Percolator
by London Contemporary Dance School
About Percolator
Join us for Percolator, an evening to showcase and celebrate performances in progress by final year BA students at London Contemporary Dance School.
The idea of Percolator is to produce a new piece of work within a short rehearsal period - the students and artists have just three weeks together. The resulting work is striving to be spontaneous and fun. Quite literally, new ideas and new choreography brewing!
This year, the curated artists for the Percolator performance offer a diverse spectrum of dance practices. Through this show, audiences will experience the roots of Kathak, Hip-hop, and Theatre Jazz.
Expect an unconventional pairing of movement and music exploring ideas of the cosmic churning of the ocean, exchanges of energy for collective empowerment, social change and resilience, cultural pride, and the transformative power of dance. When the three works guide us between distinct artistic containers, they prompt an acknowledgement to the richness that these dance forms offer. Through celebrating the diversity within dance lineages, this event cultivates valuable insights into potential culturally conscious futures.
Untitled by Vicky "Skytilz" Mantey
The work will explore ideas around collective empowerment and the way in which a community connects, supports and uplifts each other.
ABOUT VICKY
Vicky is a dancer, choreographer and teacher specialising in Hip Hop and Street Dance forms. In a career spanning two decades as a freelance artist, she has worked on a range of projects across film, theatre and television. Examples include: choreography and movement direction for London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic Ceremony, Street Dance 3D and Trainspotting T2.
Vicky has previously worked as a performer, teacher and choreographer for the Olivier Award-winning dance company Boy Blue, working on productions such as Pied Piper and The Five and the Prophecy of Prana. She has also taught at LAMDA, University of East London and frequently teaches the youth company in ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company.
Churning Vortex by Urja Desai Thakore
Churning Vortex is a powerful exploration of resilience and renewal, inviting audiences to reflect on the beauty of growth through turbulence.
ABOUT URJA
Urja Desai Thakore is a distinguished and award-winning choreographer, celebrated for her innovative approach to storytelling through dance and her ability to blend traditional techniques with contemporary artistry. Her choreography is lauded for its intricate precision, emotive depth, and cultural authenticity, earning her numerous accolades, including the 2023 Eastern Eye Award for her extraordinary work in Kattam Katti. Her performances captivate audiences with their seamless fusion of technical excellence and evocative expression, leaving a lasting impression on the dance community worldwide.
In addition to her artistic brilliance, Urja’s leadership has been widely recognized. She was selected by DanceEast as one of the 12 next-generation leaders in the arts and was invited to participate in the prestigious Rural Retreat for emerging arts leaders. Her multifaceted contributions to the world of dance continue to inspire and shape the future of this dynamic art form.
The Harlem Stomp by Jreena Green
Bringing the culture and history of Harlem alive on stage, this piece celebrates the transformative power of art and dance as it navigates the social, cultural and political impact of the Harlem Renaissance (1918-1937) giving way to the birth of jazz.
ABOUT JREENA
Jreena Green is an award-winning choreographer, dancer, dance teacher, and 'practical dance historian.' She trained at The London Contemporary Dance School, completing a three-year professional dance program, and earned a degree in Dance Studies from Middlesex University. Jreena has performed at the Lincoln Centre in New York alongside legendary dancers Norma Miller and Frankie Manning. She was also a leading dancer with the Jiving Lindy Hoppers Dance Company and currently directs her own company, Jazz Dance Elite, which tours nationally with the show Swinging At The Cotton Club. She appeared in Len Goodman’s BBC documentary series Cheek To Cheek, where she demonstrated historical African American dance forms. As a choreographer, her recent credits include major commercials for Guinness, M&S, Balmain, YouTube, Google, KFC, Mr. Muscle, Grand Marnier, and Levi's. She has also choreographed for the feature film The Phantom of the Open (Working Title Films) and the ITV series Three Little Birds. As a dancer and lead actress, Jreena has starred in Falling for Green Candle Dance Company, Mrs. Wobble for Theatre Peckham, The Josephine Baker Show, and The Joe Harriot Show (the last two of which she also wrote and produced). She recently appeared in Netflix’s Tyler Perry film Six Triple Eight.
Jreena served as a dance captain for the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony and has a strong background choreographing feature films and music videos. She has toured internationally with established musical acts, performed in West End musicals, and was part of the original cast of the Tony Award-winning production of The Lion King. Jreena is a respected dance educator and has taught jazz dance at numerous institutions, including Central School of Ballet, London Contemporary Dance School, The Laban Centre, Theatre Peckham, Guildford School of Acting, The Musical Theatre Academy, and Mountview College. As part of her teaching practice, she developed a module titled Charleston to Hip Hop, which explores the connections between current urban dance styles and African American dance forms of the 1920s.Her students have won multiple dance awards, including the Southwark Dance Challenge. Additionally, Jreena co-authored a chapter in the book From The Streets To The Stage: Lindy Hop and Charleston, The Original Street Dance Forms, which examines the links between Lindy Hop and contemporary urban street dance. This chapter was published in Blurring Boundaries: Urban Street Meets Contemporary Dance (Serendipity Artists Movement Ltd, 2016). Her article Becoming Us, finding solidarity across difference was published in ‘On Solidarity’ issue of the Performance Research Journal Routledge (2022).