Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/540322
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JULY 2015 This Week 41 Bringing dancers together: Living Dance 2015 LIVING Dance was set up in 2008 and organises dance courses for students from all dance schools. Living Dance aims to bring together dancers from different schools and backgrounds to collaborate and work together and share their expe- riences for a week, united by their common passion – dance. Living Dance is back for the 8th year run- ning and having even more to offer all dancers, both those planning to attend the course for the first time and also those who have already at- tended one or more Living Dance Summer Schools. Living Dance 2015 will once again be held in Gozo in the idyllic set- ting of Tal-Fanal in Ghasri, between September 8 and 13. After five years at Ta' Sbejha, we have decided to move to larger premises to be able to accommodate more students and also offer better facilities. The course is being offered to both Residential and non-Residential students from the age of 10 – adult. There will also be a Junior Course, September 11- 13, for those dancers aged 7-9 who want to know more what life as a dancer is all about. Students are taught by an expert team of local and foreign teach- ers who help them find their pas- sion for dance and be creative and healthy in a safe and nurturing envi- ronment. A very diverse faculty has been chosen for Living Dance 2015. Emma Loftus and Douglas Comley will be joining us from the resident faculty and will be teaming up with Deborah Annable, Jay Asolo and Sa- rah Vella. Having started dancing at a very early age, Deborah Annable com- menced her professional training aged 11 at the Royal Ballet School, London. After completing five years at White Lodge and two years at Upper School, she graduated aged 18. Professionally Deborah has per- formed with: The Royal Ballet (Lon- don), Birmingham Royal Ballet (Bir- mingham), Phantom of the Opera (Hamburg &Asia Tour), Matthew Bourne – New Adventure's (World Tour), European Ballet (UK Tour), Ballet Ireland (UK & Ireland Tour), Ballet Imaginaire (UK Tour), Stars in Concert (Berlin, Essen, Prague, Athens), Will Tucket's- Pinocchio (Royal OperaHouse) , Dance Cap- tain for Scottish Opera Manon (UK Tour). Deborah brings seven years of teaching experience in Ballet, Jazz/ Modern, Pointe Work, Pas de deux, Private lessons and has also been as- sistant choreographer for The Mc- Mahon School of Dance. Deborah is also a qualified Zumba Instructor and most recently has become the Owner/Principal of Pirouette Dance Academy in Yorkshire, UK. Jay Asolo is a successful choreogra- pher, dancer and teacher. Originally from Nigeria, Jay developed his pas- sion for dancing at the age of five, after he witnessed a New Jack Swing performance on the streets. He then moved to teach in Ireland where he currently specialises in Raw Hip Hop, New Jack Swing, Krump, Lockin' and African Afro Bounce. With over 11 years of teaching ex- perience, Jay has developed dance crews to compete at international standards, his most recent achieve- ment being the 16th World Hip Hop Championships in Las Vegas 2014 – hosted by the production of America's Best Dance Crew. The secret to Jay's teaching success stems from his passion for mentor- ing students and his abundant crea- tive energy. Jay is a well established choreographer. He provided pri- vate lessons to Ronan Keating and Mikey Graham from Boyzone for their tour preparation. He has also provided choreography for the Ryan Tubridy TV show and the Olympics 2012 Coca Cola Move to the Beats headphone promotion campaign by Mark Ron. Sarah Vella is a Maltese dance art- ist and speech therapist, currently living in Berlin. After graduating with a Bsc. (Hons.) in Speech Ther- apy, she moved to London to study at 'Laban Conservatoire of Dance'. As a choreographer, she has won awards in Malta and Italy. Over the years Sarah has also done commu- nity work through choreographing and teaching dance in rehabilita- tion centers and youth groups and with 'TeatruZazz'. Vella performed with 'Red Tape Dance Company' in Malta and since moving to Berlin, she has worked on various dance and film projects including, few with JSLN productions, Matteo Graziano in the Opera "William Tell" and 'Gauge Dance Theater'. In 2013, her choreography 'Iz-Zifnatal- poeta' was performed in Malta for the Notte Bianca Festival and was premiered in Berlin as part of the 'Nah Dran series' in July 2014. This project was funded by the Malta Arts Fund. This performance was later accepted to be performed as part of the '100Grad Berlin Festival' in March 2015. In December 2014, Sarah was chosen to take part in a month-long dance residency pro- gram (Play Practice Apprenticeship Program) in India. Vella is currently studying 'Dance and Movement Therapy' and con- tinues to work as a freelance dance artist and speech therapist in Ber- lin. Living Dance Residential Dance Course aims to help dancers strengthen and improve their tech- nique, as well as giving them a taste of life as a full time dance student. It promises to offer a jam-packed week in which dancers take part in daily classes in the various disci- plines, leading to a performance for parents at the end of the course. A scholarship for a Dance Course abroad will be awarded to the most promising Dancer. Julia Agius was given the Sharon Sapienza award during Living Dance 2014 and will be attending a Summer Course at the Royal Academy of Dance. Dur- ing Living Dance 2014, three local scholarships were given as Living Dance strives to give opportunities to more dancers. Giannella Cas- sar, Clarissa Friggieri and Hannah Agius were awarded Scholarships to Living Dance 2015. Other stu- dents awarded international schol- arships were Yasmin Schembri, Leanne Muscat Drago and Martina Casolani. This year Living Dance has teamed up with the International Ballet Gala to offer Maltese students the oppor- tunity to perform with the Ballet stars from the Bolshoi Theatre, Mar- jinsky, Stanislavsky & Mikhailovsky Theatres and the Hungarian Na- tional Ballet. The choreography 'Tarantella' was awarded 3rd place in its category during MIDCE com- petition and as well as a scholarship for the dancers to compete with the same choreography in Sicily. The Living Dance team are a group of teachers from different backgrounds who have joined forces to bring unity among dancers and offer different opportunities to our up and coming generation of per- forming artists. More information regarding fac- ulty and classes planned for Living Dance Summer Residential 2015 will be available shortly. For further information please contact Chris- tiane Borg Manché on 99424475 or e-mail info@livingdancemalta.com. Applications are now open Research Fellowship Placement Opportunity within the European Space Agency (ESA) The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) has launched a Call for a Research Fellowship Placement Opportunity within the European Space Agency (ESA) in the below areas: 1. Space science (in particular astronomy and astrophysics, solar system exploration and solar- terrestrial physics); 2. Earth observation research and application (in particular ESA Satellite tracking to provide the meteorological basis and the reference system and frames, environmental monitoring, meteorology, aeronomy and geoinformatics and disaster management); 3. Telecommunications (in particular service demonstrations as well as satellite navigation); 4. Microgravity research, (in particular space biology and medicine, and materials processing); 5. Technology development (in particular software and hardware); and 6. Ground segment engineering and utilisation. All applications should be received by 3rd August 2015 at Noon CET. Additional information is available on the Council's website under the 'news' section, by telephone on 23602172 or by email at laurasue.armeni@gov.mt The Malta Council For Science And Technology, Villa Bighi, Kalkara KKR 1320, Malta www.mcst.gov.mt