Today, on International Dance Day, Latitude Festival is delighted to announce its spectacular dance line up, as well as additional theatre and music names for this year's event which takes place from Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th July 2016 in the stunning grounds of Henham Park, Suffolk.
Curator of the Arts Arenas Tania Harrison says:
“Latitude are absolutely delighted to be supporting artists across the board, and this year is no exception when it comes to our stunning dance line up. Sadler’s Wells will present a diverse programme of world class dance including Nilda’s Guerra’s !Vamos Cuba!, straight from Havana airport and evoking all the vibrancy of Cuban life, plus rising star Botis Seva who literally has the world at his feet. The incredible Hofesh Shechter Company will perform tHE bAD – a captivatingly dramatic dance piece, to get the festival going on Thursday night. We will also welcome New English Ballet Theatre to the Waterfront, who will present work by choreographers Kirsten McNally and Daniela Cardim."
Sadler’s Wells, the UK’s leading dance house, returns to the Waterfront Stage at Latitude Festival for a ninth year to present a diverse programme of world-class dance in all its forms. Opening the programme on Thursday evening will be Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Hofesh Shechter’s company, who will perform tHe bAD from Shechter’s most recent work barbarians, and shows his choreography at its most energetic. Veils is a collaboration of music and dance between cutting edge Manchester acoustic-electronica trio GoGo Penguin and choreographer Lynne Page and is a contemporary response to 80’s underground club culture. Inspired by mirrors and palindromes, the work is an epic piece of music with dance that becomes the absolute visual representation of the composition. Rising hip-hop dancer and choreographer Botis Seva will also perform with his company Far From The Norm who will presentH.O.H – a performance combining hip-hop, physical theatre and contemporary dance which centres on the nation’s favourite sport, football.
Set to a soundtrack performed by one of Havana’s most promising jazz musicians; Julito Padron, and choreographed by Nilda Guerra; !Vamos Cuba! is a spectacular new high-energy production by the team behind the smash-hit dance show Havana Rakatan, which evokes the joys and vibrancy of Cuban life with all the passion and humour that embodies the Cuban spirit.
The line up also includes work from other leading figures in contemporary dance, including one of the founding fathers of contemporary dance in the UK, Richard Alston. The Richard Alston Dance Company presents a double bill of work for Latitude, including extracts from Sadler’s Wells commissionNomadic, danced to Shukar Collective’s fusion of gypsy and electronic music. The bill will also showStronghold II, choreographed by the company’s Associate Choreographer, Martin Lawrance. Set to a score by Pulitzer Prize winner Julia Wolfe this fiercely intense work reflects the turbulent character of the music, richly scored for eight double basses.
The National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) will return for another year to perform a creation by Sadler’s Wells Guest Artistic Director Michael Keegan-Dolan. The work, entitled In–Nocentes is set to Max Richter’s re-composition of The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi and is a ritualistic piece with which Keegan-Dolan celebrates the natural and instinctive way young people can move and behave.
Since their debut season in 2012, New English Ballet Theatre has become one of the most exciting and progressive modern ballet companies with their cross-disciplinary and multi-arts programme. This year NEBT will present two pieces by Royal Ballet soloist Kristen McNally on Latitude’s Waterfront Stage – Mad Women is a satirical exploration of the traditional conflict between men and women as seen in the context of the late 1950s housewives, and Lonesome Gun is a raunchy, playful piece inspired by American Western movies.
Also presenting as part of NEBT will be internationally celebrated choreographer Daniela Cardim, whose pas-de-deux Wundarra will explore the juxtaposition of aboriginal music with the language of classical ballet.
In The Little House, winner of BBC Young Dancer 2015 Ivan Blackstock will be performing M.E.T.H Traplord of the Flyz as part of the Nabokov garage takeover on Friday night – a piece exploring the catalytic rise of innocence that turns savage when inner city youths reach an apoplexy of mental destruction. A Curious Invitation will be hosting Midnight Tango; a Saturday night party in The Little House where audiences will dance to an orchestra playing tangos, milongas and waltzes drawn from Astor Piazzola’s immortal tango Maria de Buenos Aires. A Curious Invitation will also present a Tango class, open to all, on the Waterfront Stage.
Swing Patrol will be offering easy taster lessons and inviting all festival goers to get involved in games and swinging fun at the Waterfront. Swing Patrol have recently featured on Dragons’ Den, Call the Midwife and People’s Strictly Come Dancing. They’ll offer everyone the opportunity to try something new or simply enjoy the spectacle of great swing tunes combined with great swing dancers.
Lavish will be presenting their hybrid three-part Sound, Performance and Art-based project devised and created for Latitude which journeys in to what inspires and shapes us. The Museum of Memory is an evocative exploration of memory through Sound, whilst the Art and Performance pieces The Museum of Curiosity and Cornell’s Dream endeavor to walk along the ‘white magic side of Surrealism’ paying homage to the self-taught American artist Joseph Cornell.
Theatre
Latitude is proud to reveal yet more ground-breaking performances for the theatre line up, which boasts more premieres, previews, works-in-progress and commissions than ever before.
Curator of the Arts Arenas Tania Harrison says:
“We’re also excited to be adding to our international companies appearing at Latitude’s theatre line up by bringing Familie Flöz and Svalbard to Suffolk, plus exciting gig theatre from the Young Vic starring Jane Horrocks and a brand new work from the ever powerful Theatre Ad Infinitum. Adam Buxton and Louis Theroux will be live and in conversation for the first of our Film & Music Arena announcements. There really is something for everyone at Latitude in 2016.”
