A 2010 Commission by choreographer Rosie Kay, co-commissioned by International Dance Festival Birmingham and Warwick Arts Centre and supported by DanceXchange.  Rosie Kay is Associate Artist of DanceXchange.

5 SOLDIERS is a timely, controversial, thought provoking and moving exploration of war in modern times. A dance theatre work with four male and one female dancers, it looks at how the human body is essential to, and used in, warfare. 5 SOLDIERS explores the physical training that prepares you for war, as well as the possible effects on the body, and the injury caused by warfare.

Featuring Kay’s trademark intense physicality and athleticism, 5 SOLDIERS weaves a story of physical transformation, helping us understand how soldiers are made and how war affects them.

5 SOLDIERS is a timely, controversial, thought provoking and moving exploration of war in modern times. A dance theatre work with four male and one female dancers, it looks at how the human body is essential to, and used in, warfare. 5 SOLDIERS explores the physical training that prepares you for war, as well as the possible effects on the body, and the injury caused by warfare.

Featuring Kay’s trademark intense physicality and athleticism, 5 SOLDIERS weaves a story of physical transformation, helping us understand how soldiers are made and how war affects them.

Rosie Kay on BBC Radio 4′s Today Programme, 23rd April 2010

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8639000/8639412.stm

Short Film

5 Soldiers – Final Edited Piece from Mr Nat Higginbottom on Vimeo.

5 Soldiers – Multi-Sequence Edit from Mr Nat Higginbottom on Vimeo.

Recent Press Quotes

“This astonishing work that takes no stand on war except to present it as it is now for the soldier. Rosie Kay’s dancers get right inside the skins, the minds, the very souls of the five as they progress from the rigours of training to the breath-holding intensity of the frontline. It’s highly charged and it screams authenticity… Warfare here isn’t about weapons and armour, but about the physicality and dexterity of the human body, the punishment it can give and the abuse it can take… The final scene leaves you shocked and sobered, with a new humility and a fresh understanding of what gallantry really means. Awesome.”  THE STAGE

“Rosie Kay’s new work is an honourable attempt to understand the effects of war on the bodies of soldiers. Kay so wants us to identify with what her five-strong cast is experiencing that she rubs our faces in it…  As the lone female Tilly Webber strips off her combat gear and, after powdering bare limbs, oozes over the stage oblivious to the wolfish men assisting her… The most revealing scene is a muscular yet tender duet that underscores the ambiguous bonding that can occur in the theatre of war.” THE TIMES

5 SOLDIERS is a unique collaboration between award winning choreographer Rosie Kay, visual artist David Cotterrell and theatre director Walter Meierjohann. It follows an intense period of research, where Rosie learnt battle training with The 4th Battalion The Rifles and David spent time in Helmand Province with the Joint Forces Medical Group. The piece has an original sound score by Annie Mahtani and dramaturgy by Petra Tauscher.

“We are surrounded by the images of Britain at war; the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan. Can we see beyond the stereotypical soldier and try to understand their lives? How can you possibly put yourself and your body at such risk as part of your job?

I wanted to look at how the physicality of a soldier’s job defines them –like a dancer, the soldier is drilled, trained, their responses becoming automatic, but can anything prepare you for the realities of war? It is young soldiers and their bodies that are the ultimate weapon in war – their strength and weaknesses may win or lose a battle, their ability to harm or injure others is key to victory. While war is surrounded with weaponry, uniforms, history and ceremony, the real business is human, dirty, messy, painful and happening right now.” Rosie Kay

“I rate Rosie Kay as one of the brightest and most enterprising young choreographers currently at work in the UK. Her choreography is definitely rooted in the body, but it also conveys a sharp, sound sense of the theatrical along with a conceptual savvy.” Donald Hutera, freelance writer for The Times

BBC News 29th January 2010

The dancers are Tilly Webber, Tomasz Moskal, Chris Vann, Michael Spenceley and Chris Linda. The research and development phase beings at Warwick Arts Centre in December 2009 and the work will move to DanceXchange Studios in January. 5 SOLDIERS will be presented as a ‘work in progress’ at British Dance Edition, and then premiere at the 2nd International Dance Festival Birmingham on the 23rd and 24th April before touring nationally.

