Luca Silvestrini’s Protein announce next double bill of streamed performances
Provocative, site responsive and humorous, Ride (2008) and Stairworks (2001), in The Wapping Project Double Bill, featuring Luca Silvestrini himself
Part of Protein 21 Remix, premiering on 20 Nov at 7pm and then available online until midnight on 29 Nov
#Protein21 #TheWappingProject #WoolwichWorks
Following a double bill of Silvestrini’s work for HeadSpaceDance streamed at the start of the month, Luca Silvestrini’s Protein continue their Protein 21 Remix digital series with Ride and Stairworks featuring Luca himself. The provocative duet Ride oscillates between aspiration and desire, unbridled passion and respectability, and is accompanied by Stairworks, a piece performed on outdoor staircases by men wearing only white bath towels.
Presented in partnership with The Wapping Project and Woolwich Works and featuring an introduction from Luca Silvestrini, this social commentary double bill marks 20 years of The Wapping Project, 21 years of Protein, and celebrates Luca Silvestrini’s long term collaboration with the late Jules Wright, founder and director of The Wapping Project. Ride and Stairworks were commissioned by The Wapping Project for its now former building – the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station.
Ride (2008) was commissioned for Turning the Season, a major exhibition playing with the idea of the Season – the social elite’s summer of balls, races, festivals and regattas – and spanning photography, film, sculpture installation and performance. The third Protein’s commission from The Wapping Project responded to the sports aspect of the Season with a duet between Ascot lady and jockey, performed by Charlotte Broom and Omar Gordon. Jules Wright described Ride as “…extremely provocative and sexually, sensually in your face. (…) A commentary on class and aspiration.”
Stairworks (2001), Protein’s first piece for The Wapping Project, was commissioned as part of the Jerwood 10 X 8: Stairworks series, and guest-curated by Siobhan Davies. Eight choreographers were invited to make a 10-minute piece intended to be caught out of the corner of the viewer’s eye, and to play with the idea of what a dance performance could be and where it can be performed.
Protein’s Stairworks mixes news coverage with Vivaldi’s music and images of men wearing only white bath towels. Performed on an outdoor staircase, it could only be viewed through windows and doors from the restaurant inside the building. Following its premiere, the piece became so popular (and re-named Boys in Towels) that its filmed version went on to be shown on screens around The Wapping Project’s building in the following years.
To hear Luca Silvestrini discuss the making of both Ride and Stairworks tune in to podcast Past – Forward: The Wapping Project at 20, Episode 2: with choreographers Lea Anderson and Luca Silvestrini.
This programme is part of Protein 21 Remix which broadcasts historical works onto the digital stage.
Listings Information
Running time 26 mins
FREE to view, or a DONATION to Protein and its artists gratefully received
Links to view:
https://proteindance.co.uk/participates/wapping/
https://www.facebook.com/proteindance
Performers:
Ride Charlotte Broom, Omar Gordon
Stairworks Ben Abbott, Jean Abreu, Robin Dingemans, Kristoffer Hahn, Ilkka Kokkonen, John Milroy, Eddie Nixon, Luca Silvestrini, Johan Stjernholm, Daniel Watson
Luca Silvestrini’s Protein
This year, Protein is celebrating 21 years of connecting people and everyday life through dance. Currently one of the most distinctive voices in British dance theatre, Luca Silvestrini’s Protein uses a blend of original choreography, humour and music to entertain and provoke audiences. The company’s idiosyncratic dance theatre is provoked by the everyday and its repertoire includes B for Body, a Place Prize Finalist in 2006, the award-winning LOL (lots of love), May Contain Food and Border Tales which have toured nationally and internationally since their debut, winning acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Its celebrated outdoor show (In)visible Dancing was seen in 2018 as part of Stockton International Riverside Festival, and more recently in July and August 2019 in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Protein was awarded the Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Best Independent Dance Company 2011, and was nominated again in 2016. Protein is Associate Company with People Dancing. Partner with Greenwich Dance, Yorkshire Dance and ARC Stockton. Luca Silvestrini is a Work Place Artist at The Place, London.
The Wapping Project
The Wapping Project is a platform for the continuous development of ideas, thoughts and people. It is their investment in, and enthusiasm for, the artists they commission that forms the backbone of the artistic programme. The Wapping Project questions and aims to redefine accepted boundaries through commissioning, nurturing and championing artistic talent. The Wapping Project exists to enable artists to work with unrestrained ambition.
The Wapping Project is the creation of the Women’s Playhouse Trust (WPT). Over the years, WPT supported careers of many writers, poets, choreographers, composers, visual artists, filmmakers and photographers.
Woolwich Works
Woolwich Works is a landmark, multi-million-pound restoration project by Royal Borough of Greenwich to transform the historic site of Royal Arsenal into a new 15,000sqm creative district for London.
A multi-disciplinary arts hub, the site will include theatres, concert venues, dance studios, a recording studio, offices and places to entertain. The flexible spaces provide opportunities for public interaction, training and education, as well as being available to hire for weddings, parties, conferences, community meetings and events. The district will support the local community, enabling people to realise their creative potential, providing a platform for emerging talent, creating and delivering work-based learning, and supporting cultural and community organisations and initiatives.
www.woolwich.works
Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn: @woolwichworks
Twitter: @woolwich_works