Jun 20 2012: Gary Clarke brings his Beautiful Hell to Edinburgh
AWARD winning Barnsley choreographer Gary Clarke brings his latest work, A Beautiful Hell, to The Edinburgh Festival this summer.
Hailed as both stunning and powerful, this new piece from the choreographer of such critically acclaimed pieces as Horsemeat, Coal and Bagofti, was created for and is performed by Liverpool Edge Hill University’s all male contemporary dance company Edge FWD, under Artistic Director Debbie Milner.
Neatly clad in boxer shorts and pyjamas, a company of nine young men take to the stage to present an intricate landscape of dreams and desires that explores the notion of exclusion and what it’s like to be an outsider.
Bringing together a vivid combination of daring physical theatre, sophisticated gesture and improvised spoken word and a soundtrack that mixes the gritty sounds of Scottish post-rock band Mogwai with the mellow riffs of American country singer Roy Orbison, we follow one man’s touching and darkly humorous journey in search of love, acceptance and freedom.
A Beautiful Hell has already been seen as a curtain raiser to Matthew Bourne’s smash hit Nutcracker and as part of a programme for 2 Faced Dance Company and now promises to delight Festival audiences as Edge FWD take to the stage in Edinburgh.
It can be seen at the Dance Base National Centre for Dance in Edinburgh’s Grass Market from August 3 to 12.
“This attractive young all-male dance group … clearly knows how to deliver a fun and juicy dance-based performance to a crowd that was amused, engaged and taken aback all at once. More power to them.” - Donald Hutera, The Times
“Edge FWD have a fantastic reputation in the NorthWest and beyond its borders as a strong, proactive group of young men who are more than just excellent performers. They produce versatile and challenging work that appeals to a wide audience, are active advocates for dance and excellent role models for the younger generation of boys dance.” - NorthWest Dance: The Lowry Youth Dance Partnership
For the past decade Gary Clarke, who grew up in the barnsley mining community of Grimethorpe, has been making and touring work that has received both critical and audience acclaim.
He has been featured in a number of prestigious festivals and seasons including The British Dance Edition, The Edinburgh Festival, Spring Loaded and Explode at The Royal Opera House.
He has collaborated with a number of other artists in the creation and development of his work including renowned choreographers Javier De Frutos, Nigel Charnock and Wendy Houstoun.
Gary has also created work for other professional companies and institutions including Ludus Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre and The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance.
He has also performed with Lea Anderson’s The Cholmondeleys & The Featherstonehaughs, Matthew Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP), Liv Lorent’s balletLORENT, Bock & Vincenzi, Retina Dance Company and Sadlers Wells Productions.
‘An artistically fast maturing choreographer’ – The Dancing Times
‘Clarke has a wonderful sense of theatricality’ – East Anglian Daily Times
‘Clarke’s choreography mixes sculptural, tender, brash and intense moves’ – The Guardian
