21:00
BENCHED
Uppercut Dance Theater [DK]
national première
Teatro Brancaccio
Lenght | 45′
Choreography | Stephanie Thomasen
Performers | Adam Tocuyo, Jens Schyth Brøndum, Kristián Mensa, Mahamat Fofana & Mark Philip
Music by | 35th Parallel, René Aubry, Estas Tonne & Rodrigo y Gabriela
Set design | Johan Kølkjær
Light design | Peter Løkke
Technical direction | Martin Danielsen
General direction | Stephanie Thomasen & Mark Philip
A production by | Uppercut Dance Theater
With support by | Danish Arts Foundation
Photographic contributions | B.Berber, M.Freddie, K.Nguyen, R.Solholm
synopsis
BENCHED is a brutally honest bodily tale about life’s big and very small questions. About settling down. About daring to sit in opposition, about sitting cross legged, about being sat, put off or benched. About taking, creating, and giving space, and preferably remembering to do so before falling on your ass where the bench ends.
In BENCHED, five dancers perform in Johan Kølkjær’s set design of oversized and mobile benches that are constantly being transformed. Award winning choreographer Stephanie Thomasen has created the concept and choreography for the performance, where the dancers with great musicality, physicality and interaction examine human relationships.
BENCHED is a dynamic and virtuous dance performance with a diverse cast that represents multiple genres and disciplines: contemporary dance, street dance, capoeira, acrobatics and physical theater merge, when Uppercut Dance Theater brings their signature style on stage.
Uppercut Dance Theater
Uppercut Dance Theater as a 40 year long history and constitutes as one of the longest running dance companies in Denmark. Founded in 1982, the company pioneered in bringing contemporary dance on tour and into alternative institutions such as museums and schools. From the start 2000‘s and onwards, Uppercut Dance Theater started working with and engaging street- and break dancers in their productions. One of whom was Mark Philip, an avid capoeira and break dance practitioner, who has been with the company for 20 years and now contitues the third generation of artistic directors, alongside choreographer Stephanie Thomasen.
Stephanie Thomasen is an award-winning choreographer and the woman at the forefront of Uppercut Dance Theater. She graduated at The Ailey School Professional Divisions in 2009, where she also joined the company as a dancer and choreographer, soon to become the artistic director alongside Mark Philip, in 2016.
