Ensemble Festival 2412

Prepare for a Klezmer big band, singers and street theatre performers marching on the Royal Docks. Inspired by the migrant protesters in the Victorian East End and with audience participation at its heart, this is one huge marching, musical creation giving voice to Yiddish song and culture.
Showcasing and celebrating Yiddish language, music and culture, The Great Yiddish Parade from JW3 brings together a Klezmer big band, singers, street theatre and public participation against a backdrop of the immigrant social protests of the Victorian East End, in one huge marching, musical creation. This production is co-commissioned by Certain Blacks for without Walls.

About JW3
JW3, Jewish Community Centre London, is the UK’s flagship Jewish community centre, the only such public venue for Jewish arts, culture, learning and community of its kind in the country. Our diverse programme includes adult education, language classes, theatre and musical performances, youth activities, film, family events and social impact programmes. Over 100 different activities take place at JW3 every week, with many opportunities to get involved in our programmes online too.

www.jw3.org.uk

Trees – Life a Beach – 13:30 &16:00

Joli Vyann – Life’s A Beach
A playful new performance piece, happening across three locations at the Royal Docks. Life’s A Beach observes family life and classic seaside culture via a fusion of dance and circus skills. Expect plenty of fun nostalgia, with a look to the future of beach life as the planet inevitably changes….

Joli Vyann are a Southwest England dance circus company directed by Olivia Quayle and Jan Patzke. Their work challenges audiences with innovative ways of integrating dance and circus, blending the two genres, and enveloping it in theatrical scenarios, character and intention. Joli Vyann’s work is athletic, technical, exciting, emotive, sensitive and relevant.

About Joli Vyann
Through the use of acrobatic tricks, fluid choreography and inventive characters, Joli Vyann endeavour to create storylines that draw in their audiences, firing their imaginations. This combination of surprise and enchanting physical journeys seeks to make Joli Vyann’s work accessible to new and diverse audiences.

www.joli-vyann.com

Trees – Life a Beach – 13:30 &16:00

Zone E – RPM -14:30 & 17:15

RPM stands for revolutions per minute as Gorilla Circus present a mesmeric new show combining acrobatics, street dance and roller skating, performed on a giant moving treadmill. RPM explores tragic, comic and absurd aspects of modern society, unravelling links with the UK’s troubled history and asking the question, ‘Has this country ever confronted its colonial past?’

About Gorilla Circus
Gorilla Circus are an independent circus production company based in the UK, delivering interactive, large-scale and outdoor contemporary shows for all ages; comprised of aerial spectaculars and ground-level performances, including dancers, high-wire walking, parkour artists and trapeze performers.

Typically, our shows are performed on eye-catching custom structures which include zip lines, hydraulics, moving props, and various special effects, and are as much a character and part of the show as the performers. Inspiring and entertaining for all ages, our work is created with the intention of educating, and provoking thought and discussion about global issues.

www.gorillacircus.com

Zone E – RPM -14:30 & 17:15

Trees – Closer to my Dreams – 14:15 & 17:15

Chad Taylor – Closer to My Dreams
Follow the story of two young Black brothers from inner-city Manchester as they pursue their shared dream of becoming professional dancers. Weaving poetry and rap with hip hop choreography, the show is a joyous, heartfelt take on family and friendship and how we respond to the trials and tribulations life throws at us. Chad Taylor is the creator behind this new work featuring Chad alongside Ziggy Taylor, Kieron Simms, Miguel Gomez and Ellis Brownhill.
Dancer and choreographer Chad Taylor makes his Without Walls debut with Closer to My Dreams, a hip-hop infused walkabout dance piece. Five performers take audiences on a journey through the universal questions of how we respond to the trials and tribulations that life brings. This production is co-commissioned by Certain Blacks and Without Walls.

