Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce Liquid Landscapes (Year Two)

Plymouth, UK and Beyond June 1 through 28, 2009presented by Dartington & funded by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium

TaskForce is a three-year project which began in California in 2008. It has been specially commissioned and funded by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium, a collaboration between The Dartington Hall Trust, CalArts and Idyllwild Arts

Dartington presents

Stephan KoplowitzTASKFORCE

20-28 June 09 Plymouth&Beyond

LIQUIDLANDSCAPESEight unique performances, eight iconic sites, eight adventurous dancers:

one tour of site-specific dance performances in water-related public spaces

www.dartington.org/taskforce

Cover of TaskForce flyer and poster design by Scarlet-Design

Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce is a site-specific performing touring company that works on a project-to-project basis. Fluid in its conception, TaskForce is made up of selected artists and performers drawn from the cultural landscape of its host city or region. It is a process oriented performance laboratory where artists are asked to draw inspiration from the architecture, history, culture and ecology of multiple sites within a single geographic area all connected by a common theme.

Working within an intensive time frame (usually three weeks of rehearsal + one week of performances) under the direction of veteran site-artist, director and choreographer Stephan Koplowitz, each artist is given a different creative "task" to be explored and performed at the various sites. The content of each performance is made up of a combination of site-specific choreography, site-adaptive material and improvisational scores inspired by each performance site. The core of Stephan Koplowitz:TaskForce is an ensemble of eight highly trained dancers, a composer/performer and a documentary videographer.

All the performances for Liquid Landscapes were created during a three-week period (June 1 through to June 19). The choreographic material is drawn from site-specific choreography, site adaptive movement material and structured improvisations all in response to the given site.

The concept of TaskForce is that it responds to several sites in a relatively short amount of time, concentrates on process and finds as many connections among sites as possible.

First Site Visit, March, 2007

Research for Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce, UK began in March, 2007 with a short two day visit. The purpose of the trip was to meet the Dartington team and take a quick look at the surrounding area. Stephan Koplowitz got his first look at the Tiltyard on the Dartington grounds and the Tinside Lido in Plymouth (future TaskForce performance sites) .

In 2008, Stephan Koplowitz launched TaskForce in Idyllwild (during a two week residency) and in Los Angeles (four weeks), where he premiered the theme of Liquid Landscapes. Within the six weeks of TaskForce residencies, Koplowitz and company created 17 different site-specific performance works, two short site inspired films and performed for an audience of over 3,000 people.

May 25 through July 6, 2008, California

In July, 2008, Stephan Koplowitz made his second trip to the UK. The theme of Liquid Landscapes (water related sites) was designated as the “controlling idea” that TaskForce would investigate for three consecutive residencies (2008-10). The city of Plymouth was chosen as the center of TaskForce's performances in the UK and Koplowitz and TaskForce Associate Producer Lara Lloyd, set off to find appropriate sites for the 2009 residency.

Site research with Associate TaskForce Producer Lara Lloyd: July, 2008Lara is Producer of Live Art at Dartington

January, 2009, marked Koplowitz's third trip to Plymouth. The focus of this trip was to secure the selected water related sites, meet community partners and hold three days of auditions in London to hire performers (and find the best Devonshire creamed tea).

On January 8 and 9, with call backs on the 10th, 2009, Stephan Koplowitz auditioned 140 dancers at London's Toynbee Studios, with the help of dance artist and teacher Marina Collard. Many of the dancers were based in the UK and several traveled as far as France to audition. After three long days, culminating in interviews with a final selection of 12 dancers, Koplowitz picked six dancers to complement two original members of TaskForce from Los Angeles.

Philine Janssens Rosalind Noctor

Caitlin Smith Kylie Sudds

Ezekiel Oliveira Megan Saunders

Clair Beckett

Claire Beckett, dancer/educator and Plymouth native, was another auditionee, and was asked to join Koplowitz as his Rehearsal Director for the project. 

photos, taken at the beginning of the audition process

Joining the six UK/EU based dancers, were Alexandria Yalj and Kevin Williamson who performed with TaskForce in 2008. This photo is from a performance at the Los Angeles Farmers Market in Hollywood.

For the fourth and final site research, pre-production trip to the UK, Stephan Koplowitz was met with four out of six of his UK based dancers, Rosalind, Megan , Ezekiel and Caitlin for a special costume fitting.

