‘The Traipse’ takes a modern twist on traditional sword dancing into pubs and schools, as part of the Cultural Olympiad.
Traditional sword-dancing gets a modern twist in ‘The Traipse’, a new project that will see dancers hot foot it onto the streets of Barnsley, Grimsby, Hull, Leeds and Sheffield from 26 – 30 March 2012. A specially formed troupe of seven sword-dancers, storytellers and musicians, ‘The Traipse’ is one of over 100 events taking place this year in an ambitious programme of events entitled ‘Imove’, the Legacy Trust UK’s celebratory programme for Yorkshire and part of the Cultural Olympiad.
‘Imove’ has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK.
‘The Traipse’ troupe will collect tales and entertain unsuspecting audiences as they dance their way into pubs, cafes and schools across the region, using ‘rapper’ a traditional type of sword dance that originated from Northumbrian mining villages. Accompanied by folk music and a caller, the five dancers work together holding flexible metal swords, ‘rappers’ , to perform quick and complicated routines.
The group of contemporary dancers involved in ‘The Traipse’ have never before performed rapper moves and have been brought together by independent dance artist and choreographer Harry Theaker. In ‘The Traipse’ Harry combines his knowledge of contemporary dance with rapper history and time-honoured moves to create an exploration of tradition, culture and heritage.
Following the Yorkshire dates, ‘The Traipse’ will head to London on 31 March, to form part of ‘The Rapperlympics’, the prestigious Dancing England Rapper Tournament (DERT) tournament. The team will take the stories they have gathered in their tour of Yorkshire to the capital city where they will tour the streets and bars of Camden and Soho as just one of the groups involved in DERT.
Harry commented: “‘The Traipse’ stays true to the age-old traditions of rapper dance but at the same time brings them bang up to date. We use and interpret the traditional rapper sequences, moves forms, locks and rhythms that are intricate and complex. As contemporary dancers we are able to show and perform them in a new way, as they incorporate more fluid and dynamic innovations in the movement and methods used We are very excited about taking the performance to small venues in and around the region where we will be able to engage with the general public, find out their stories and ultimately weave them into our narrative for the trip to London, taking a little bit of Yorkshire to the Olympic host city.”
1. The Traipse will be touring Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire in March 2012, public performances will be held at:
Monday, 26 March
BARNSLEY
1pm Hiltons Café / Barnsley Market
2pm Barnsley College
3pm Walkabout bar
4pm YMCA
Ending at 4.45pm Barnsley Train Station
Tuesday, 27 March
LEEDS
11am Royal Armouries
12.30pm Kirkgate Market
5pm The bridge LGBT pub
5.30pm The Viaduct Show bar
6pm The Doubetree by Hilton Hotel / sky lounge bar
Wednesday 28 March
SHEFFIELD
1pm Sheffield castle markets
2pm Kelham island Industrial Museum
2.45pm Emmaus
4.15pm Wintergardens
5pm Bath Hotel Pub
6pm The Shakespeare
6.30pm The Kelham Island tavern
7pm The Fat Cat
7.30pm The Riverside and The Trespass Inn / performance and poetry event and open mic.
Thursday 29 March
HULL
12midday Princess Quay shopping centre
3.30pm Dairycoates Pub
5pm Rayners Pub
6.45pm East Riding College, St James
7pm Alexandria Hotel Pub
7.30pm Vauxhall Tavern
Friday 30 March
GRIMSBY
9am Nuns Corner at Grimsby Insititute
10.30am Grimsby Minster / Fisherman’s memorial statue
11am Victoria Street
11.30 Freshney Place shopping centre
12midday The Barge
1pm Fishing Heritage Museum
3pm Corporation Arms / Freeman St Market
Ending at 4pm Yarborough Hotel