Random Dance
In 2002 Random Dance was invited to become Resident Company at Sadler’s Wells.
The theatre had recently been rebuilt as the UK’s leading dance house and the
invitation acknowledged Random’s own status as one of Britain’s most important
modern dance companies. In the last 14 years Random has become celebrated not
only for its dancers and repertory but for its pioneering use of science, new
media and technology on stage, and for its extraordinary record in accessing new
audiences.
The company was founded by Wayne McGregor in 1992 and became
the instrument upon which he evolved his drastically fast and articulate choreographic style. It was during McGregor’s
major trilogy The Millennarium (1997), Sulphur 16 (1998) and Aeon (2000) that
the company became a byword for its radical approach to new technology –
incorporating animation, digital film, 3D architecture, electronic sound and
virtual dancers into the live choreography. Collaborations with leading multi
disciplinary artists enriched Random’s futurist aesthetic and dramatically
enlarged the possibilities of dance. Yet another development in the 2002 piece
Nemesis was the mix of film and animatronics to explore the relationship between
body, screen and machine.
Technology has also been crucial in Random’s project to deliver dance to the public in new ways. Among the company’s ground breaking projects have been web casting live performances, and exploring broadband (ATM) bi-directional performance where two companies perform simultaneously in different parts of the world. The results are experienced by both live and on-line audiences. It has also incorporated technology into its outreach work, which is high on the creative agenda. The company’s educational team System R engages hundreds of young people each year in school and community projects that focus on the creation of new work. They also maintain the company’s distinctive focus on new technology. At the end of a recent residency with National Youth Dance Wales (titled Game of Halves) two performances were danced by separate casts in North and South Wales and linked into a single event by video conferencing technology. A NESTA award has also allowed Random to develop a programme by which dance can be taught in schools via the internet, a dedicated website and live web cast rehearsals. Recent projects also include the residency and performance scheme BodyScript at Sadler’s Wells and a close involvement with the London Dance Challenge project, funded directly by DfES, which aims to get 2500 London school children engaged with dance during over a period of three years.
McGregor creates works for children on his own dancers too, notably digit01 and Alpha, a mix of live and virtual dance that was developed in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature. Both have been extremely popular, touring Europe and the UK but Random’s adult audience has also grown exponentially. Regularly supported by the British Council, Random tour frequently to some of the most prestigious world theatres, Het Musiektheater, Amsterdam; Lyon Opera; Tel Aviv Opera; Lincoln Center, New York and Dansens Hus, Stockholm. The company’s European tours have ranged from Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium and Holland to Poland, Hungary, Cyprus and Turkey. Random has also performed in Russia, Israel, Japan, China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Colombia, North America and Australia. In 2002 it became the first British dance company ever to tour central Asia and the Caucuses. The company has also made several television appearances including Nemesis (BBC4 2002) and Dice Life (Channel 4, 2004).
In 2003 McGregor was appointed Research Fellow of the Department of Neuroscience at Cambridge University. AtaXia (2004), arose from the six months he worked with the department exploring the interface between mind and body. Amu (2005), a collaboration between McGregor, Sir John Tavener, Dr Philip Kilner and Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan made possible by a commission from the Wellcome Trust, continued the company’s association with art and science collaborations.
In April 2006 DanceEast announced Random as it’s first Associate Company, over the three years leading up to the launch of their new Dancehouse in 2009. Random has worked with DanceEast on a number of collaborative projects over the past 10 years and is looking forward to expanding and developing existing projects and embracing the opportunities that this new fusion will bring.