Understanding identity in sense of self

Thursday 15 October 2009

Following a successful international tour, Mélanie Demers and Laïla Diallo return to the UK with their powerful and poetic piece Sense of Self, the outcome of a choreographic collaboration which has journeyed across three continents, with passages in Kenya, Canada and the UK.

Inspired by ideas of identity and belonging, Diallo and Demers have co-created and now perform this new duet, interlacing evocative images, compelling movement and thought provoking ideas. As skin is always renewing itself, is identity not also in a constant state of change? Underpinned by a compelling original score, Sense of Self unfolds as a fluid succession of physical tableaux, offering different perspectives on the multi-layered nature of identity. Sense of Self unites a high calibre artistic team from around the world; Laïla Diallo (ex-Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance, UK) joins forces with Mélanie Demers (ex-Ginette Laurin’s O Vertigo, Cananda), composer Jacques Poulin Denis (Montreal) and lighting designers David Perreault Ninacs (Montreal) and Sarah Gilmartin (UK).

A mysteriously dark reflection on identity, based on a predatory and animalistic movement language, Sense of Self is a choreographic novelty not to be missed.

Tickets for this event can be booked from the University Box Office on 01483 686876 at £10 and £5 students. The dance show will take place in the PATS Building Dance Studio on the University of Surrey’s Stag Hill Campus, Guildford, GU2 7XH.

Media Enquiries

Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk