Yorke Dance Project
Presents
Dance Revolutionaries
In partnership with the Royal Ballet
Two Artists Who Revolutionised How We Experienced Dance in The Twentieth Century
Dance Revolutionaries brings together the work of two pioneers, Robert Cohan and Kenneth MacMillan who changed how we experience modern dance and ballet. Shot on location rather than on stage, the audience is invited directly into a world of human emotion, conflict and, ultimately, triumph.
Presented in two parts: the first, Portraits, is a series of five short solo dances choreographed by Robert Cohan; the second is Kenneth MacMillan’s Hamlet-inspired ballet, Sea of Troubles.
Portraits was choreographed and filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The various locations—from an empty beach in Sussex to an abandoned London chapel to the bare stage of Royal Opera House—create a travelogue of desolate places.
Sea of Troubles was shot at Hatfield House, Queen Elizabeth I’s childhood home and is evocative of the 1600s. Rich with intrigue, drama and passion, the camera follows Ophelia, Hamlet, Gertrude, Polonius and the Ghost through the rooms and grounds, in an immersive, cinematic journey.
Dance Revolutionaries breathes new life into how we see dance. The avowedly cinematic approach allows the audience to be ‘with’ the dancers, becoming part of the dance itself.
Produced by Yorke Dance Project
Artistic Director Yolande Yorke-Edgell
Associate Director Stephen Pelton
Rehearsal Director Edd Mitton
Education Lead Laura Dredger
Producing Consultant Gwen Van Spijk
Theatrical Distribution, Marketing & Publicity Mustard Studio
SPONSORS
Deborah MacMillan
Back Four Productions
Lee Dixon
Steve and Emma Blight
Paul and Anna White
Friends of Yorke Dance Project
SPECIAL THANKS
PORTRAITS
Kevin O’Hare and the staff at Royal Opera house
Frankie and David Seaman
Kate Harrison Brill
Abbie Pillans Payne
SEA OF TROUBLES
Hatfield House
Lord and Lady Salisbury
Harriet Knight, Harriet Holloway and all the staff
The Royal Ballet
Kevin O Hare, Emma Southworth and guest artist, Romany Pajdak
PORTRAITS
Film Premiere: 17 October 2021, Barbican Cinema, London
Robert Cohan (1925—2021) started creating these dances in the studio four months before Covid-19 isolated the world. He completed two of the solos before lockdown and finished the remaining five solos via Zoom. His last rehearsal was on the 5 December 2020, a month before passing away at the age of 95.
These solos were originally commissioned by Yorke Dance Project and created for Cohan’s final work for the stage, Afternoon Conversations with Dancers. As live performances continued to be delayed due to the pandemic, YDP collaborated with Cohan and director David Stewart to film the seven solos that have become Portraits. Cohan chose each location and was able to see all but two of the finished films. Five of these seven solos form the first part of Dance Revolutionaries.
Beautifully captured on film during Robert Cohan’s final months, these solo dances illuminate Cohan’s remarkable legacy. Award-winning documentary filmmaker David Stewart’s collaboration with Cohan was built on trust and a mutual understanding of what it is to move, to be human and to resonate with one’s fellows. Cohan brought his ninety-five years of life experience to his final work, highly personal yet universal stories of grief, isolation, loss and, ultimately, survival.
Director David Stewart
Associate DirectorYolande Yorke-Edgell
Choreography Robert Cohan
Music Nils Frahm—Less, Pause, Down Down, It Was Really, Really Grey; Ólafur Arnalds—Happiness Does Not Wait (Courtesy of Erased Tapes Records)
Costumes Robert Cohan
Dancers Edd Mitton, Freya Jeffs, Dane Jeremy Hurst, Jonathan Goddard, Romany Pajdak
Project Producer Natalie Allison
Director of Photography Paul Francis Jenkins (for EDD, FREYA, DANE, JON)
Director of Photography Christopher Titus King (for ROMANY)
Camera Operator Christopher Titus King
Second Camera Brandon R Jenkins
Editor & Colourist Brandon R Jenkins
Focus Puller, ROMANY Daniel DiMartino
Lighting Design, ROMANY Natasha Chivers
Distribution Consultant James Belsham
Sir Robert Cohan’s work is presented by permission and courtesy of the Sir Robert Cohan Arts Legacy, L3C (USA) and with the cooperation of the Sir Robert Cohan Dance Legacy CIC (UK). All rights reserved.