In Plymouth, Lara Lloyd had arranged meetings with various potential collaborating artists, all based on concepts Koplowitz was working on for each of the selected sites.

Meeting with composer Hugh Nankivell for the first time

Meeting with Visual Artist Helen Snell at the Mayflower steps

Meeting with Visual Ella Huhne at the Smeaton’s Tower

March 2009

Meeting with Mark Laville , Director at the barbican Theater in Plymouth to discuss TaskForce’s Improv concert.

Meeting with video artist Dan Farberoff at Buckland Abbey

Koplowitz taught workshops with University of Falmouth students at Dartington and discussed their involvement in the the Tiltyard performance

Secured housing in Plymouth for the entire company

The SITES: By March, 2009, all eight sites were selected and confirmed and each site constituted a collaboration or co-presenting opportunity for Dartington.

1. DARTINGTON: THE TILTYARDCo-presented by University College Falmouth

2. THE GREAT BARN@ Buckland AbbeyCo-presented by The National Trust

Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe, was also the contractor of the water system known as ‘Drake’s Leat’ which brought fresh water from the River Meavy to Plymouth in 1591.

Co-presented by Peninsula Arts

3. TASKFORCE FILMS @ The Jill Craigie Cinema

Roland Levinsky BuildingUniversity of Plymouth

4. CAMERA OBSCURA@ Seymour House Co-presented by Tamar Education Business Partnership

5. ARMADA WAY Co-presented by Plymouth City Centre Group

6. SMEATONʼS TOWER Co-presented by Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery

7. MAYFLOWER STEPS@ The BarbicanCo-presented by The Plymouth City Harbour Office

8. TASKFORCE REMIXED @ The Barbican TheatreCo-presented by Barbican Theatre and Peninsula Arts

9. TINSIDE LIDOCo-presented by Plymouth City Council

Gorav Kaylan, a second year MFA student at CalArts was invited by Stephan Koplowitz to be TaskForce’s videographer. Gorav, shot and edited seven short documentaries chronicling the creative process of the first three weeks. In addition, almost every hour of rehearsal and every performance were documented. Each of the short documentaries were broadcast on the BBC big screen located in downtown Plymouth and the videos was uploaded to www.youtube.com and helped with audience development during TaskForce’s residency in Plymouth.

First week of rehearsals: June 1-7, 2009

Meeting with Jo McCarren (Director of the camera obscura) at the Seymour House Camera Obscura in

preparation of our first rehearsals

Company luncheon at Dartington during the first full day in Plymouth

First day of rehearsal at the University of Plymouth dance

studio

Second Week of Rehearsals: June 8-14

Third Week of Rehearsals: June 15-19

Stephan Koplowitz with Sound Designer Luke Robinson and composer Hugh

Nankivell at Dartington’s Tiltyard

Luke Robinsona and Tom McCaren, sound designers at

Armada Way

Steve being interviewed by Jo Loosemore of BBC Radio at Smeaton’s Tower

18 WESTERN MORNING NEWS FRIDAY JUNE 19 2009 19www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk

Sea users areinvited to helpsafeguardmarine lifeFISHERMEN, sea anglers anddivers are being invited to join anew group to safeguard theregion’s undersea habitats andmarine wildlife.

The Finding Sanctuary part-nership and Cornwall Councilhave formed the Cornwall MarineProtected Area Group to help planmarine conservation zones off thecoast of Cornwall.

The zones are new marine pro-tected areas being introducedunder the forthcoming Marineand Coastal Access Bill.

Their purpose is to safeguardthe region’s undersea habitats andmarine wildlife, and to help ensurethe long-term sustainability ofmarine resources in the region.

Together with groups fromDevon, Somerset and Dorset, theCornwall group will provideadvice and feedback to theregional Finding Sanctuary steer-ing group.

Tom Hooper, Finding Sanctu-ary’s project manager, said: “Rec-ommendations on where marineconservation zones should be sitedwill be taken at the regional levelby the Finding Sanctuary SteeringGroup, but we need to have localsuggestions and knowledge,together with ongoing feedback toensure marine conservation zonesare well planned and thereforehave stronger support from localcommunities – that’s where theCornwall group comes in.”

