DeNada Dance Theatre Awarded ACE Funding to Tour Ham and Passion: A Triple Bill of Dance

DeNada Dance Theatre has been awarded £29,000 by Arts Council England to fund the tour of Ham and Passion: A Triple Bill of Dance choreographed by Carlos Pons Guerra. We are delighted to announce the news and thrilled that the bill will open in Leeds in October 2015 and will tour to 5 UK cities until spring 2016 (full venue and booking details to be announced soon). 

The award follows three years of research and development for the works which comprise the triple bill, invaluably supported by the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Yorkshire Dance amongst other institutions, and which have also received ACE funding: Young Man!, Passionaria and O Maria. This is the third successful Grants for the Arts bid secured by Spin Arts Management for DeNada Dance Theatre.

The three pieces were researched, developed and premiered in Yorkshire, at the Riley Theatre and Yorkshire Dance, before being performed independently at national and international venues. They were piloted as a triple bill under the name of Ham and Passion in October 2014 at DanceXchange, Birmingham, for an invited audience of arts industry professionals and press.

Ham and Passion is a gender-bending evening of seductive and provocative dance choreographed by Carlos Pons Guerra. From a dingy cabaret in Civil War Barcelona, where a drag artiste murders her fascist lover backstage, passing through a lustful duel of seduction between two  machos, and ending with a divine apparition in a kitchen of 1950's Seville, Ham and Passion is an exhilarating, hilarious journey through the history and culture of modern Spain that promises to subvert the senses. 

Performed by an international cast of dancers, to a  soundtrack  of  Latin vintage classics and Manuel de Falla's El Amor Brujo, with stunning period costume and set by Ryan Dawson Laight and a perfect mix of dance, jamón and drama, these three explosive period pieces will excite adult audiences of all backgrounds.

The funds from Arts Council England and Cervantes Institute (a worldwide organization for the promotion of Spanish\Hispanic language and culture) and support from institutions including the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Yorkshire Dance and Bradford Theatre in the Mill will allow DeNada Dance Theatre to tour the work to cities in Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

All the team of DeNada Dance Theatre- its artists and management- are extremely thankful to Arts Council England and the company's supporters for this development opportunity. Please stay updated for tour dates and news- we are very excited about bringing our ham, and all our passion, to a UK venue near you very soon.