SEA OF TROUBLES
Film Premiere: World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2023, Royal Opera House, London
Kenneth MacMillan (1929-1992) choreographed Sea of Troubles in1988. It was originally commissioned by and created on Dance Advance, a touring ballet company comprised of six dancers who had broken away from The Royal Ballet to take new chamber ballets to a nationwide audience. MacMillan became their patron.
The original Sea of Troubles cast included Michael Batchelor, Susie Crow, Jennifer Jackson, Russell Maliphant, Stephen Sheriff and Sheila Styles.
In a programme note for the premiere MacMillan explained his inspiration: “I have taken as a starting point the effect of the death of Hamlet’s father without a literal telling of the play. With the appearance of his father’s ghost, and Hamlet’s realisation of the need for revenge, his tormented world became a nightmare.”
MacMillan reshaped the narrative for six characters: Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, the ghost of Hamlet’s father, Ophelia and Polonius. Sea of Troubles toured widely in 1988 and 1989, was briefly in the repertoire of Scottish Ballet in 1993, before being performed by a company led by Adam Cooper with dancers from English National Ballet in 2002. In 2017 it was revived by Yorke Dance Project and performed at The Royal Opera House as part of the 25th anniversary of MacMillan’s death.
The original costumes and choreography remain intact though the ballet has been adapted for film.
Director David Stewart
Associate Director Yolande Yorke-Edgell
Choreography Kenneth MacMillan
Music Anton Von Webern—Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Opus No. 7; Bohuslav Martinů—Four Nocturnes for Cello and Piano, H.189, ii & iii, Piano Trio No. 3 in C major, H. 332, i & ii, Bergerette for Piano Trio, H. 275, iii
Original Costume Design Deborah MacMillan
Design Realisation for Film Charlotte MacMillan
Dancers Dane Hurst, Romany Pajdak, Benjamin Warbis, Oxana Panchenko, Edd Mitton, Freya Jeffs
Producer Jane Shackleton
Director of Photography Paul Francis Jenkins
Camera Operator Chris Titus King
Editor Sam Billinge
Music Fidelio Trio—Violin Darragh Morgan, Cello Tim Gill, Piano Mary Dullea
Rehearsal Director Edd Mitton
Dance Coach Susie Crow
Dance Notator Jane Elliott
Cover Dancers Ellie Ferguson, Abigail Attard Montalto
1st Assistant Camera Ian Pearce, Rushil Choudhary, Chris Orr
2nd Assistant Camera Ola Mesmer, Jack O’Leary,
Amber Tunstall, Ruby Carmen King
Data Wranglers Kat Newton, Aeneas Macdonald
Grip Colin Ginger
Gaffers Aaron Westhead, Robbie Smith, Matt Nolan
Electricians Max Ashworth, Ray Miller Davis, Lewis Nicholls, Andy George
Grading Ella Soryl
Sound mixer Danny Finn
Seamstress Julie Richards
Costume Assistants Abigail Attard Montalto, Ellie Ferguson, Anna-Maria de Freitas
Make-up Artist Jen Lo
Sound Supervisor / First Aider Ellie Ferguson
Script Supervisors Abigail Attard Montalto, Anna-Maria de Freitas
Runners Harry Wilson, Anna-Maria de Freitas
Production Assistant Colette Love
Distribution Consultant James Belsham
Yorke Dance Project
Under the artistic direction of Yolande Yorke-Edgell, Yorke Dance Project is a dynamic contemporary ballet company rooted in tradition while embracing the future of the art form.
In 2022 the company was named Best Independent Dance Company by the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.
Formed in Los Angeles in 1998 before relocating to the UK in 2009, the hallmark of YDP’s unique programming is our commitment to presenting immaculately re-constructed classics alongside premieres by both established and emerging choreographers. We combine each of our productions with dynamic outreach activities to engage, inform and inspire the public.
The company’s compellingly, athletic dancers at the peak of their creative powers are joined by guest artists from The Royal Ballet, the Martha Graham Dance Company and celebrated, London-based freelance artists.
Internationally-renowned dancer and choreographer, Yolande Yorke-Edgell, brings to her repertory company a legacy that combines the roots of American contemporary dance with the first wave of contemporary dance in Britain. Her work with such luminaries as Bella Lewitzky, Richard Alston and Robert Cohan grounds the company in a deep, physical understanding of where great contemporary dance comes from while inspiring YDP to strive forward and discover where dance can take us next.