For more information, callSamantha Davis on 01736369817 or e-mail sdavis.seafisheries@cornwall.gov.uk. Applica-tions should be sent by July 24.

Council winsaward forsustainableenergy projectGREEN-MINDED DevonCounty Council has triumphed inawards that recognise the best sus-tainable energy projects in thecounty.

It council won the local author-ity award in the Ashden Awardsfor Sustainable Energy 2009.

Its Renewable Energy forDevon (RE4D) scheme aims tokick-start green rural regenerationby stimulating supply and demandfor renewable energy.

The project has led to 109renewable energy installations insmall businesses and communityorganisations, and a further 18 indomestic properties.

These have a total installedcapacity of more than 2megawatts, cutting about 1,300tonnes of carbon emissions.

The Ashden Awards judgessaid: “Devon is rooting renewableenergy firmly in the economicrealm, and showing that greenmeasures contribute to sustain-able business – a particularlyimportant message in the currenteconomic climate.”

Melanie Sealey, the scheme’sproject manager, said: “Withmany sparsely-populated ruralareas in the county, where most ofthe employment is provided bysmall businesses, the promotion ofrenewable energy makes goodsense both for the environmentand the local economy.

“We hope that the success ofthis pilot programme will catalysesimilar action in the rest of theSouth West.”

Devon County Councillaunched RE4D in 2006 to createjobs and cut the carbon footprint.

IT takes a visitor to make you say things in adifferent way, and American StephanKoplowitz is more than happy to share hisexcitement about being in the Westcountry.

He is thrilled to discover that Seymour Housein Devonport, Plymouth, has a camera obscura –they are a personal obsession of his – and he isfascinated by the way in which Sir Francis Drakewas the first man to bring a water supply from themoor into the city.

And the fact that the Pilgrim Fathers set off forAmerica from the Mayflower Steps in Plymouthhasn’t passed him by either.

But Stephan is no ordinary tourist. When helooks at these locations and the iconic Smeaton’sTower, busy Armada Way and The Great Barn atBuckland Abbey, he sees them through the eyes ofa choreographer.

He is sending more than a postcard home, thisvisitor is creating dance pieces that will be per-form at eight sites in and around the city ofPlymouth and elsewhere in Devon with his Task-Force company.

The Liquid Landscapes project – which beganlast year in Los Angeles – is, to quote theliterature, “a response to the extraordinaryresource that shapes our environment from wateraccess and rights driving the economy in LosAngeles, to the landscape of Plymouth and itscommunity connected by the sea”.

Stephan is famous for putting dance where younever thought dance would go, with large scalepublic art performances in New York’s GrandCentral Station, the British Library and theNatural History Museum.

He is bringing the second phase of his inter-national outdoor dance project, Liquid Land-scapes to Devon, as part of Dartington’s missionto develop exciting new art work outside the wallsof the Dartington Hall Estate.

He has been working with professional per-formers in his own company as well as locally, andwill work alongside local artists.

The first performance is tomorrow at TheTiltyard, Dartington, and the week of daily eventsculminates next weekend in promenade tours ofthe Tinside Lido in Plymouth.

The shows are all linked by the theme ofwater.

“We’re carrying on from Los Angeles last year,”says Stephan in a break from his packed rehearsalschedule. “It’s all about water and water relatedstories.”

In Los Angeles, water has a political dimension.At the beginning of the 20th century, engineerWilliam Mulholland transformed the desert withthe 233-mile Los Angeles Aqueduct which tookwater from the Owens Valley in Central Cal-ifornia to the city.

It effectively drained Owens Lake within 20years and started the California Water Wars, theinspiration for the storyline of the film Chi-natown.

“Water is a vital part of the global economy. It’san issue that everyone needs to be aware of.Without water the economy of Plymouth wouldnot exist.

“One of the things that I believe as a site specificartist is that on some level the site is just thestarting point. You can see the site in a new way,even if it’s a site you know very well.

“It’s not my motivation to create somethingnew from the place that I’m at. I have the site giveme my instructions. Some sites do that with theirhistory.

“I did that with the Great Barn at Buckland

Abbey, the home of Sir Francis Drake. In this caseI felt the need to immerse myself in history. One ofthe pieces of information I found was that he wasone of the people responsible for bringing water toPlymouth.

