Podcast 16: “The Elements” by Flamenco Sin Fronteras

Duration: 23 min

Dr Stephanie Burridge is joined in the studio by choreographer and dancer Bernice Lee to discuss Flamenco Sin FronterasThe Elements, an original flamenco dance production that blends the traditional Andalusian form with the ancient Chinese philosophy of the five elements. This experimental fusion is characteristic of the company’s “without borders” practice, always “expanding the parameters of what you’d expected from a flamenco show.” A guzheng playing flamenco music, for example?

They discuss the apparent convergence of East and West, inclusivity in the choice of performers, what flamenco is, and much more packed into 23 minutes of insightful dance talkback.

Download Podcast 16 here. (right-click and select ‘Save Link As’ on Windows; control+click and select ‘Save Link As’ on Apple)

 

Production Photos (courtesy of Flamenco Sin Fronteras)

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The Elements by Flamenco Sin Fronteras was staged at Goodman Arts Centre Black Box from 12 to 14 May 2017.

Podcast Guest Bernice Lee is a Singaporean dance artist who enjoys risk-taking, collaborative process dealing with performative states and dance as embodied culture. Since 2014, Bernice forms part of Maya Dance Theatre’s (MDT) main creative team led by artistic director Kavitha Krishnan, with a focus on developing distinctive dance theatre.

Bernice formulated a role for “Retrospective” by Xavier Le Roy (France), and collaborated with Eng Kai Er on “Indulgence”, both presented by 72-13 Theatreworks (2014-2015). She worked and toured with Frontier Danceland in 2011 for Byron Perry’s (Australia) “One Show Only” before joining as company artist from 2012-2014, where she also choreographed works including “Security” and “Living National Creatures”. She collaborates and performs in work by Strangeweather Movement Group/Faye Lim, most recently at FOST Gallery and the ArtScience Museum. From 2014-2016, Bernice created a trilogy of works considering selfhood, presented separately by MDT, Dance Nucleus and Paragraph in Singapore and the US. Bernice initiated in 2013 “Laisse Moi Etre” with Olivier Tarpaga (USA/Burkina Faso) where she traveled to Ouagadougou’s Choreographic Development Centre la Termitière, supported by NAC and Singapore International Foundation.

Supported by NAC Overseas Bursary and the International Buckeye Scholarship, Bernice graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from The Ohio State University in 2010.

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