VERVE 2024 Premiere at the Riley Theatre
Leeds-based dance company VERVE is set to present a breathtaking triple bill of works this season, exploring new creative territories and approaches. The company will look to inspire, provoke and captivate audiences with each performance as it embarks on an 18-date international tour, starting with a world premiere at the Riley Theatre in Leeds on 1st and 2nd March 2024.
Each year, VERVE commissions choreographers from all over the world to create an artistically distinct, physically daring, and boundary-pushing programme of dance work. For 2024, VERVE is collaborating with Joy Alpuerto Ritter and French collective (LA)HORDE, in addition to staging new work from resident Artistic Director Matteo Marfoglia. These three contemporary dance works showcase the breadth and variety of the genre, offering audiences a range of experiences that evoke and challenge.
VERVE Artistic Director Matteo Marfoglia's debut creation for the company 'A Field of Beauty' is a visually stunning and virtuosic work celebrating individuality, uniqueness and freedom of expression.
Los Angeles-born, Berlin-based choreographer Joy Alpuerto Ritter has crafted a character-driven work exploring the intricate dynamics of family relationships, questioning what lies beneath the surface of a family portrait.
Rounding off the triple bill, acclaimed French collective (LA)HORDE present a restaging of People used to die – originally created for the Montreal School of Contemporary Dance in 2014. Taking inspiration from the European movement ‘Jumpstyle’, the work is an explosive and unrelenting test of physical endurance for the dancers.
VERVE is the internationally touring postgraduate company of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and comprises eighteen talented dancers trained at some of the world’s leading conservatoires, each on the cusp of their professional careers.
Artistic Director Matteo Marfoglia commented: ““We are thrilled to embark on this international tour with our acclaimed creative set of artists; it fills us all with a great sense of anticipation and excitement. This year’s triple bill is testament to our dedication to pushing artistic boundaries and exploring new territories. As we prepare to share our work on tour with our audiences, we carry with us this spirit of creativity, innovation and collaboration.”