“He was the William Mulholland of Plymouth.They were two men who had a certain amount ofwealth and means.

“And coming here, I learned a lot of thingsabout Smeaton’s Tower. Essentially, it’s a light-house on The Hoe and on some level you don’treally need to know more than that... but I didfind out that the design of it became copied for allother lighthouses.

“Some place I approach the work visually, andin some place historically. Every site calls upondifferent levels of research. I get a real sense of acity from walking around.

“Plymouth reminds me of some towns in LongIsland which is near New York City with its

working class population and its tourist pop-ulation and it’s sense of history.

“Plymouth has this energy and it’s great that weare going to be part of that community and thatwe will make our work on site at these places.”

Stephan and his dancers have spent three weeksin Devon on a tight schedule of daily rehearsals onlocation and in the studio.

Daily performances start tomorrow andinclude film documentaries at the University ofPlymouth and a show at the Barbican Theatre.The theatre’s artistic director Mark Laville saidthey were really excited about Liquid Land-scapes.

“Stephan Koplowitz is going to shake-up thecity, bringing pioneering public dance to thestreets and people of Plymouth,” he said. “Weexpect big crowds and lots of buzz throughout thecity.”

Stephan says he loves to do site-specific work,

even after more than ten years. “One of thereasons is that I just love being able to make workout of what people consider their daily life.

“The act of making art and artists is often, onsome level, misunderstood. But we think about allthe same things that workers in a factory thinkabout – family, job security, whatever. We justmanufacture what we make in different ways.

“Art can be made out of anything. There’s noright or wrong about art-making. It’s exciting. It’sa chance to play. In the end that’s what we’redoing. That’s what creativity is. It’s play.”

! For more information on the performances, seepanel (right) or visit www.dartington.org/arts/taskforce where you can see video footage ofrehearsals. Liquid Landscapes is part of PlymouthSummer Festival, Dance-ing Devon and Respond!,an RSA initiative to highlight the arts’ engagementwith environmental issues.

TaskForce dancers rehearse Liquid Landscapes on the streets of Plymouth(top), in Armada Way (below) and on The Hoe (left)

Stephan Koplowitz (inset) has been rehearsing his dancers at Smeaton’s Tower on Plymouth Hoe

An American choreographerhas been spending a month inthe Westcountry creating asite-specific dance project.Stephan Koplowitz explainedthe Liquid Landscapes projectto Su Carroll

Water-inspired project fordancing in the streets

TASKFORCE are staging a week of perfor-mances in Dartington, Buckland Abbey andPlymouth, most of which are free.SATURDAY JUNE 20TaskForce collaborates with dance artists fromUniversity College Falmouth for a promenadeperformance that explores Dartington’s uniqueTiltyard and its historical water connections.Dartington, Totnes at 3.30pm and 5.30pm. Limitedon-site parking.SUNDAY JUNE 21Interdisciplinary artist Dan Faberoff is involvedin a performance that highlights the architectureof the Great Barn at Buckland Abbey, home ofSir Francis Drake, the man who brought freshwater to Plymouth, and now National Trust.Buckland Abbey, Yelverton at 1.30pm and 3.30pm.Free parking but normal National Trust admissionsapply (£4.20 adults, £2.10 children, NT membersfree).MONDAY JUNE 22There will be a screening of two original dance

shorts created during last year’s TaskForce USA– Kid Galahad Karaoke and Chinatown: Water-mark (inspired by locations from Roman Polan-ski’s film, Chinatown) plus a short documentaryon the project in America, footage from thePlymouth rehearsals and a question and answersession with Stephan Koplowitz.Jill Craigie Cinema, Roland Lewinsky Building,University of Plymouth at 7.30pm. Tickets £5(concessions £3): 01752 585050.TUESDAY JUNE 23A camera obscura in Devonport, Plymouth, ispart of a multi-site performance in differentlocations. Every half an hour, a small audienceinside the camera obscura in Seymour Housewill be able to see the dancers some distanceaway. Performances are every 30 minutes.Seymour House, Mount Wise, between 3pm and6pm. You must reserve the free tickets online atwww.dartington.org/taskforce.WEDNESDAY JUNE 24TaskForce moves into Plymouth City Centre

