INFUSE AUTUMN RESIDENCY
THE THINKING BODY
INTENTION & PHYSICALITY
With Far From The Norm
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
14TH - 18TH SEPTEMBER LONDON
5 days, 10am - 5pm
£280 (subsidised from £600)
INFUSE Artist Development Programme returns this autumn with one of the UK's most innovative hip-hop dance theatre companies, the multi-award winning Far From The Norm.
Founded by Olivier Award-winning choreographer and director Botis Seva, FFTN has built one of the most distinctive and uncompromising movement languages in British theatre today. Rooted in Hip Hop styles including Krump, Popping and House, and shaped by autobiography, socio-political urgency, and a ferocious commitment to form, their work demands that the body carry what language alone cannot.
BLKDOG, FFTN's landmark production, became the first Hip Hop show ever to win the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, and the company now tours nationally and internationally to sold-out audiences.
The Thinking Body:
Intention and Physicality
14TH - 18TH SEPTEMBER LONDON
5 days, 10am - 5pm
£280 (subsidised from £600)
INFUSE your practice joining Far From The Norm for a week-long deep dive into physicality, instinct and choreographic intention: exploring how the body makes decisions, what shapes those decisions, and how tuning into sensation and responding to external stimuli can expand your movement vocabulary and transform your practice.
Drawing on Creative Associate Jordan Douglas's decades of practice across Hip Hop dance theatre, street dance and physical performance, participants will embark on an uplifting and collaborative week exploring how impulse becomes action, how internal awareness and external provocation shape the way we move, and how to develop greater intention and adaptability in the room.
INFUSE will add new resources to your toolbox, enhancing your practice and so you will be encouraged to interrogate, share, adapt as well as absorb and transform the work.
Across the residency you can expect to be nurtured, uplifted and challenged in your own making, creative practice and ultimately energised in your artistic decision making.
INFUSE ARTIST
Far From The Norm
Founded in May 2009 in a youth club in Dagenham by a 19-year-old Botis Seva, Far From The Norm is now a cornerstone of Hip Hop dance theatre in the UK and one of the most original and uncompromising companies touring internationally today.
In 2019, Seva became the first Hip Hop dance theatre artist ever to win the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, and since then, has been awarded the CHANEL Next Prize and the Carmen Mateux Best Choreographer Award, with commissions from NDT and Acosta Danza. FFTN latest production Until We Sleep is co-produced by Sadler's Wells, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, The Joyce Theater New York and The Lowry, touring to sold-out audiences across the UK, Europe and beyond. Renowned for experimenting with Hip Hop and contemporary practice, Far From The Norm was, and remains, a collective of creatives thinking about creativity and moving in a different way to what was considered the norm.
INFUSE ARTIST
Jordan Douglas
FFTN - Creative Associate
Jordan Douglas is a leading dance artist and Creative Associate of Far From The Norm. He has has worked closely with Botis Seva across major works, including the Olivier Award-winning BLKDOG and the latest production Until We Sleep, as well as on international commissions with companies such as National Youth Dance Company, VERVE, Accosta Danza and NDT2 and Göteborgoperan Danskompani.
Rooted in a plethora of street, underground and club styles including Krump, Litefeet, House and Locking, Jordan’s practice reflects a raw, expressive physicality. Jordan has built his reputation as much through creating and performing as teaching and outreach, his approach to sharing the FFTN methodology with young and emerging artists has been central to the company's education work at institutions and communities across the UK.
In 2021 he founded Outlyerz, his own London-based dance crew, and continues to develop an independent choreographic voice alongside his role as one of FFTN's most trusted creative collaborators.
“Botis is a hugely talented choreographer, it’s why we appointed him as an Associate Artist last year, and it’s been great to see his work evolve over the years from his early presentations as part of Breakin’ Convention to the extraordinary BLKDOG that filled our stage in Angel.
Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells
“This staggering look into youth and trauma is an ice-bath for the senses.”
A Youngish Perspective
"A bit like the heroic journeys you see in films. Until we sleep is a reflection on leadership, the ways in which you can fulfill it, and finding the balance between leading a community and also granting it its own responsibility."
NRC, The Netherlands
"impeccably choreographed... the show, from the very first beat, is immense"
Reviews Hub, UK
“the most influential artist in contemporary dance today, is a phenomenal artist of unlimited emotional intelligence, innovative, de"manding and exhausting physicality,”
The National Herald, Greece
"To say that the dancers are terrific barely does them justice”
Seeing Dance, UK
"It’s a charged and intense hour, freighted with myth and mysticism"
The Stage, UK
"The artistry – creative, stimulating, thrilling – readily transcends cultural boundaries.”
The Blurb, UK
“A new dance language was being forged in front of my eyes […] It’s easy to see why BLKDOG won an Olivier on its London debut, and after seeing this deeply compelling, powerful work”
Dance Austrailia
Dates
14TH - 18TH SEPTEMBER
10am - 5pm
Chisenhale Dance Space
London
E3 5QZ
Price
Standard Price for a week residency £600+
INFUSE Residency - £280
APPLICATIONS OPEN
Applications take around 10 minutes
Places are offered on a rolling basis
The residency will be a unique opportunity to receive nurturing and development at an accessible price. Led by Jordan Douglas, the workshop explores the range of physical responses that manifest in the body, unpacking decision-making processes; interrogating how actions impact the body, space, and those around us.
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INFUSE is specifically targeted at established and working artists who wish to develop their practice and is heavily subsidised to make it an accessible and affordable training opportunity.
Anyone working within the creative industries with a passion for movement and performance practices is welcome to apply, priority will be given to those who demonstrate why this is would be useful for them.
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Applications will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis and we expect the workshop to sell out quickly.
Key dates
Friday 17 July — Waitlist email sent
Monday 20 July — Applications open
Friday 31 July — Round 1 places offered
Friday 14 August — Round 2 places offered
Friday 4 September — Returns and waiting list places offered
14–18 September — INFUSE residency week
INFUSE is heavily subsidised to make it an accessible opportunity for those working in the arts.
Applications are via a simple online form, with the option to upload a short video or voice recording as part of your submission.
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Successful applicants will be informed within 14 days of their application and can confirm their place by paying the full amount.
Confirmation of your place will be acknowledged upon receipt of the full amount. You can reserve your place by paying a deposit of £120 and set up a payment plan for the remainder which must be paid 14 days prior to the residency.
If this is still a barrier please get in touch.
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Babel means ‘the sound of many things’ through collaborative, radically inclusive spaces, we amplify underrepresented voices, providing creatives a platform to share their stories with the world.
We strongly encourage applications from Black, global majority, working-class, neurodivergent and LGBTQI+ participants and we will be responsive to any information on what you need to be present in the space.
We have reserved 50% places for Black and Brown participants
Unfortunately Chisenhale Dance Space is not accessible via a lift, so if this is a necessity for you please get in touch with us.
If you have any questions or would like a chat about your application you can reach out to Joseph on hello@babeltheatre.co.uk