Isobel Cohen

Long time no hear

I have been very remiss at keeping this site updated, for which I apologise.

…If it’s any excuse, it’s because I was coming to the end of my first academic year at Cambridge, and the summer term involved five weeks in which to read, and write essays, on most of Shakespeare, followed by a week to revise a year’s worth of work and be examined on it!

All of this means I have not had much time, or energy, to pursue my work as a choreographer/director, or as a performer, which is a shame.

Apart from upcoming performances in Canada, it’s unlikely I’ll be performing or making new work until summer 2011, when I plan to (finally!) turn 2009′s research and development into a full length piece for Zoo venues at the Edinburgh Fringe. We have performed the movement material already, as part of Nabakov Arts Club in March, and Women’s Word in June, but I need about a month in the studio to assimilate that material into a full-realised theatrical work. There will, however, be footage of the Women’s Word performance up online in a few weeks, so please spare the time for a quick peek, and feel free to comment.

As those of you who have taken work up to the Fringe will know, an Edinburgh run involves raising quite a lot of money, especially in the light of cuts to arts funding in the wake of the economic meltdown, as well as in preparation for the Olympics running even more over budget. Lots of otherwise available time goes into doing this, which is why I’ll continue to be a bit quiet in the coming months. I will try and update more often, and your support is always appreciated!

Art, meet Life

A mixed programme of four short collaborative pieces, involving dance, music, poetry and theatre, presented by Isobel Cohen.

Part of Women’s Word, a festival of female writers and artists at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge

4pm, 13th June, 2010 Warburton Hall, Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge.

The Great Escape – a solo which attempts to explain why an otherwise intelligent and rational individual would choose contemporary dance as a career.

The Double-Bass Dances – a trio for a dancer, a double bassist and double bass. Choreographed and performed by dance-artist Cecily Morrison and composer Ewan Campbell.

The Ballad of Barlow Burton – Originally performed as part of Nabokov’s Present: Tense at the Southwark Playhouse. A collaboration between Isobel Cohen, poet Luke Wright and dance-artist Shahla Tarrant.

Within Range - Extracts from Isobel’s new work in progress, examining the activities of the state-funded secret police in the former East Germany. Last seen at the legendary Nabakov Arts Club.

http://www.lucy-cav.cam.ac.uk/pages/news-events/womens-word-2010.php

Performance Extracts from Nabakov Arts Club

For those of you who couldn’t make Nabokov Arts Club, or for those who did and just want to relive the dream, here’s a taster from our performance of my current work in progress, Within Range.

Catch the full shebang at the Edinburgh Fringe 2011. We plan to try and be back at the beloved Zoo Venues.

Interrogation duet extract – Within Range

The aftermath

So, I’ve finally recovered from the free beer, and generally throwing myself around, both in an out of performance, and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who came along to Nabakov Arts Club and helped make it such a great night. Footage of our performance will be uploaded to this website in the very near future, so keep an eye out for that. Hope to see you all at another performance soon!

Nabokov Arts Club line up...

…You might want to sit down for this:

Hold onto your hats you lovers of all things good because the sexiest show in town is back, and what a smorgasbord of artistic delights it is too. Feast your peepers on this little lot:

A BRAND NEW PLAY FROM JESSICA HYNES
ED GAMBLE (comedy)
CHRIS HICKS (poety/comedy)
ISOBEL COHEN (dance/theatre)
BELLERUCHE (live set)
SCUBAROOTS (live set)
MYSTERY JETS (DJ set)

A BRAND NEW PLAY FROM JESSICA HYNES
What? Jessica Hynes who wrote Spaced with Simon Pegg and has been nominated for BAFTAS and Oliviers and stuff like that? Damn straight, and it’s being directed by nabokov’s new Artistic Director Joe Murphy too.

ED GAMBLE
We saw rising star Ed in Edinburgh as part of The Comedy Zone and had to be peeled off the floor at the end of what was possibly the best 20 minute set we’ve ever seen. Ed has been a finalist in the Revels Student Comedy Awards (2007) and The Laughing Horse Big, Big, Big New Act Competition (2007). He is co writer and host of the Chortle sponsored ‘Peacock and Gamble Podcast’. This guy is going to be a huge star, so catch him live at The nabokov Arts Club before he’s live at the Apollo.

CHRIS HICKS
Chris is a poet and comedian. He is a member of award-winning performance poetry collective, Aisle16 and a regular contributor to on-line literary journal McSweeneys and Mercy magazine. His poetry has been featured on BBC Radio London and www.astoldbyothers.com.
www.aisle16.co.uk

ISOBEL COHEN: WITHIN RANGE (World Premiere)
Isobel Cohen is an independent dance and theatre artist, based in Cambridge.