About Chad Taylor

Chad Taylor started dancing at the age of 11. He trained in the foundations of hip hop, and at 14 years of age started to widen his dance vocabulary with ballet, tap, and jazz. His professional experience started at age 15, with appearances on Top of the Pops and CD:UK.

Chad graduated from The Hammond with a National Diploma in Dance on a full scholarship. He went on to work with artists such as Cheryl Cole, Paloma Faith, Sade, Take That, Meat Loaf, Joe McElderry, Little Mix and LMFAO. He has worked with choreographers including Fatima Robinson and has performed at The X Factor final at the O2 Arena, the BRIT Awards and the Royal Variety Performance.

Creatively, Chad has shared his own work at venues such as HOME, Contact Theatre, The Lowry, The Curve in Leicester and Sadler’s Wells in London. His work has been featured as part of Let’s Dance International Frontiers, Refract, SICK! Festival and Breakin’ Convention.

www.chadtaylor.co.uk

   Roaming – The Mod Father -12:00, 14:30 & 16:30

Stompy – The Mod Father
A walkabout act with a specially modified Zimmer frame, complete with speakers, soundtrack and an old parka-clad Mod in the frame! Performed by comic, absurdist and theatre maker Richard Stamp aka Stompy.

About Stompy
Richard Stamp, aka Stompy, is a comic, absurdist and theatre maker. Richard is Artistic Director of dotComedy, who produce unique and hilarious pop-up
installations and walkabout comedy for festivals and outdoor events.

dotComedy have created over 25 productions (and counting), ranging from the large scale dotMaze: Get Lost!, to solo shows, smaller installations and walkabout pieces, as well as offering workshops in street art. They specialise in site-specific commissions, including pieces for The Manchester Commonwealth Games, The Brit Awards and the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

www.dotcomedy.info

Zone C- Cardboard Collective – (Saturday Only) 12:30

Cardboard Collective Youth Programme

(Saturday only)

Created and performed by young people aged from 16 to 25 with lived experience, or who are at risk of homelessness and poverty. Renowned Theatre Company Cardboard Citizens showcase a sharing of high calibre work developed over the course of the year via music workshops. Expect hip hop elements, spoken word performance and more.

About

Cardboard Collective Youth Programme  aims to create space for people in society through engaging and unlocking the life changing and unlimited possibilities of theatre and art. We do it with a conscious heart, soul and brain for, with and by the people that don’t feel like they have a home because of lived experience of homelessness, poverty, or societal inequity. We engage deeply and creatively with the injustices of our society, and we invite everyone to play a part.

We run free creative programmes that focus on skills development in a supportive and holistic environment. One of these is our Collective Youth Programme: a music and live events programme for those aged 16 to 25 with lived experience of and/or at risk of, homelessness and poverty.

www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk

Anchored in Air – 14:00 & 17:00

Head Over Wheels – Anchored in Air
A thrilling journey into the world of flying wheelchairs, integrated audio description and acrobatics. Anchored in Air is the debut work from this company of disabled and non-disabled performers, who combine circus, dance, spoken word and live music as they grapple with themes of isolation, connection, struggle and rewards, all while navigating a colossal tower.

The electric Head Over Wheels bring Anchored in Air, re-evaluating traditional circus while incorporating accessibility. Celebrating individuality with performers at the top of their game, this large-scale performance fuses aerial, dance, live music, theatrical and integrated audio 3 description. This production is co-commissioned by Brighton Festival and Certain Blacks for Without Walls.

About Head Over Wheels
Head Over Wheels is a disabled and non-disabled multidisciplinary company that combines aerial performance, music and theatre to create shows that push the boundaries of circus.

They strive for access within the arts, centering their work on inclusive design and focusing on access as a creative tool, rather than an additional afterthought. They challenge the expectations of what a ‘circus body’ should look like. Their aim is to subvert the trends of glamorous and sensational circus, creating domestic and relatable work that resonates with audiences on a personal level.

www.instagram.com/head_over_wheels_aerial

Anchored in Air – 14:00 & 17:00