The Big Dance 2010
Once Don Simpson - then Paramount's star producer - had managed to commandeer the project, he fired Hedley and hired a new screenwriter, Joe Eszterhas, who was dispatched to Vancouver to research the story. On his return Eszterhas was downbeat: "The terrible news is there are no flashdance bars. They don't exist," he told Simpson. "The good news is we can just make it up."
- High Concept: Don Simpson And The Hollywood Culture Of Excess by Charles Fleming
We normally hate Eurovision with a passion. The UK’s repeated, self-inflicted humiliations in the contest make England’s performance against Algeria look dignified. Then of course, there are the songs. And pretty much everything else. But this year featured not only a German Kate Nash and a Norwegian Jamie Theakston but also one of the best things ever made: A mass dance that starts with a bouncer comically bundling people out of the way of the camera and grows in to a rousing affirmation of the European ideal that would give even the average Telegraph reader goosepimples.
The Laban dance centre aims to do something similar with the people of Lewisham as part of a project called Big Dance 2010. Here’s what they say:
Join in the Big Dance for Lewisham by learning a routine specially choreographed to get the whole borough dancing, at home, at work and at school.
Laban’s Big Dance team will be in Lewisham Town Centre to teach the routine between 11.30am and 3pm on Saturday 26 June. They’ll be joined by Bass Station and DJs from the British DJ and MC Academy. For those people who can’t make that date, there’s a chance to learn the routine from a video on Laban’s website at www.laban.org Over the next few weeks the Big Dance Team from Laban dance centre will also be out and about in the borough helping people learn the fun and simple dance routine. The dance can be learnt by people of all ages and abilities, from toddlers to older people.
The final Big Dance performance will take place at Lewisham People’s Day on Saturday 10 July in Mountsfield Park (www.lewisham.gov.uk/peoplesday). For those who haven’t yet had a chance to learn the routine or for those who want to perfect their dance moves, workshops will run during the day from noon. At 4pm, everyone will be invited to the Main Stage to perform the dance to a live performance of the 1980s hit Walking on Sunshine by Katrina, formerly of Katrina and the Waves. Laban is offering free Big Dance workshops to workplaces around the borough.
If you would like Laban to visit your workplace, please contact Louise Jardine at l.jardine@laban.org or 020 8691 8600.
The project is part of T-Mobile Big Dance 2010, the London-wide celebration of dance taking place from 3-11 July. The bi-annual event is the world’s biggest and most influential dance initiative, showcasing the diversity of dance styles and cultural attractions in the capital. Across nine days, dance will be staged in unusual places throughout the city - shops, parks, galleries and museums.
Led by the Mayor of London in partnership with Arts Council England, Big Dance is also being funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. T-Mobile Big Dance in the South East is being coordinated by Greenwich Dance, one of the city’s five Big Dance Hubs. Laban’s Big Dance for Lewisham has been commissioned by Greenwich Dance and is supported by Lewisham Council.
Project Manager Louise Jardine says: “More and more people are getting enthusiastic about dance, thanks in part to the number of TV programmes that have brought it to new audiences. That’s why Big Dance for Lewisham is so exciting – it really is for everyone and it doesn’t matter if you’ve never danced before. We’ve already started getting out and about teaching the routine to people and we’re excited to see how many people will turn up for the final performance. Watch this space!”
For more information, see www.laban.org and www.bigdance2010.com
