Spring Force youth dance project at the Royal Albert Hall

21-09-2010

The English Folk Dance and Song Society, in partnership with Pavilion Dance, are proud to present Spring Force, a new dance work fusing the movements of traditional Cotswold morris with contemporary dance - stretching both forms to new limits. Following the successful debut performance at 5000 Morris Dancers on 5 September at London's Southbank Centre, tt will be performed at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 25 September and the Pavilion Dance Gala in Bournemouth on Sunday 7 November.

See the debut performance on YouTube

Spring Force is performed by So We Boys Dance, the all-male youth dance group from South West England. The dancers aged 13 - 19 spent two intensive weekends during May and August working with contemporary dance teacher and choreographer Benjamin Dunks, and morris dancer, teacher and choreographer Laurel Swift, together with concertina player and composer Robert Harbron who has written the music especially to accompany the performance.

Spring Force is part of the EFDSS's work to create new and positive links between traditional dance and the wider world of dance, and to raise the profile of the folk arts in the UK. It aims to demonstrate that morris is a dynamic, challenging and creative dance form with value for young dancers, whilst contributing to the development of the form and widening the contexts in which it takes place.

See Spring Force:

• CCPR 75th Anniversary 'On Show'
  Saturday 25 September, 3pm. Tickets £11-£33 from www.royalalberthall.com
  Royal Albert Hall, London
• Pavilion Dance Gala
  Sunday 7 November, from 3pm. Tickets £10-£12 from http://www.bic.co.uk/events/Event_Details.asp?event=5199
  Pavilion Theatre, Westover Road, Bournemouth

Pavilion Dance is the portal through which Dance South West (the regional dance development agency for the South West) connects with venues, artists and audiences throughout the region and strives to put Bournemouth and the South West on the map as a beacon for inspirational dance. www.paviliondance.org.uk