Siobhan Davies

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Siobhan Davies (born 1950 and often known as Sue Davies) was a dancer with the London Contemporary Dance Theatre during the 1970s, then becoming one of its leading choreographers before founding her own company — the Siobhan Davies Dance Company — in 1988.

First training in art, Davies was one of the first year's intake of full-time students at the London School of Contemporary Dance.

Her works White Man Sleeps and Wyoming have been included on the dance GCE A-Level syllabus. Her work "Bird Song" is being used in GCSE Dance syllabus as Set Work (2008-2010).

Career Stages:• 1950 – born (Susan Davies)

• As a child visited the Royal Opera House.

• 1966 – Began to take lessons in Martha Graham Technique organised by Robin Howard.

• 1967 – First performance with a company that came to be London Contemporary Dance Theatre

• Robert Cohan – from the USA Martha Graham Dance Company was the founding artistic director of LCDS, and he set up this performance.

• 1969 – Cohan’s group moved into ‘The Place’ which allowed dancers + choreographers to be experimental with their work.

• 1970 – She was chosen to tour with ‘Ballet for All’ which demonstrated contemporary style dance.

• 1972 – Davies’ first two professionally performed works were shown.

• 1975 – Davies was made Associate Choreographer

• Some of her work revolved slightly around the work of Merce Cunningham an American choreographer who broke the rules of modern dance by using a chance process to make material and focusing on the medium of movement.

• 1976 – She went to America with fellow student Richard Alston, where they attended classes in Cunningham technique as well as in ballet.

• 1980 – While dancing + choreographing for LCDT Davies set up Siobhan Davies and dancers.

• 1981 – she merged this with Richard Alston and dancers and the Ian Spink group to produce Second stride.

• This allowed her to make smaller + more intimate pieces as well as her ones for LDCT.

• 1984 – Siobhan made Resident Choreographer with LCDT

• 1985 – She left LDCT.

• 1986-7 – Davies won the ‘Fulbright Arts Fellowship’ – the first ever to be awarded to a choreographer. She used this to spend 9 months travelling the USA with her family.

• 1988 – When she returned she set up the Siobhan Davies Dance company

• She was also made Associate choreographer for the Rambert Dance Company.

• Since 1992 Davies has focused on pieces for her own company.

Key influences:

•[[ Martha Graham

• Merce Cunningham

• Robert Cohan

• Richard Alston

• Ian Spink]]

Choreographic style: Davies’ work is very abstract. She tries to use the quality of the sound rather than the sound itself. She thinks a lot more about the texture and emotion behind a piece that what you would see just be looking or hearing about it. By putting music on after she allows the dance to have no restrictions and be free, and without restricting it to telling a story she allows it to be more random and have deeper running ideas in it. Her dances are more than ‘what you see is what you get’ as you have to think deeply about what is happening with everything from dynamics to interaction. She has a fascination with using abstract sounds, and letting the body become part of it rather than just something moving to it. She tries to get some very human actions and thoughts across in her dance – as they are very much about communication.