In 1998, following a successful career performing with major companies including Extemporary Dance Theatre, Rambert Dance Company and Lewitzky Dance Company, Yolande Yorke-Edgell formed Yorke Dance Project, a repertory company, based in Los Angeles. Our first performance was at Occidental College with works by Marc Baldwin, Bella Lewitzky, Courtney Selan and Yorke-Edgell. The company performed annually in Los Angeles for the next 6 years while taking part in numerous dance festivals.
In 2004 Yorke-Edgell moved back to the UK to perform with Richard Alston Dance Company and YDP was re-launched in the UK with Alston as Patron in 2009. YDP has since performed work by acclaimed UK artists such as Sir Robert Cohan, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Lea Anderson, Wendy Houston as well as works by American artists Bella Lewitzky and John Pennington.
In keeping with Yorke-Edgell’s personal trajectory of training and dancing in both the UK and the US, the company is focused on nurturing connections with the US by creating and presenting work in both of these countries. YDP offers inspiring growth opportunities for choreographers, dancers, students and audiences in every location to which our work takes us.
Biographies
David Stewart
David is a multiple award-winning, Emmy nominated documentary and factual drama director. He’s worked for some of the world’s leading broadcasters and film companies including BBC, ITV, Discovery, Smithsonian, France 2, Sky and Universal Pictures. In the 90s he was...
Robert Cohan
Born in New York in 1925, Robert Cohan trained at the Martha Graham School, and began his professional career in dance when he joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1946. He quickly moved to soloist and then performed throughout the world as a partner to Graham...
Kenneth MacMillan
Kenneth MacMillan was the leading ballet choreographer of his generation. He had a burning sense that ballet theatre should reflect contemporary realities and the complicated truths of people’s lives. He became director of The Royal Ballet and created some of the...
Yolande Yorke-Edgell
Yolande’s professional career began as a dancer with Extemporary Dance Theatre. She then danced with Rambert Dance Company before moving to Los Angeles to join the Lewitzky Dance Company, dancing many leading roles and being appointed a master teacher. After the...
Stephen Pelton
Stephen joined Yorke Dance Project as associate director in 2013. He is also associate director for the Cohan Collective. He is artistic director of his own company, Stephen Pelton Dance Theatre. Stephen began his dance training at SUNY Purchase, began choreographing...
Edd Mitton
Edd trained at London Studio Centre. He first worked with Yorke Dance Project in 2009 as a student, and has been present in the company’s development since then, performing in Figure Ground, Dancing Sacred, Rewind Forward and Twenty, for which he was also the...
Romany Pajdak
Romany is a Soloist of The Royal Ballet. She trained at The Royal Ballet School and graduated into the Company in 2004, promoted to First Artist in 2008, and Soloist in 2019. She was born in London and was inspired to dance after seeing Viviana Durante dance in The...
Dane Hurst
Dane Hurst is a South African Dancer, Choreographer and Artistic Director based in London U.K. He received a scholarship set up by Nelson Mandela, Anya Sainsbury and the Linbury Trust to study at the Rambert School in 2003 and went on to win the Critics’ Circle, Best...
Jonathan Goddard
Jonathan is a professional dance artist, movement director and choreographer who has worked for many major British dance companies including Richard Alston Dance Company, Scottish Dance Theatre and Rambert. In 2013 Jonathan took the title role of Mark Bruce Company’s...
Oxana Panchenko
Oxana was born in Russia and trained at Kiev State Ballet school. She has danced with Kiev National Ballet, English National Ballet, Bayerishes Staatsballett, K Ballet, Balletboyz and Michael Clark Company. In 2002, she won the Time Out Live Award for Outstanding...
Freya Jeffs
Freya joined Yorke Dance Project in 2015 and has performed in productions Dancing Sacred, Rewind Forward, Sea of Troubles and Twenty, in works by Robert Cohan, Kenneth MacMillan, Charlotte Edmonds, Sophia Stoller and Yolande Yorke-Edgell. She trained at Elmhurst and...
Benjamin Warbis
Benjamin graduated from London Studio Centre in 2009 with a First Class BA Hons Degree in Theatre Dance. He has spent most of his career with Michael Clark Company, with whom he has performed internationally since their premieres in come, been, and gone,...