Did you know that Vincent Hantam – the choreographer of two Traditional Dance Forum of Scotland new productions – our screen dance To Begin the Dance Once More and the related live performance for three dancers and two musicians Dances with Ouds and Fiddles – will join us in-person for the post-show discussion as part of our Pomegranates festival on 29 April 2023 to mark UNESCO’s International Dance Day. Watch the teaser below and join us in-person, too by booking your seat on a Pay What You Can basis.
What is more, the former Scottish Ballet Principal Dancer and widely admired dance teacher at Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, will also perform on the night before as part of our Pomegranates Triple Bill on 28 April 2023 alongside Chinese, Bulgarian and Scottish dance artists and musicians.
Seize is this rare opportunity to see Vincent perform Steal Away and Pray – a solo dance choreographed by Jim Hastie, the late Artistic Director of Margaret Morris Movement International and a close friend of Margaret Morris, the dance pioneer who established Celtic Ballet in 1947, a forerunner of Scotland’s national dance company. See Vincent embody Jim’s choreography and the iconic natural, barefoot movement of Margaret Morris. The piece is set to the classic American Spiritual under the same title Steal Away and Pray dating back to 1860s. Book now
P.S. Missed the live performnce. Watch this beautifully edited recording by Barrrie Barretto and enjoy the four-star review:
“A rare chance to experience this pioneering form of modern dance…Hantam embodied simultaneous power and relaxation, his every movement carefully considered yet naturally executed. The result is akin to a shared meditation between Hantam and the audience, an invitation to a more purposeful attitude to movement. Could Pomegranates embody fusion more than staging an ancestral form of ballet, performed by a son of South Africa wearing a kilt, and soundtracked by an African-American spiritual?” The Quinntessential Review
The psychological and physical demands of Margaret Morris Movement are unlike any dance forms. My aim with Steal Away and Pray is to bring this historical and yet still practised movement with my own joy and diffidence for dance with the playfulness of just being natural.
Vincent Hantam
Ahead of Vincent’s live appearance as part of our Pomegranates festival weekend, tune in on Earth’s Day 22 April from 8:00 BST to hear our choreographer talk about his approach to devising for the screen and his experience as part of the creative team of To Begin the Dance Once More on Trad Dance Cast – our brand new podcast about traditional dance artists, ideas and trends from across Scotland and beyond.
