Curve’s commitment to supporting and developing talent from across the region continues with the appointment of the Resident Creatives who will play a key role in shaping the future of the theatre. The Curve Resident Creatives will be embedded in the life of the theatre and will be supported by Curve to create new work and develop artistic practice in Leicester.
The Curve Resident Creatives – who are based-in, from or committed to creating work in the Midlands – are: multi-award winning, female led company Burnt Lemon Theatre, who specialise in creating innovative new musicals; Nilima Devi MBE, performer, choreographer, educator and founder and Artistic Director of the Centre for Indian Classical Dance (CICD); LGBTQ+ focused new writing company Emmerson & Ward; dance theatre company Gerrard Martin Dance; artistic director, performer and choreographer of Morph Productions Subhash Viman Gorania; female led theatre company The Gramophones; playwright and community theatre practitioner Samson Hawkins; bilingual performance maker of Croatian origin Tina Hofman; experimental multidisciplinary artist Hal Mayer; dancer, choreographer, movement director and qualified Registered Sign Language Interpreter (RSLI), Stacey McCarthy; South Asian arts and culture company Phizzical; Kathak dancer and choreographer Kesha Raithatha; Kathak artist, teacher, choreographer and mentor Sonia Sabri; movement company State of Flux; composer, lyricist and writer Jude Taylor; hip hop dance company Wayward Thread.
The artists and theatre-makers were selected following an open call-out and interview process.
Speaking about the Curve Resident Creatives, Curve’s Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said: “Our astonishingly talented team of Curve Resident Creatives represent the artistic heart and soul of what makes Leicester and the East Midlands such a unique and exciting place to make theatre.
“A diverse coterie of artists and companies at varying stages of their development, the Resident Creatives scheme aims to elevate and support these incredible artists as they make work which reflects the world around us, is provocative and created with a sense of mischief.
“Our Resident Creatives will also share their unique skills across our organisation and in our communities, as we come together to define our shared futures.”
As part of the announcement, Curve commissioned photographer Ellie Kurttz to capture each artist in a virtual photoshoot. The collection of images follows Ellie’s series of photographs of performers taken throughout lockdown in 2020, called ‘Portraits in Isolation’.
The Curve Resident Creatives will sit alongside Curve’s existing group of Associates, leading artists, practitioners and companies who, with the theatre’s support, create new work which is showcased at Curve and beyond. Curve Associates include Akram Khan Company, Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell, theatre company Sheep Soup and Composer Tasha Taylor Johnson.
To find out more about Curve Resident Creatives and see the full gallery of Ellie Kurttz’ photographs, visit – https://www.curveonline.co.uk/about-us/artists/resident-creatives/
