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Portfolio Collection

With music ranging from Tarantino-esque soundscapes, intense driving beats and even a Spanish lament (to a dead dog) – Portfolio Collection is a dance banquet of serene chaos, sinister loveliness and shocking beauty.

A rich selection of contemporary dance by some of the best choreographers from the UK and the rest of the World. Portfolio Collection is made up of 9 separate dance pieces, each lasting about 10 minutes, presented by StopGAP's resident professional dancers who showcase their strong dance technique, injected with a healthy dose of humour and buckets of charisma. Along with intense music, rich lighting and a charged atmosphere, you can be sure of an outstanding, thrilling and dramatic evening that won't be forgotten.

Touring Programme

On tour, audiences can expect to see a selection of 4 or 5 dance pieces carefully blended from the full collection, in addition to other work from the StopGAP repertoire. Details of which sections will be performed at which venues can be found on the 'Forthcoming Performance Dates' page.

The Full Programme

Photograph of Dan and Chris crawling flat-bellied across the floor in the centre of a circle of bright white light, heads tilted up, looking to the side.

Choreographer: Hofesh Shechter

Hofesh sets the dynamic with a raw and rugged conversation between two men, charged full of testosterone and contained in the binding light of urban constraints.

Photograph of Lucy and Dan. Lucy is stepping forwards in a ballet step, right foot pointed. Her arms are bent out almost impossibly in front of her, hands pressed flat to her stomach, elbows bent pointing forwards. She is wearing shiny black plastic shorts and vest, and has a strip of black tape across her mouth. Dan stands bare-chested facing her, to the right. Legs together, he bows in a mocking manner, arms spread out wide.

Choreographer: Gary Clarke

This provocative duet intrudes on the vicious power dynamic between two people, trapped in an unrelenting cycle of destructive behaviour, haunted and taunted by an ambiguous third figure.

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In this photograph, Dan stands in the foreground playing an accordian. He looks frustratedly back across the stage at Laura and Chris entwined in an embrace. Chris kneels on the floor and bends his back across Laura's lap, left arm outstretched to the back of her neck as she folds her left arm across his chest.

Choreographer: Lucy Bennett

Lucy exposes the lonely hearts in StopGAP, their eccentric deepest desires and hidden talents, as they search for 'the one' – another oddball who can make their life complete.

Photograph of Laura and Chris. Chris sits in a wooden chair, his back to us. He is bending to the right, left arm pressed to Laura's back. She sits side-on in front of him, her head turned down and to the left, her right arm is raised above her head, finger-tips touching Chris's forearm.

Choreographer: Dan Watson

Dan imagines ways of not running away, creating moments of personal and domestic uncertainty. But leaving is the hardest option.

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Choreographer: Thomas Mettler

In the first of two interludes, Thomas challenges a single dancer to improvise their own emotional and physical transitions from one piece to the next.

In the second interlude, the dancers are taken to the edge of their intuition, seeking the boundaries of improvisation.

Choreographers: Lucy Bennett and Chris Pavia

Initiated by a hesitant touch, the two dancers soften toward each other with playful tenderness and share a private moment, a tranquil oasis, oblivious to being observed.

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In this photograph we see Lucy and Chris in the foreground, they are twisting around looking back, left hands pressed to their ears, right arms stretched out behind. In the background Dan stands behind Laura, both have their arms by their sides, shoulders raised up. They have shocked expressions on their faces with wide open mouths.

Choreographer: Nathalie Pernette

Controlled contemplation sliced by searing movement, marks a stark and precise descent into unravelled reality influenced by the Hieronymous Bosch painting 'Garden of Earthly Delights'.

In this photograph we see Lucy, Chris and Dan, spread out across a stage strewn with red roses, they are jumping and spinning with arms outstretched. In the foreground, Laura sits on the floor in her bright blue flamenco dress. She has an expression of pure delight on her face as she throws a red rose into the air.

Choreographer: Rob Tannion

The dancers are on the quest for love, where the innocent are corrupted and the pure is plastic, revealing the dark dirty underside of unrequited lust.

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StopGAP is a regularly funded organisation of Arts Council England.