It may have been a very wintery few months since we last updated you, but that didn’t stop us performing at parades and carnivals across Europe, and with spring now in full-swing, we have plenty of exciting new projects and events to share with you too.
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Creative Employment Programme
African Summer – Horniman Museum Animal Farm (Work in Progress) Look out for... |
February saw our Co-Artistic Director, Charles, monkeying-around at Europe’s largest Samba Carnival in Bremen on 6th & 7th. Bremen Carnival, now in its 30th year, animated the city streets with colourful costume, dance and lively rhythms, attracting around 30,000 visitors from across the globe. This year’s theme was ‘One Big Circus’, so we took some of our brightest and costumes, make-up and fineries to take part in the spectacle with some of our favourite companies.    |
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After a successful run of street performances and workshops in Slough and Leicester last year, Night of Festivals Touring is back with a packed programme this summer. We’re excited to be taking part in this fantastic project by ArtReach, bringing Carnival arts and performance to communities across the UK and Europe.
This year we’ll be working with community groups to bring workshops and performances to Lincoln (13th – 15th June), Hounslow (11th – 12th July) and Barking (18th- 19th July), before ending the
tour with huge finale in Leicester on 3rd – 4th October, as part of the Rugby World Cup celebrations.
Here’s a video compilation of the highlights of the Night of Festivals 2013/14 tour, to give you a little flavour of what to expect: |
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In February, we bid farewell to our latest Project Assistant and Admin Intern, Thisbe Casellini. After joining us in October, she quickly became part of the team and was a major contributor on a range
of projects. We were so impressed with her administration skills that we asked her to manage the office throughout Claire’s extended annual leave in January. We’re incredibly proud of what Thisbe has achieved in her 4 months at Mandinga, and this is only just the start of her journey. Here’s what Thisbe had to say about her time with us:
“The last 4 months have been the most enriching work based experience I have ever had. The fact that the internship is so well structured has meant that I have learnt on the job, whilst not feeling too pressured to get things right. I have learnt project and administrative skills such as project management [...] and by the time Claire left the office I felt confident to devise whole projects unsupervised.“
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Since finishing my Drama degree at Queen Mary University of London in 2012, I have worked with charities such as 
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Julieta, Co-Artistic Director, has been experimenting with fabrics to create different textures to create chicken feet in the studio. By rouching material using a technique called Puffing, she’s been able to give the impression of the distinct bumpy skin on the lower legs and feet. As well as this, a design has been screen printed onto the lycra bodysuit, giving the impression of fluffy, mottled feathers.
 A feather design has been intricately cut into foam sheets, requiring great attention to detail. Airbrushing will be then be used to create a 3D effect for the feathers, bringing them to life on the foam skeletal structure.
Our Artistic Assistant Stella and volunteer Ann have been making different prototypes to create dog masks. They’ve been working with paper templates, sculpting foam to create different breeds of dog and represent their characters. Moveable elements, such as jaws and tongues, are being used; adding playfulness to each mask that will make them more interactive for audiences.
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We’ll be joining our friends Shademakers in celebrating their 25th Anniversary on Saturday 9th May. They will be opening their studios in the Isle of Wight, inviting you take part in a workshop tour, exhibition and to try on some of their fabulous costumes too. Have a read of their Newsletter for more details.
Northern Europe’s largest carnival takes place in Aalborg, Denmark, this May. This year’s theme is “taboo” and we’re extremely excited to be heading out to Denmark to join our friends at Aalborg Karneval on 16th & 17th May on this extraordinary celebration.
Mandinga Arts will be leading workshops and bringing the vibrant colours of Mardi Gras to Chatteris on Saturday 27th June, with a walking parade to launch the Midsummer Festival.
Waterloo Carnival returns for its twelfth year on Friday 3rd July, evoking the sights and sounds of summer in the streets of Waterloo. Local schools and community centres will be participating in this intergenerational and multi-cultural parade. With workshops, music & dancing and a magnificent Carnival procession, there’s a little something for everyone to enjoy.
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"In reaching our funding target, we’ll be able to create workshops and an education pack to help promote enlightening and thought provoking discussion on the pressing issues emerging from the play."
Prison Game. One Man. His Life.
Now we learn from his mistakes
Please Share the link.
Kind regards,
The Hercules Productions Team
Marcus, Ekua and Rose
Hercules Productions
Twitter: @herculeshq
Several grants for accommodation and meals announced
Each grant covers up to 300,00 EUR (three hundred EUR)
The grant covers full board (accommodation and three meals per day)
during participation in "ArtsOasis" international program in Italy
The grant covers full board (accommodation and three meals per day)
during participation in "ArtsOasis" international program in Italy
Information about the Project
"ArtsOasis" is the annual international residential lab for performing arts practitioners from different countries working in various techniques, genres and styles. This creative residency is open to dancers, choreographers, actors and contemporary circus performers with professional stage experience, multidisciplinary artists passionate and inspired by movement, dance and physical theatre, interested in practical research of contemporary performance practice together with colleagues from different countries.
Project Dates and Location
June 1st - 6th, 2015 - Tuscany province, Italy
Selection Criteria and Eligibility
Who can apply?
professional dancers
choreographers
actors (dance theatre, physical theatre, drama theatre, musical theatre)
contemporary circus performers
movement directors, physical theatre directors
multidisciplinary artists inspired by movement and dance
professional dancers
choreographers
actors (dance theatre, physical theatre, drama theatre, musical theatre)
contemporary circus performers
movement directors, physical theatre directors
multidisciplinary artists inspired by movement and dance
The grant is awarded on a competitive basis. The applications are considered on the basis of the candidates background and previous achievements, individual experience and qualifications. Priority is given to those candidates who are able to show their reliability, potential to professional development and clear motivation to participate in contemporary performing arts processes at international level.
Please view the web page for full application guidelines:
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