and their first performance is down the centre ofArmada Way, starting at the Copthorne Hoteland working down to the sundial.Armada Way, 1pm and 5pm.THURSDAY JUNE 25Visual artist Ella Huhne will work with Task-Force to create a performance in and aroundSmeaton’s Tower on Plymouth Hoe to mark its250th anniversary year.Smeaton’s Tower, Plymouth, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm.FRIDAY JUNE 26Guest Helen Snell, a paper artist, will beinvolved in the performance to highlight theiconic status of the Mayflower Steps.Pilgrims Point, The Barbican, 12pm, 1pmIn the evening you can see TaskForce Remixedat The Barbican Theatre at 8pm. Tickets £5(concessions £3). 01752 585050.SATURDAY/SUNDAY JUNE 27/28The week ends with a unique promenade tour ofTinside Lido on the Hoe.6pm on both days.

Coming soon to a street, lido or theatre near you

‘Art can be made out ofanything. There’s no right

or wrong about art-making’

WESTCOUNTRY NEWS WESTCOUNTRY NEWS

Dame Ellen totalk about herrecord roundworld voyageWORLD renowned sailor DameEllen MacArthur is returning toCornwall to break the silence on herrecord-breaking achievements.

Dame Ellen, famed for herround-the-world travelling exploits,has agreed to come and speak atFalmouth’s National MaritimeMuseum Cornwall.

It will be the first time she hasspoken publicly about her life sinceher world record-breaking circum-navigation of the world ended justoutside the maritime museum in2005.

Dame Ellen said: “I’m reallyexcited about coming back to Fal-mouth, which holds so many greatmemories for me. I received anunbelievable welcome there when Icompleted my round-the-worldvoyage in 2005 and this will be myfirst visit since that day.

“The National MaritimeMuseum Cornwall gave us a lot ofsupport then, and we’re really grate-ful that they are doing the sameagain, this time in aid of the EllenMacArthur Trust and our RoundBritain voyage.”

The celebrated sailor will berecounting stories about her amaz-ing and varied experiences at sea, aswell as talking about her work withthe Ellen MacArthur Trust.

The Ellen MacArthur Trust andthe Round Britain project are rais-ing funds to ensure more youngpeople can enjoy sailing and regaintheir confidence as they recoverfrom cancer.

The lecture is due to take place onMonday, August 31 at 7pm. Call01326 214546 for tickets.

Mini drivers todo end-to-endrun dressedas hippiesTWELVE car owners will celebratethe Mini’s 50th birthday next weekby driving 1,000 miles to JohnO’Groats – dressed as hippies.

The 2009 Mini Run, where 24drivers in 12 Minis drive fromLand’s End to John O’Groats, willbe the 11th annual drive raisingmoney for charity.

The Small Cars Big Hearts groupfrom North Devon Mini Register israising money for Children’s Hos-pice South West and hopes to raiseenough to pay for and equip a newMessy Play Room being built inCornwall. It has already donated£36,000 to the project.

Event organiser Terry Baker said:“I absolutely can’t wait. I work allyear for this. It’s a real chance tomeet some real friends.”

This year’s Mini Run sees a pecu-liar twist as drivers dress up ashippies and decorate their vehicleswith flowers and logos from theera.

The 1,000-mile journey will takefive days, with the drivers departingfrom Dartington Crystal, Torring-ton, North Devon, at 10am onMonday, June 22 and heading forLand’s End to start the journey toScotland. They hope to arrive attheir final destination by Fridaylunchtime.

The drivers will travel 250 miles aday but once they reach their des-tination, they face a 900-milereturn journey.

The group has raised more than£260,000 over the years, of which£220,000 has gone to Children’sHospice South West.

PICTURES BY KEVIN CLIFFORD

Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce performances started on Saturday, June 19 and ended nine days later on

Sunday, June 27th

PERFORMANCE WEEK

First Day of Performances: Saturday, June 19, Dartington Tiltyard, at 3:30pm and 5:30pm

Tiltyard Performance, Section ONE

Tiltyard Performance, Section TWO

Tiltyard performance, Section THREE

Dance artists from King Edward VI Community College, Anders Duckworth and University College Falmouth - Emma Bass, Joni Brown, Meghan Carney, Emma Hurman , Nicola Langley, Josephine McCourt, Louise Moxhay, Minou Polleros, Christel Preux, Sarah Stone and guest performing artist Malaika Sarco-Thomas

