An Evening of Dance with   

We are excited to be joining with Moves International Festival of Movement on Screen for a stimulating social programme including a reception at the prestigious Whitworth Art Gallery and KINESTECH: Dancing across Media, a special evening of dance performance at Manchester's Dancehouse Theatre.

Our conference reception on the evening of Thursday 22 April will be held in the main exhibition area of the Whitworth Gallery, just a short walk from the conference centre itself, and will feature projections of photographs by one of our invited speakers, photographer Chris Nash.

The reception will feature addresses from Gala Pujol, Festival Director of Moves International Festival of Movement on Screen; Dee Reynolds, Director of The Watching Dance Project and Janet Wolff, Director of Manchester University's Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Arts (CIDRA).

Catering will be provided by the award-winning Modern Caterer, whose cafe in the Gallery is one of Manchester's prized culinary destinations.

The reception will be followed by a very special programme of performance at the Dancehouse theatre, KINESTECH: Dancing across Media will feature the premiere of an exclusive specially commissioned piece from The Fish Project, 'Red Rain'; a new work by dance artist Bridget Fiske (UK/AUS) that creates interrelationships between the live body in motion, interactive media and projected image.  With a dark and sometimes surreal self-portraiture quality 'Red Rain' investigates notions of physical, emotional, spiritual, physicological and geographic transformation.

In addition, The Watching Dance Project are excited to present Both of View, an improvised collaboration between dancer/choreographer Melanie Clarke and composer Ronen Kozokaroby. This work explores the inter-relationship between musician and dancer as they take on the challenge of reacting to each other in the moment and on the spot. In close proximity but across a void, one dancer and one musician create a journey of metamorphosis. Sound influences dance and dance influences sound as musician and dancer react to the results of the movement of the other.

For those who want to make the most of their trip to the Northwest, Moves Festival of Movement on screen will run throughout the conference and all through the weekend in Liverpool, just a short train ride away. Combi-tickets to both events are now available on the Moves website for a special discounted price

And for those who would prefer to stay in Manchester for an extra night, The English National Ballet will also be performing Cinderella at Manchester's Palace Theatre for the duration of the conference.