I recently had a meeting with Movement Research in New York. Co-incidentally, we had just launched two websites for two different New York clients last month. The other is our second website for the wonderful male only dance company Les Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo who I’ve had the honour of working with over the last 25 years. The Trocks, as many of you will know them, are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year – so I’ve been working with them for nearly half of that time. Movement Research are celebrating their 45 anniversary too. Quite amazing.
New York is my second favourite city after London, and it was a chance to reminisce on previous trips filming content with Alvin Ailey American Dance and Stephen Petronio’s company for Dance Consortium to help introduce them to a wider audience in the UK. Each time I go, I fall in love a little bit more with the city.
I’m glad to say it wasn’t all hard work! I had to take the opportunity to explore the current theatre landscape in New York. It was a chance to visit The Shed for the first time – part of the Hudson Yard development I visited last time when it was still a building site. I was excited to catch the last show Stephen Sondheim was working on before he died – Here We Are. I’ve been a Sondheim fan since I was 17, more than [loud cough] years ago. I wrote about the experience on LinkedIn if you’re interested. The theatre itself is an amazing versatile space. Outside it looks space age, in contrast to the warm and cosy foyers inside. The auditorium itself is a adaptable space with plenty of high tech, It reminded me of London’s new spaces such as Wembley’s Troubadour and Soho Place and clearly a reflection on how theatre spaces are evolving to the demands of modern creative teams.
The piece itself was stuffed with top notch cast including David Hyde Pierce and Dave O-Hara as well as many others loved by theatre goers. And the work itself was bold, sharp and very witty. I grinned ear to ear throughout.
Stephen Sondheim's 'Here We Are' at The Shed
I’m glad to say, The New York theatre scene is vibrant but, much like London, I couldn’t help notice a possible saturation of musicals. While I have a deep affection for this genre, I also yearn for a broader range of artistic expressions.
Back at Movement Research’s East Side offices, I felt a familiar connection to London’s East End, reminiscent of our office between Hoxton, Shoreditch and Whitechapel. Their plans to expand into new studio spaces within a Victorian-era building highlighted the continuous evolution and contribution of organisations like Movement Research to the arts scene, not just in New York and London, but globally.
We’re lucky to work with so many clients across the UK who, like Movement Research, provide support, shared wisdom, resources and opportunity to enable artists and creators to dream, experiment, learn and most importantly to take risks. It’s organisation like these that will fuel the constantly evolving and vibrant world of arts and culture that nourish us.