Second day, Sunday, June 21st, Buckland Abbey: The Great BarnA collaboration with video artist Dan Farberoff

Jonathan Cummins of the National Trust introducing Stephan Koplowitz at Buckland Abbey

Third day of performances, TASKFORCE FILMS and reception @ The Jill Craigie Cinema

Fourth Day, Performances with the Camera Obscura at Seymour House: continuously from 3pm to 6pm, Tuesday, June 22 - Audience members were invited to experience eight different sites throughout Plymouth at 30 minute intervals from inside the perspective of the camera obscura. In Collaboration with guest artitst, Jo McCaren, Director of the

Camera Obscura at Seymour House

Outside, on the grounds of Seymour House

Inside, the view from the camera obscura

TextSEYMOUR HOUSE-In front of the Eco Build HouseLauren Davey

The Redoubt adjacent to Seymour

House

MAYFLOWER MARINAEmily Dobson

LOWER GRASS EMBANKMENTRachel Sweeney

SCOTT MEMORIALZuzana Wallnerova & Gemma Ward

Plymouth Youth Dance featuring Amie Lord, Rebecca Walker and Kane Mills

Fifth Day, Armada Way, Wednesday, June 23, 2009: TaskForce performs two 55 minutes performance works at 1pm and 5pm through the heart of Plymouth

Stephan Koplowitz and Gordon Sparks (BBC Morning radio host), at the Armada Way

performance

Sixth Day, Smeaton’s Tower: Thursday, June 24, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm

A collaboration with visual artist Ella Huhne

Seventh Day, Mayflower Steps, Friday June 26: 12pm and 1pm

A collaboration with visual artist Helen Snell

Sixth Day, Barbican Theater, Friday, June 26, 8pm: TaskForce ReMixed, Improvisational Concert

a unique opportunity to be introduced to the site-art creative process of TaskForce during the creation of Liquid Landscapes

Seventh and Eighth Day, TINSIDE LIDO Saturday 27& Sunday 28 June, 6pm

Tinside Lido, Section ONE

Tinside Lido, Section TWO

Tinside Lido, Section THREE

TASKFORCE DANCERS

Philine Janssens, BE (Belgium)

Rosalind Noctor, UK

Ezekiel Oliveira, PT (Portugal)

Megan Saunders, UK

Caitlin Smith, UK

Kylie Sudds, UK

Kevin Williamson, USA

Alexandria Yalj, USA

Over 3,000 people witnessed Dartington's free public dance performances

Over 3,000 people experienced one or more of the nine events that made up Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce Liquid Landscapes, which took place in eight historic sites across Plymouth and beyond, bringing free public dance to audiences and locations that had never before seen the like.

“Absolutely outstanding. Very interesting, loved every minute of it. Especially when they jumped up the lighthouse, it was very fluid.” Jake, Plymouth

The 16 performances at eight different sites, all linked by the theme of water, took place from Saturday June 20 to Sunday June 28 and included events at Smeaton’s Tower, the Mayflower Steps, the Camera Obscura at Seymour House in Devonport, Armada Way and The Barbican Theatre, along with nearby Dartington Hall gardens and Buckland Abbey – culminating in a collaborative weekend performance at the Tinside Lido.

“I am very inspired and touched at the movement of the dance. Loved it”. Declan, Plymouth

“The gardens and tiltyard continue to provide surprises for performance even after 70 years! Evocative and beautiful” Jane, Totnes

“Really cool and funky. Very different and unusual choreography. Liked the lifts and how the dancers connected with power and emotion.” Bianca, Plympton

David Francis, Director of Arts at Dartington said “Dartington really enjoyed working with Stephan Koplowitz and his company TaskForce on Liquid Landscapes, which changed the way we experience familiar surroundings throughout the region. The work was hugely successful and it was fantastic to see such a warm and positive response from the people of Devon and Plymouth. Dartington will build on the success of this project by bringing pioneering creative work to more and more people.”