“Rosie Kay’s new work pulls no punches. While there is laughter there is also incredible pain and realisation that more than simply innocence can be left on the battlefield… Kay’s choreography is strong in physicality with much of the dance replicating the fighting itself, blurring the edges of identity.” BIRMINGHAM POST

“The contemporary dance world has had little to say so far on the subject of war, which makes Rosie Kay’s stark and brilliantly uncompromising 5 Soldiers, The Body is the Front Line all the more remarkable… In 5 Soldiers, Kay poignantly explores the physical and emotional effects of warfare, inviting us to consider not only the concept and tragedy of war, but the individuals involved… For all the bleakness and violence associated with war, Kay is careful not to make this the sole focal point. We are also offered glimpses into the laborious periods of boredom between action, alongside the humour and camaraderie that provide comfort in such a surreal environment… It is difficult not to be utterly draw-in by the palpable intensity the dancers so aptly embody, particularly in the final scene… Perhaps what is most commendable about Kay’s work is that it has successfully brought together the polarised worlds of the military and dance, striving to remind us that ultimately, war is about the people involved, not the politics.” Fiona Campbell London Dance.com

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TOUR DATES

5 SOLDIERS- The Body Is The Frontline

UK + INTERNATIONAL TOUR 2011

12 March / NEWCASTLE / Dance City, Temple Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4BR / 0191 261 0505 / www.dancecity.co.uk

23 March/ CARDIFF / Wales Millennium Centre, Weston Studio, Bute Place, Cardiff Bay, CF10 5AL / 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk

1 April / WOLVERHAMPTON/ Arena Theatre, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1SE  / 01902 321321 / www.arena.wlv.ac.uk

7 / 8 / 9 April / 21 / 22 / 23 April  / BERLIN / Kunsthaus Tacheles, Oranienburger Straße 54-56A, 10117 Berlin, Germany/  004930-2826185 / www.tacheles.de

18 April PADERBORN 5 Rifles, Germany

28 April / NEWBURY /Corn Exchange, Market Place, Newbury, RG14 5BD / 01635 522733 / www.cornexchangenew.com

14 May / LONDON/ Robin Howard Dance Theatre, The Place, 17 Dukes Road, London, WC1H 9PY / 020 7121 1100 / www.theplace.org.uk

26 May / HERTFORD / Hertford Theatre, C/0 Walfields, Pegs Lane, Herford, SG13 8EQ / 01992 584 322 / www.hertford.gov.uk

31 May / BIRMINGHAM/ Town Hall / www.thsh.org.uk

20/21 November MADRID EN DANZA FESTIVAL, MADRID, Spain

PREVIOUS TOUR DATES 2010

April 23 BIRMINGHAM The Patrick Centre International Dance Festival Birmingham

0844 338 5000 www.idfb.co.uk

April 24 BIRMINGHAM The Patrick Centre International Dance Festival Birmingham

0844 338 5000 www.idfb.co.uk

April 27 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre 024 76524524 www.warwickartscentre.co.uk

April 28 COVENTRY Warwick Arts Centre 024 76524524 www.warwickartscentre.co.uk

May 1 LINCOLN Lincoln Arts Centre 0844 8884414 www.lpac.co.uk

May 5 PORTSMOUTH New Theatre Royal 023 9264 9000 www.newtheatreroyal.com

May 13 SALISBURY Salisbury Arts Centre 01722 343 020 www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk

May 14 DARTINGTON Dartington Hall 01803 847 070 www.dartington.org

May 19 HULL Hull Truck Theatre 01482 323638 www.hulltruck.co.uk

May 20 LONDON The Rifles Club, 52-56 Davies Street, Mayfair, www.rosiekay.co.uk/rifles-club-performance/

May 21 LONDON The Rifles Club, 52-56 Davies Street, Mayfair, www.rosiekay.co.uk/rifles-club-performance/

May 26 SOUTH SHIELDS The Customs House 0191 454 1234 www.customshouse.co.uk

May 27 BARNSLEY The Civic 0845 180 0363 www.barnsleycivic.co.uk

June 1 NOTTINGHAM Lakeside Arts Centre 0115 951 4764 www.lakesidearts.org.uk

June 3 JERSEY Jersey Arts Centre 01534 700444 www.thisisjersey.co.uk

June 11 TAUNTON The Brewhouse Theatre 01823 274 608 www.thebrewhouse.net

Please contact Hannah Sharpe, Company Manager: hannah@twoscompanydance.co.uk for more details and promoters pack

Co-commissioned by International Dance Festival Birmingham and Warwick Arts Centre and supported by DanceXchange.  Rosie Kay is Associate Artist of DanceXchange.

Previous touring venues with other productions include;

The Patrick Centre Birmingham Hippodrome, Civic Hall Stratford-Upon-Avon, Oakengate Theatre Telford, The Castle Wellingborough, Arena Theatre Wolverhampton, Warwick Arts Centre, Derby Dance, New Theatre Royal Portsmouth, Rotherham Arts Centre, Old Museum Arts Centre Belfast Festival, Arc Theatre Trowbridge, Brewery Arts Centre Kendal, Brewhouse Theatre Taunton, The Met Abertillery, The Customs House South Shields, The Lemon Tree Aberdeen, Jersey Arts Centre, Lichfield Garrick Lichfield Festival, Laban London, The Place London, The Purcell Rooms South Bank Centre London, Dance Umbrella London, Dance Base Edinburgh Festival, Sardinia International Solo Dance Festival, Theatre Bellevue Amsterdam, International Solo Dance Festival Stuttgart and Maski Festival Poland.