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Luminous Music
Dance and Drumming
MUSIC PLAYING: mix-dance drumming 2008
Contemporary Dance Music
What is the Luminous Music connection to contemporary dance?
Here in Glasgow we have TWO of the top UK percussionists, both of whom
specialise in live music for dance. These drummers are simply astounding and
very much in demand. They currently work with a number of companies and
organisations such as Dance House, Y Dance, Scottish Dance Theatre, Dance Base,
Scottish Ballet and a range of independent dance teachers such as Rosina Bonsu,
Maxine Railton, Andy Howitt, Ruth Mills, Janis Claxton and others, providing
music for the unique world of dance.
Who are these drummers?
With long time experience in dance music, Jon Keliehor brings an amazing sense
of rhythm, timing, depth and dimension to the dance environment. He started
with London Contemporary Dance Theatre in 1971 and today his music has become
more and more diverse and creative, pushing dance and dancers to the limits.
His music is dynamic, personal and intuitive.
Signy Jakobsdottir, one of Glasgow's most sought after drumming talents, plays a
large range of instruments and works with many jazz, fusion and Scottish music
groups. With her deep understanding of dance and love of drumming she brings an
authority and sparkle to the dance class.
What are the benefits of bringing live music into the dance environment?
The experience of live music is as vital to the dancer as it is for the
musician. Live collaborations between music and dance provide dynamic
experiences that occur in Real-time where learning curves are at very high
levels, and artistic interactions are the most productive. For both the dancer
and musician, developing rhythmic control and accuracy are the precursors for
acquiring greater powers of expression, precision and artistic command. Many
important discoveries are made as the rhythms of dance and music intersect.
Luminous Music provide music for a wide range of dance activities that include:
. Contemporary dance at professional/college level
. Special-dance programmes in Secondary education
. Introductory dance programmes for young persons/adults
. Music support for adult dance classes working in 50+ programmes
. Music Composition for Performance
Comments from London dance percussionist Jhalib Millar (2008):
"He is great! In hand drumming, Keliehor must only bow his head to himself & the maker cos he is a master, make no mistake. I haven't heard a sound like his
in a long time. Other accompanists that I've heard on Djembe etc, are nothing
in comparison because there is no magic. As soon as I heard his music there was
magic & I knew this was someone gooooooood. Please do more, it's raw, it's vibrant,
it's sexy and it's the basis of life."
Music Composition in Dance
Composer Jon Keliehor has created music for contemporary dance and ballet since
1972, first working with London Contemporary Dance Theatre and then with a
great many choreographers and dance companies in London, Seattle and Caracas.
His unusual range of music is both spacious and dynamic, using percussion
instruments and their tone colours in both experimental and traditional ways.
His music for Robert Cohan’s CLASS, Darshan Bhuller’s BEYOND THE LAW, and Robert North’s TROY GAME are models of traditional world percussion instruments in
contemporary settings, exploring many combinations of instrumentation. His work
on the two cd’s EAST MEETS WEST and CELESTIAL NILE for DanzaHoy in Venezuela, revealed new
territories of sound shaping and complex textures within percussion.
His compositions are revealing and diverse, an open ended music that travels in
many directions. They are a collection of surprises, and somehow a bridge
between forgotten or lost musics’ and contemporary domains.
Further Links:
Classroom: Dance & Music
The use of high quality live music in the dance environment brings dancers and
musicians closer to one another, paving the way for a future of creative
exploration and development. Dance and music both complement and complete each
other in unique ways. Traditional dance, social dance, classical and high-art
dance forms are deeply connected to music. These intimate art-forms arise from
deep, creative well springs long honoured in most cultures.
The creative elements that exist across almost all art forms are highly
energised in the harmonic relationships between dance and music. At the root
level, dance and music are essentially rhythmic expressions. They are both
rhythmic designs in time and space, one in movement, the other in sound. These
essential building blocks lead pupils to open doors to many discoveries and
correlations between art, pattern, form, nature and self-awareness.
The interconnectedness of music and dance is of prime concern in the design and
implementation of our educational programmes. The seeds of our current
workshops can be traced back to an eight-year series of music programmes
developed at the London Contemporary Dance School at The Place. These initial
programmes have grown and expanded, Today they are enormously successful as
presentations of fundamental principles within world music and dance. The
Luminous workshops and teaching programmes aim to bring both dancers and
musicians into dialogue with one another, and to provide an understanding of
the shared creative elements within their two art forms.Workshops can be scaled
to different lengths: weekend, week, term, year or longer. Follow this link for a little more
information on the programmes originally designed for the London Contemporary
Dance School.
We are often told that drums and percussion not only create highly energising
music, but provide a unique learning atmosphere. To describe this further . . .
. . .
Drums and percussion provide music structures often consisting of repeating
patterns of rhythm. This constancy help pupils concentrate and work at deeper
levels. The melodic content is subtle and provides an atmosphere that allows
space for dancers to explore the links between the movements they make, their
own breath, and the music itself.
Contact Luminous Music: +44 (0)141 571 7206