To see film footage taken throughout the event, find out more information and see images please go to www.dartington.org/taskforce

STEPHAN KOPLOWITZ is an award winning director/choreographer/media artist internationally known for his work on the concert stage and for creating original site-specific multi-media works for architecturally significant sites. His site work aims to alter people’s perspectives of place, site, and scale, all infused with a sense of the human condition. Since 1980 he has created 60 works and has been awarded 42 commissions. A 2004 Alpert Award in the Arts (Dance), a 2003 Guggenheim Fellowship in Choreography in addition to a 2000 New York Dance and Performance Award, “Bessie” for “Sustained Achievement” in Choreography. In 1996, his site-specific work Genesis Canyon commissioned by the Dance Umbrella Festival, for the Natural History Museum in London won Time Out Magazine’s Award for “Best Dance Production of 1996”. He has created site-specific works for NY’s Lincoln Center (2001), the internet based Webbed Feats NY’s Bryant Park (1997), the British Library (1998), a coal processing plant in Essen, Germany (1999), the windows of Grand Central Terminal. In 2007, he was commissioned by Summers Stages Dance to create a site-specific work for the newly opened Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston. The work, (iseea), was named one of the best dance productions of 2007 by the Boston Globe. After working and living in New York City for 23 years, Koplowitz, in 2006 accepted the position of dean of Dance at the California Institute of the Arts.

HUGH NANKIVELL has worked with the ROH, Halle and Opera North. He has been commissioned as artist in residence for Dartmoor National Park, Hidden Cities, & ‘Ocean’ for the Barbican Theatre Plymouth. He helped form theatre company ‘Blazing Tales’, consulted for a Anglo-Chinese project in Morecambe, led workshops for Sage Gateshead. He is currently researching creativity with 3-year-olds in Tokyo and Torquay, arranging British performances of Whaletone Opera, www.whaletone.co.uk and inventing an audio walk project searching for pianos with theatre director Wils Wilson www.keystothesea.co.uk “In my teens I discovered Bach and Oscar Peterson, composed the music for Milton Keynes’ Concrete Cows, played in rock and jazz bands in Birmingham and spent three months busking in Europe. In my twenties I did a music degree, played three summers at the Edinburgh Festival, became Musician-in-Residence for Tyne and Wear Museums, visited Korea and Japan and helped set up Sound Sense.”

LARA LLOYD is currently Producer of Live Art at Dartington. Prior to her current post she worked for the Rebecca Hossack Gallery, the British Council and Visiting Arts - the national agency dedicated to strengthening intercultural understanding through the arts.

GORAV KALYAN is a LA-based film director and cinematographer. His short film, “After the Funeral,” was an official selection at the 2007 AFI Fest and 2008 Black & White Film Festival in Porto, Portugal. Gorav is a Philosophy graduate and is currently pursuing his Masters in Fine Arts in Film Directing at CalArts

PHILINE JANSSENS trained in contemporary dance and ballet. She recently worked for Stijn Celis at the Vlaamse Opera (Antwerp) and with Yasmeen Godder in Jaffa (Tel Aviv). She was recently commissioned as a choreographer for the Place Prize 2008.

ROSALIND NOCTOR studied at Bird College and London Contemporary Dance School. She has danced and toured with companies Evolving Motion, Sara Crow & Co, Nu Tempo Dance and Darkin Ensemble, performing in Europe, Brazil and Singapore.

EZEKIEL OLIVEIRA is originally from Lisbon where he studied New Circus and Performing Arts. Since graduating from London Contemporary Dance School he’s performed for Hofesh Shechter, Tamsin Fitzgerald and John Fulljames.

MEGAN SAUNDERS graduated from Laban. She’s worked with choreographers Allison Brown, Miguel Pereira, Lost Dog and Rosemary Butcher. She currently works as an animateur for Richard Alston Dance Company and iceandfire theatre.

CAITLIN SMITH trained at the Laban Centre London. She has worked with companies including 103 Falling Birds,Theater der Klaenge, IPDancers and Diversity Dance. She choreographed dance theatre piece Breakpoint last year.

KYLIE SUDDS trained at The Northern School of Contemporary Dance and The Rotterdam Dance Academy, She recently co-founded her own dance company Ten in Paris.

KEVIN WILLIAMSON graduated from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures in 2004. Since he has performed for David Gordon, Julie Taymor, Angelin Preljocaj, Sebastian Prantl, Kate Hutter, Fatima Robinson, Ryan Heffington and Maria Gillespie in Los Angeles, New York City and Vienna. Kevin was a member of TaskForce in California in 2008.

