Synopsis

Heart imaging specialist Dr Philip Kilner works with choreographer Wayne McGregor

AMU at Durham built on partnerships established in the very successful Dragonfly project - using a new full-length piece that Wayne McGregor choreographed in summer 2005 for his company Random Dance. The work was a collaboration between composer Sir John Tavener, heart imaging specialist Dr Philip Kilner and choreographer Wayne McGregor on the theme of the heart. Images and sounds of the living heart inform the work, in which the heart is a symbol of humanity and the divine, as well as an organ central to the life of each individual.

The workshop activity with the young people - led by the regional dance artists - took place in our the schools during Summer and Autumn 2005 terms and straddled the creation of McGregor's new work.

Regional artists provided the young people with a vocabulary of the movement language of Wayne McGregor and Random Dance - through classes and workshops.

The final aspect of the project was the residency of Random Dance in Durham from 25 January - 7 February 2006. During that time Wayne and his company worked closely with the four schools and regional artists to pull together much of the work created from the workshop period by the children.

All of the work with the young people created by Wayne McGregor, Sir John Tavener, Random Dance and regional artists fed into the structure of AMU at Durham to create a one-off adaptation, performed at Durham Cathedral on 7 February 2006 by Random Dance, young people and regional artists.