Isobel’s work has been performed at The Edinburgh Fringe, Les Reperages/Danse a Lille, Latitude Festival, and nationally throughout the UK.

”If there is a rising star of contemporary dance at the Fringe, it is Isobel Cohen … a genuinely exciting talent, a performance artist in the proper sense of the word who deserves to have Arts Council budgets thrown at her.‘’ Scotland on Sunday

BELLERUCHE (live set)
If you haven’t heard the exquisitely crafted turntable soul that is Belleruche’s calling card we’re sort of jealous that you now get to hear it for the first time, but mostly slightly snooty and condescending because you should have, damn it. A curious and infectious mix of jazzy blues, soul and beats and the quite frankly delicious voice of Katherine De Boer – we just can’t get enough, and nor can all the people who made their record the fastest selling in Tru Thought’s history. Get stuck in here http://www.myspace.com/belleruche

SCUBAROOTS (live set)
A 7-piece floor-shaking horn-laden feast of funk, ska, swing and even a bit of drum n bass – you might want to make sure you stretch out before getting your skank on. We can’t wait, and you shouldn’t either – get involved http://www.myspace.com/scubaroots

MYSTERY JETS (DJ set)
Shut up, no way. Hell yes, they’re taking time out from conquering the planet to give you a very special DJ set you lucky things. We know we spoil you, we just hope you deserve it (you do).

PLUS….A brand new art installation…Your bedroom from when you were 10….The Jacket Potato Man from Heaven

Ouch. That’s so good it actually hurts – hot foot it and get your tickets here now. www.nabokov-online.com

The Great Escape in Canada

I’ve been invited to perform The Great Escape at Tangente – Laboratoire de Mouvementes Contemporains in Montreal, Canada, in Autumn 2010!

Tagente is the main hub of dance / theatre activity in Montreal so this is an enormous honour. I’m really excited about going to Quebec and to work again with the production team from Ex Machina.

So, if you have any friends in Montréal, encourage them to come and see the shows on the 16 – 19 October 2010. I may even attempt the text in French – which could be hilarious all by itself.

‘…a genuinely exciting talent. A performance artist in the proper sense of the word, who deserves to have Arts Council budgets thrown at her.’
Scotland on Sunday

Nabokov Arts Club

Shout from the rooftops, it’s the nabokov Arts Club 5!

Yes the undisputed heavyweight champion of artistic happenings anywhere, ever, is back with an all new extravaganza of theatre, music, comedy, poetry and lots more at the stunning Village Underground – a vast Victorian warehouse in the heart of Shoreditch.

…and I’ve been asked to perform material from my work in progress,
Within Range.

I will be joined by three (possibly four) incredibly talented dancers, who have also worked with Matthew Bourne, Wayne Macgregor, Maresa Van Stockert and Katie Green (among others).

Expect explosive new plays, side-splitting comics, stunning cinematography, high-voltage poetics, rabble-rousing live bands, superstar DJs and lashings of atmosphere. Plus booze, food, dancing and general tomfoolery till 2am.

If you act quickly the first 50 people can buy tickets for a tenner. After that they’re £15 if you book online in advance, with any remaining £20 on the door.

See you there.

nabokov Arts Club
Saturday 20th March 2010
8pm – 2am
Village Underground, 54 Holywell Lane, London EC2A 3PQ

Over 18s only | Last entry 12am
Cash only bar | Happy Hour 8 – 9pm | all drinks £1.50 | Thereafter drinks £2.50

New Year, New Website

Hello, and welcome to www.isobelcohen.org, which has replaced the old Helix Dance site.

If you are a fan of Helix Dance, don’t panic. I will continue making my own brand of dance-theatre and, if you want to be kept updated about upcoming performances and new projects, please sign up to the mailing list in the sidebar.

The change of emphasis is simply a reflection of some changes in my circumstances. After the storming success of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe run (see Reviews) I am keen to balance my work as a choreographer/director with a return to performance, so there will be more opportunities to see me in venues around the UK in the coming year.

I am also broadening my practise to take on work in a more diverse range of genres. Towards the end of last year, some of you may have seen that I collaborated with performance poet Luke Wright on The Ballad of Barlow Burton, a short theatre piece for nabokov’s Present:Tense 12. The results were really exciting, and Luke and I hope to collaborate on projects in the future.

Additionally, I am taking a tentative step into the arena of movement direction, creating an entr’acte and finale for the prestigious Marlowe Society’s production of Twelfth Night which premiered at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in early 2010.

2010 is gearing up to be a very exciting year for me, so do please get in touch and I hope to see you at a show!