ALEXANDRIA YALJ has been dancing since she could walk, but only began formal training while attending Montclair State University. Before graduating with a BFA in dance she studied dance as well as social science at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, in 2007 she received her MFA in choreography from CalArts . Alexandria was a member of TaskForce in California in 2008.

CLAIR BECKETT trained at Middlesex University gaining a BA Honors Degree in Dance Performance. She’s danced with Cloud Dance Company and performed in venues including Sadlers Wells, Arts Depot and The Place. Clair is now a Community Dance Practitioner with Attik.

STEPHAN KOPLOWITZ: TASKFORCELiquid Landscapes

CONCEIVED, DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY

Stephan Koplowitz

ORIGINAL MUSIC BYHugh Nankivell

CHOREOGRAPHY BYStephan Koplowitz

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TASKFORCE PERFORMERS

TASKFORCE COMPANYPhiline Janssens, Rosalind Noctor, Ezekiel

Oliveira, Megan Saunders, Caitlin Smith, Kylie Sudds, Alexandria Yalj, Kevin Williamson

ASSOCIATE PRODUCERLara Lloyd

SOUND DESIGNLuke Robinson & Tom McCaren

VIDEOGRAPHERGorav Kalyan

REHEARSAL DIRECTORClair Beckett

Technical Manager: Ninian Harding Assistant Production Manager- Danielle RoseProduction Assistants: Bryony Devine, Lauren Davey, Chris Hines Guides: Monica Yunnie, Mandy Flannery, Kaye Payton-Wright & Rosemary Hardman

Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce would like to thank Vaughan Lindsay, CEO of the Dartington Hall Trust, Steven Lavine, President of the California Institute of the Arts and Bill Lowman, President Idyllwild Arts for their vision, trust and support; AND to Ruth Way & Adam Benjamin for the use of their beautiful dance studio at the University of Plymouth & for their partnership along with Mark and Jules Laville for their partnership and co-presenting TaskForce at the Barbican. Sincere thanks also to Simon Ible and Peninsula Arts for presenting TaskForce at the Jill Craigie Cinema and co-presenting the Re-Mix concert at the Barbican Theater: Kevin Thomas and Sarah Flanagan at Plymouth City Council for their support of this project and particularly for hosting us and granting permissions to perform at Tineside Lido;

Kevin Heathorn, BBC Big Screen Producer (Plymouth) for his enthusiasm and support: Jonathan Cummins for his interest and enthusiasm in this project and for making it possible for us to perform in the Great Barn: all the National Trust staff at Buckland Abbey & their volunteers for their support; Jo Clarke at the City Museum & Art Gallery, Mike Kestler and Tony at Plymouth City Harbour Office for granting permission to perform at the Mayflower Steps: Jo McCaren at Seymour House for her partnership and support: Sally Robbins & Attik Dance for their support: Graham Gammin, Neil Dyer and all the gardens team at Dartington for their support of the creation of our work: Susanne Thomas and Malaika Sarco-Thomas for their invaluable support and co-ordination of UCF and KEVICC dancers at Dartington; David Francis, Director of Arts at Dartington for energetic support; Gavin Henderson for his faith in the TaskForce concept from day one, and Peter Boyden for his support. Tim Dollimore for advise and support on film production and John Sanford for securing the loan of vital video equipment: Danielle Rose, Colin Orr, Katrina Hurford, Louise Bennett and the rest of the staff at Dartington for their invaluable work and support on this project and John and Lillian Lovelace for their generosity and vision.

Photographs in this presentation are ©2009 by

Kevin Clifford & Stephan Koplowitzwith ©2009 and ©2008 Peter Griffiths and Scott Groller

Photo presentation

2009 ©Kop Art, Inc./Stephan Koplowitz

Stephan Koplowitz: TASKFORCE will perform in a third location in

2010Check www.koplowitzprojects.com or write to: skoplowitz@gmail.com

for details

For more information about TaskForce UK:

http://www.dartington.org/arts/taskforce

For information about Stephan Koplowitz Projects

please write to:

skoplowitz@gmail.com

Stephan Koplowitz: TaskForce is a three-year project which began in California in 2008. It has been specially commissioned and funded by the Transatlantic Arts Consortium, a collaboration between The Dartington Hall Trust, CalArts and Idyllwild Arts

www.koplowitzprojects.com