Wednesday 17 August 2011

Molly's Now and Then

Molly Hodkinson, regular dancer with Surface Area, answered some questions based on ‘Now and Then’ from the Journal newspaper

1. What is your first memory?
::Ripping up monopoly money at the the top of the stairs with one of my sisters, I'd throw it up in the air and pretend I was getting married.
I was 4.

2. What were you like as a child?
::I remember adopting the nickname 'Mad Molly' from a lot of my friends' parents, I was very daring and had no concept of hurting myself, I was a bit of a tomboy and would climb anything and make dens with my sisters. My dad tells me that I would never walk anywhere, I'd always be skipping or running.

3. What childhood games did you play?
::Truth or dare was a favourite, especially at sleepovers, my friend lived on a farm so the dares would usually involve walking into her woods shouting 'candy man' three times.

4. What music did you like and what was the first record you bought?
::The first cassette tape I bought with my own pocket money was Elton Johns' Circle of Life, but I also remember getting Take That and Party! When I was in my teens it was Garage all the way.

5. Did you have a family pet?
::A cat called Friday, I used to pretend she was a dog and make leads for her, she hated it and would usually run when she saw me coming. We had her for 15 years and when she died my dad's asthma disappeared, turned out he was allergic to her and had suffered all that time...

6. Were your school days the best days of your life?
::Yes and no. I went to a girls school in St. Albans, it sometimes sometimes seemed more like St. Trinians. We would play a lot of pranks on teachers. On my first day I got an Order Mark for blowing a raspberry through the head of 6th form's letter box. I wouldn't go back though, I'm having more fun now!

7. Were you ever bullied?
::Yes I was in primary school. This girl was very manipulative, if you where ill and missed a day of school, she would make everyone ignore you when you came back. She also made me get in a fabric barrel, which was suffocating, put the metal lid on it and then bang a wooden spoon off the top. I was never bullied in secondary school, my sisters were a few years above so I had protection.

8. What were your favourite TV programmes?
::Saved by the Bell, Bodger and Badger, Neighbours. Saturday morning in pyjamas with my sisters were brilliant.

9. What did you want to be when you grew up?
::Dance or stunt woman

10. How did you spend your weekends?
::When I was 13 I got a pony on loan at a beatiful livery yard so would spend all weekend there. When I got older weekends became more about boys.

11. Do you remember your first kiss?
::Yes, I was on holiday in Malta, he was called Gerard, and my mum caught me!

12. Who was your first love?
::James, I was 17. He'd pick me up in his old school mini and we'd just drive away. I left for university and unfortunately the timing for our relationship was not right.

13. What was the most important thing in the world to you?
::Family, friends and health.

14. What did you wear then, that you would never wear now?
::My outfit to my first disco. Silver shiny body suit, velvet silver dress, silver tights and baby pink painten shoes, what was I thinking. It was a bit space agey at that time.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

The Hard Sell, when, where and who


The Hard Sell

Tickets: £10 (£8 conc.) - allocated seating 

Running Order:
Dust
Interval
Premiere of The Hard Sell
Post show discussion led by Matthew Cummins, senior lecturer in performance art, Northumbria University
Followed by part and DJ set by Urban Geisha.
The Hard Sell
A woman's place in the world?
Following the success of sold out, site-specific performance, Reparation, and recent commissions in New York City, The Hard Sell is Nicole Vivien Watson's highly anticipated new production. 
Some of the region's best contemporary dancers are joined onstage by digital music and live streamed images to take you into the psyche of a modern woman. Join us for a New York evening of dance, discussion and DJ.

Can you take the hard sell?

“…intensely considered work… compelling…” 

The Wire on Reparation

Creative team
Choreographer -  Nicole Vivien Watson
Dance artists -  
Beth Loughran, Molly Hodkinson, Nicole Vivien Watson
Digital artist - 
Ewelina Aleksandrowicz

Monday 1 August 2011

Lessac Training

Along with dance and media The Hard Sell will also include spoken word, this introducing a new language, philosophy, science and expression to our repertoire. Matthew Cummins senior lecturer in Performance Art, Northumbria University, is kindly guiding Molly through the landscape of Lessac technique. A wonderful and brilliant language. 









http://www.lessacinstitute.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2225&Itemid=410