Phoenix Dance Theatre

KWESI JOHNSON  |  CHOREOGRAPHER

SoundClash was choreographed by Kwesi Johnson and the cast.

Kwesi Johnson is the founder and Artistic Director of Kompany Malakhi which he established in 1994 out of a desire to synthesise the vocabulary of vernacular/social dance styles with the creativity of contemporary dance and emotionally driven physical theatre. The main force behind his work is how emotion drives and shades movement and how the movement vocabulary is used to convey the emotional journey. His work mainly draws on Breakin' vocabulary and contemporary dance to create a style that is unique, evocative and contemporary in the truest sense of the word.  He coined the phrase ‘Griographer’ to best describe his approach to making dance theatre. ‘Griot’ being an Afrikan story teller/social commentator who utilises many art forms, and a choreographer who creates movement.  For SoundClash Kwesi took a departure from working with narrative and chose to work with themes within a narrative, challenging himself to create using an alternative approach.

Consultation on cymatics by Michael Blow, with thanks to Nitro Theatre Company.

LUKE HARNEY  |  MUSIC

Luke Harney is a composer, producer, drummer and DJ. He has previously written music for four other professional dance pieces: The Last Day and White Caps by Wilkie Branson; Rotations by Kompany Malakhi and Spin by Harnisch-Lacy Dance Theatre. Working under the name Typesun, he completed his first solo LP Work Is Love Made Visible in 2010. A personal and moving journey completed over a five year period, it is scheduled for release later this year accompanied by a collection of remixes featuring some of the best loved names in the UK underground music scene.

Louis Walker-Penn, a talented producer in his own right (recording as Siesta), engineered and co-mixed the pieces featured in SoundClash. He also resides in Bristol & is increasingly in demand for his skills, musical sensitivity and attention to detail.

Noluthando Zwane contributed vital vocal performances to the music for SoundClash. As well as the renditions of the Six Healing Sounds from the Taoist tradition (which recur at key moments throughout the piece) and other significant vocal effects she can also be heard very professionally scraping a knife down a blackboard.

ED RAILTON  |  LIGHTING DESIGNER

Ed is much in demand as one of the leading creative lighting designers in the UK. Specialising in musical theatre and dance, his recent lighting credits include Source 2, Eng-er-land, Pave Up Paradise (Phoenix Dance Theatre); Find Me Amongst the Black (Darshan Singh Bhuller); Ballet Central 2012 (Central School of Ballet); Radio 1’s Big Weekends (BBC) and Beyond the Barricade (Beyond the Barricade Ltd.)

Ed is also director of Limelite Lighting who supply a wide range of production lighting and rigging equipment to the entertainment industry. Recent projects include Tinie Tempah, Tinchy Stryder, Jessie J and Chase n Status.

LORNA CLAYTON  |  COSTUME DESIGNER

Since graduating from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth in 2006, Lorna has toured nationally and internationally as a Wardrobe Mistress with a diverse range of productions. These include Eclipse Theatre’s The Hounding of David Oluwale and Birmingham Stage Company’s Horrible Histories and Kensuke’s Kingdom. Lorna has also worked at Northern Ballet Theatre, Opera North and with Raymond Gubbay Productions.

Whilst still working as a freelance costumier, Lorna has been working with Phoenix Dance Theatre since 2007 and in 2009 became the Costume Supervisor, designing and making for, amongst others, Isira Makuloluwe’s Locked in Vertical, Richard Wherlock’s Switch and most recently Kwesi Johnson’s SoundClash.