Following a packed run of their show If You Kiss Me, Kiss Me at London’s Young Vic theatre, Jane Horrocks and an incredible live band play their own gritty and soulful versions of your favourite new wave classics. This mind-blowingly beautiful set features the music of Joy Division, The Smiths, Buzzcocks and more, played live by Grammy Award-winning producer Kipper on guitar and The Damned’s drummer Rat Scabies. Don’t miss this nostalgic trip back to the 70’s and 80’s, set to an unforgettable soundtrack.
Multi award-winning Theatre Ad Infinitum will be bringing its powerful original production of Bucket List, the incredible story of one Mexican orphan’s fight against injustice described by The Times as “epic”.
Berlin based theatre collective Familie Flöz will be showing the Latitude audience the darker side of theatre with Teatro Delusio; a play focusing on three stage technicians’ work in the darkness of backstage, where the characters battle their own great tragedies of life, death, love and defeat, revealing their rivalries, ambitions and poignant dreams.
Avant-garde Svalbard will be coming from Sweden to present their quirky and outrageous performance;All Genius All Idiot. Using extreme circus artistry, physical comedy and theatre, Svalbard will revel in the absurdities of life and highlight human behaviours at their most animalistic.
Finally, in the Film and Music Arena, award-winning British comedian Adam Buxton and world-celebrated documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux will be in conversation to discuss their work and outputs, with clips screened to the audience to illustrate their talk.
Music
Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele will showcase a new production with their band Soulwaxfor a UK festival exclusive, headlining the 6 Music Stage at Latitude 2016. The band broke the mould back in 1996 thanks to their mix of rock, electro, pop and punk and have made half the world dance since then.
Elsewhere throughout the weekend will be a UK Festival Exclusive performance by Shye Ben Tzur and The Rajasthan Express’ JUNUN, which under the production of Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood brought the Barbican to its feet but it was really the hearts in the room that rose to the rooftops; an absolute must see.
Latitude is proud to welcome back Beta Band troubadour and one of Britain’s most compelling singer-songwriters Steve Mason, electronic producer Gold Panda who returns this year with his new record Good Luck And Do Your Best, heart-on-their-sleeve performers Augustines,
Late night party performances come from some of the most enduring names in British music. Established as the most successful UK garage acts of all time, noughties legend Artful Dodger; the 2-step hit makers responsible for propelling Craig David into the public sphere with Re-Rewind will light-up the Sunrise Arena, and the notorious frontman of national treasures Madness; Suggs, will perform a much anticipated DJ set. PC Music’s super producer SOPHIE will be ramping up the party on Saturday night and notorious mashup DJ’s The Menendez Brothers will ensure the last beats of the festival keeps everyone dancing on Sunday.
Lonely The Brave have supported some of the biggest names in rock including Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Deftones, and will be bringing their praised live show to Henham Park fresh off the back of their new album due to be released this May. After making their Latitude debut on The Alcove Stage last year, Brit-pop revivalists DMA’s are set to perform tracks from their acclaimed debut album Hills End, with other performances coming from Irish soul-folk maverick and Ed Sheeran label signee Foy Vance, Brooklyn’s cowboy soul soloist Odetta Hartman and evocative Brighton trio and HypeMachine favourites Phoria.
Columbian Latin dance fusion Sidestepper, Australia's new glam rock trio Methyl Ethel, and Sweden’s revered psychedelia outfit Dun
The Alcove Stage
Known for the freshest names in music, DIY presents The Alcove Stage will bring an eclectic mix of new talent to the festival’s already stellar line up. Latitude prides itself on nurturing future talent and The Alcove is the perfect place to listen to the most exciting new voices of 2016, with previous years giving early festival slots to some of the biggest and most acclaimed new artists of recent years including James Bay, Years & Years, Catfish and the Bottlemen, and Young Fathers.
On Friday, emotive soloist and producer Rationale, Portland'
Saturday will see another PC Music stalwart Danny L Harle bringing his tectonic beats to The Alcove, while Aussie indie rockers Tired Lion grace the stage alongside the experimental South African ‘Noirwaves’ of Petite Noir, the ‘80’s punk bubble bath’ sound of Peluché, modern folk-soul singer Rukhsana Merrise, Ireland’s grunge pop group Otherkin and avant-garde pop project White.
Experimental pop trio Kero Kero Bonito will bring their video game edge to The Alcove Stage on the Sunday, whilst indie-folk soloist Barns Courtney who has supported the likes of Ed Sheeran and The Libertines, instrumental noise-rockers Three Trapped Tigers, Nottingham alt-rock trio Kagoule, soaring indie-pop favourites Tibet and Danish-Australian electronic-indie outfit Palace Winter also join the line up.
Having made a name for themselves on the live circuit with their energetic sets after touring with cult British buzz acts Wolf Alice and Swim Deep, Brighton’s prolific new band The Magic Gang will set The Alcove Stage alight this summer alongside political punk girl gang Skinny Girl Diet, who’ve featured on Billboard's list of ‘20 All-Female Bands You Need To Know’ for their gritty outspoken sound.
These new additions join an outstanding line up fronted by headliners The Maccabees, The National and New Order
Food
Blixen will be returning to Latitude Festival for a second year following their successful debut in 2015. Bringing a taste of their Spitalfields restaurant to Suffolk, they will be offering festival revellers an all-day menu food, pints of cocktails, a sound system and fun times, all gussied up in a faux tropical surrounding