Glasgow-based choreographer and performer Claire Cunningham is one of Europe’s most acclaimed disabled artists who in 2021 was honoured for her Outstanding Artistic Development in dance at the German Dance Awards.
Her work is often rooted in the study and use/misuse of her crutches and the exploration of the potential of her own specific physicality with a conscious rejection of traditional dance techniques that have been developed for non-disabled bodies.
National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) and Manchester International Festival (MIF), in association with Claire Cunningham Projects, announce a return to international touring with Claire’s award winning contemporary dance performance Thank You Very Much, that explores the difference between impersonation and tribute with Elvis Presley and his iconic signature movements at its centre.
Although thisfirst ensemble work from Claire is her first involvement with MIF, NTS first collaborated with her in 2012 with Ménage à Trois, a greatly moving and poetic work played with touching vulnerability, that won the Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) Best Design Award 2013.
Thank You Very Much premiered at MIF in 2019 to critical acclaim and was followed by performances in Dusseldorf, the Couper Institute in Glasgow and London.It won a Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland 2020 for Best Ensemble (Claire Cunningham, Tanja Erhart, Vicky Malin and Dan Daw) and Best Music and Sound from Matthias Herrmann.
The show, an ambitious and powerful meditation on identity and acceptance, and the challenges of being yourself, was created, conceived and performed by Claire Cunningham who is joined by her ensemble of leading disabled performers, Dan Daw, Tanja Erhart, Vicky Malin.
Commissioned by NTS, MIF and Perth Festival in association with tanzhaus nrw and Dance Umbrella and produced by NTS and MIF in association with Claire Cunningham Projects. The project has been supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Thank You Very Much is touring to:
Dampfzentrale, Bern, Switzerland – Tanz In Bern festival (21 – 22 October 2021)
Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany – Tanzfestival Rhein-Main (3 – 5 November 2021)
Skänes Dansteater, Malmö,Sweden – DansFunk Festival 3.0 (11 – 12 November 2021)
Sophiensäle, Berlin, Germany (3 – 5 December 2021)
Kampnagel Hamburg, Germany – NORDWIND Festival 2021 (10 – 12 December 2021)
For full tour dates and booking info please go to nationaltheatrescotland.com.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 