer: Marie-Louise Crawley; Musician: Malcolm Atkins
Photo: Christian Hunt

Myrrha -
Dancer: Marie-Louise Crawley; Musician: Malcolm Atkins
Photo: Christian Hunt

'Myrrha' in Birmingham

Marie-Louise Crawley and Malcolm Atkins performed Myrrha to a sold-out and very appreciative crowd at mac Birmingham last Friday 23rd October, as part of Birmingham Dance Network's 'Introducing...' evening, presenting new dance and performance work. We were part of fabulous line-up of artists including Yukiko Masui, Joss Carter, Rachel Liggett, Outspoken Dance Theatre, Kopal Vedam and Sara MacQueen & Christopher Radford. Many thanks to Birmingham Dance Network and mac Birmingham for having us - it was a pleasure to bring the work to Marie-Louise's home city!

Avid for Ovid at Ashmolean for DEAD FRIDAY 30th October 2015

This Friday 30th October Avid for Ovid will be taking part in Dead Friday at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum as part of a special Hallowe'en programme with live comedy, performance, music, workshops and gallery talks.  Put your Hallowe'en glad rags on to explore ghosts and ghouls through history; you can enjoy a drink in the crypt cafe or on the rooftop, have a go at death drawing with Art Macabre; listen to Hallowe'en funk with Porto Flip, meet the dead funny Oxford Imps, and discover more about deathly objects in the collections from curators and researchers from Oxford University.  Avid for Ovid will be in the Cast Gallery embodying some suitably ghoulish characters from Ovid's Metamorphoses - furies, sorceresses, werewolves, ghosts and mourners - as well as casting ancient Roman curses...

Fancy dress is optional, with a prize for the best costume...

Date:  Friday 30th October 7.00-10.30pm

Venue:  Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH
 
Entry to this event will be ticketed. Timed advance tickets are £5 each. Book tickets online here. Tickets, if not sold out, will be £7 on the door.
Follow the event on Facebook here