by Lea Anderson Zoetrope Roll up, Roll up: Be amazed and amused in the wonderful world of Zoetrope! Visit our Zoetrope Minisite to learn more Read the digital programme here Is an hour enough to learn the whole of human history? Probably not. Is it enough time to be amazed, intrigued, and delighted? Definitely. Imaginations will run wild as Chimps, lizards and skeletons leap and cartwheel across a stage exploding with clever effects and music. This entrancing family experience combines all the fun of the fair with acrobatics and dance to explore the meaning of life, the origins of film and our attraction to magic. Choreography by the legendary Lea Anderson MBE. What is a Zoetrope? A zoetrope is a pre-film animation device that produce the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings or photographs showing progressive phases of that motion. Reviews “With its musical whirrs, clicks and glitches Zoetrope opens up a strange world…the show was very funny. An amusingly offbeat creation from an artist as imaginative as ever.” The Guardian “it reminded me how brilliantly playful dance is as a medium, it was funny, it was silly and playful but it was also clever” Lead Curriculum Achievement Officer, Welsh Government "Absolutely loved it. Surreal cabaret dance show doesn’t do it justice. Bonkers and stylish." Audience Member "An excellent show from NDCWales Zoetrope was amazing and the children loved it!" School “fun, weird and funny”. Young person Watch the trailer Check out our Zoetrope playlist to learn more about Zoetropes and to know what to expect, interviews and more. About Zoetrope Creative Team Length: 50 minutes Dancers: 5-7 Choreographer: Lea Anderson MBE Composer: Steve Blake Designer: Simon Vincenzi Lighting Designer: Marty Langthorne Costume Supervisor / maker: Deryn Tudor Costumer Maker: Danial Thatcher Props Maker: Johanna Lloyd Created with dancers: Luca Chiodini, Samuel Gilovitz, Jill Goh, Riz Golden, Niamh Keeling, Mario Manara and Faye Tan First performed: 13 December 2023 at the Dance House, Cardiff Choreographer Lea Anderson Lea Anderson MBE Lea Anderson is an independent artistic director and choreographer based in North Devon. Lea is a co-founder and artistic director of The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughscompanies. As well as touring extensively throughout the UK and overseas, the companies are renowned for their pioneering work in non-theatrical spaces and venues. In 2002 Lea was awarded an MBE for her services to dance, and in 2006 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Dartington College of Arts. In 2014 Lea was appointed Regents Professor at the University of California, in Los Angeles. Lea’s notable recent work includes: 2022: Shuffle: touring interactive dance work that sees the audience take part as voting club-goers. Part performance, part game 2020: Elvis Legs (Quarantine Mix): a distanced ensemble dance work, funded using Kickstarter and filmed on Zoom during the Covid lockdown. 2019: Los Amores de Marte y Venus: commission for Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Havana, Cuba. 2019: Laberinto: commission for Compania Danza PUCP Peru 2019: The Alien’s Guide to Dance Gone Wrong, commission for Maiden Voyage, Belfast (2019). Duckie Loves Fanny, a commission by Duckie 2019 Digital and film work includes: Dance:Capture:Chelsea-21, 2021. commissioned by Chelsea Theatre London, a filmed collection of found dances. Pans People Papers, 2015. A transmedia project with Marisa Zanotti How to Talk to Girls at Parties 2017, feature film, written by Neil Gaiman, director John Cameron Mitchell The Lost Dances of Egon Schiele 2000, BBC. Co-directors: Lea Anderson and Kevin McKiernan. Velvet Goldmine 1997, feature film, directed by Todd Haynes Lea has a special interest in intangible cultural heritage and living collections and has created performed exhibitions at the V&A museum (Hand in Glove, 2016), at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (Trying it On, 2018), and in an archeological site in Lima, Peru (Huaca, 2017). Lea was artist in residence at the Horniman Museum, London in 2019 and a Creative Fellow at The Bill Douglas Film Museum, Exeter 2019-2020. Schools Dance is one of the five disciplines of the Expressive Arts Area of Learning and Experience – and is an artform that can be used to motivate and encourage learners to develop their creative, artistic and performance skills, as well as assisting coordination, numeracy and physical education. Zoetrope is our new show for schools and families Our performance package includes lesson plans covering points across the cirriculum. Learn more about our schools package for Zoetrope Gallery Supported by: