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“I always wanted to be that punk queer guy.”
Andrea Walker speaks to Scene Magazine ahead of his show ‘Sad Book’, heading on a UK tour next month.
Check out the interview HERE.
Andrea Walker speaks to Scene Magazine ahead of his show ‘Sad Book’, heading on a UK tour next month.
Check out the interview HERE.
Following the world premiere at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Andrea Walker and 201 Dance Company are pleased to announce the UK tour of the critically acclaimed SAD BOOK will visit theatres in Spring 2025. Inspired by Michael Rosen’s award-winning novel, this compelling adaptation of Sad Book is a visually inventive, moving story of navigating complex emotions in the midst of everyday life.
Selected tour dates, including the Hackney Empire will feature live, in person narration from Michael Rosen.
"Top Dance Pick" - The Scotsman
"Top Stage Pick" - The Guardian
In this personal story of loss, a father explores the disconnection between what we feel, what we show, and different ways we deal with sadness. Sad Book makes the deeply personal, universal, retelling the story through dance, physical theatre, animation and stunning original music.
"It's miraculous to see something I've written transformed into what I'll call a dance drama. It feels like watching myself from the outside in and I'm totally moved by it" - Michael Rosen
Directed and Choreographed by Andrea Walker, Sad Book is the third touring production by 201 Dance Company, renowned for presenting emotional, evocative pieces with cinematic production design.
Andrea Walker describes reading Michael Rosen’s award-winning SAD BOOK as being the first time he felt his own mental health and experience of grief were directly ‘spoken to’. The beauty in the simplistic, conversational language created a pathway into the complex emotion of sadness and Andrea’s vision for his dance theatre adaptation began from the moment he read the final page. 201 Dance Company is honoured to be trusted by Michael to adapt such an important piece of work.
201 present the SAD BOOK UK Tour in partnership with Child Bereavement UK and The HERA Project. Audiences visiting performances on tour will be able to participate in a programme of post show discussions featuring special guests, accompanying workshops and be supported by a compassionate and trained listener should they experience overwhelming emotions whilst watching the show.
"A quite extraordinary experience where dance, animation and music take you on a journey of emotion" - ★★★★★ The Edinburgh Reporter
Brighton based LGBTQ+ led, 201 Dance Company has just released their highly anticipated annual Pride dance video. The video has already gathered thousands of views on social media, and has been shared by Sam Smith themselves. Over the past few years, the company's viral videos have captivated audiences with their creativity, flair, and unapologetic camp aesthetic. Each year, the videos have garnered increasing attention, reaching new heights of popularity for the company. The journey began in 2018 when the video featured pop icon Britney Spears who was the headliner for Brighton and Hove Pride, instantly capturing the imagination of viewers and amassing ground breaking views on social media. The following year, the queen of camp herself, Kylie Minogue, made a cameo appearance, further solidifying the company’s reputation for high quality celebratory videos. Last year, the dance company paid homage to the twentieth anniversary of Christina Aguilera's hit song ‘Dirrty’, wowing audiences once again in front of the backdrop of iconic Brighton locations. The theme of this year's video is "PRIDE IS A PROTEST". On choosing the track this year, ‘VULGAR’ by Sam Smith and Madonna, Director and Choreographer Andrea Walker said “Our rights as LGBTQ+ individuals feel very under threat right now. Up to this point, our Pride videos have had a happy-go-lucky sense to them. But Pride is a protest, and this year we felt it was more important than ever to drive a message of protest and defiance.” Described by Slant Magazine as a "glorious, no-f**ks-given bitch track" the song embodies transgressive, unapologetic expression that defies mass consumption. Its camp and queer vibes perfectly align with the spirit of the video, presenting a unique opportunity for creative exploration, sensuality, and an encapsulation of queer artistic expression and pride. “’VULGAR’ is a very queer track. The lyrics that really stuck to me were "You know you're beautiful when they call you vulgar". Both Sam Smith and Madonna have a strong track record of being castigated for wanting to express their true selves. It's a feeling that a lot of the community and I can relate to. I instantly also loved the lyrics "Say our f****g names!" (or "Say our, say our names" in the clean version). While strong, they instantly felt like a call to battle for queer people to stand up and say "We're here, we're queer and we're not going anywhere!". As well as love, I want this year's video to shout "no matter how hard you try, you can't erase us””. Andrea Walker, Choreographer and Artistic Director, 201 Dance Company Sponsored by esteemed organisations and brands, the production boasts the collaboration of Arts Council England, ICTheatre (Institute for Contemporary Theatre), local dance studio Marina Studios, and the effortlessly sexy brand Lounge, who provided some of the daring costumes for the video. Most notably, as meaningful sponsors the video features the participation of a group of NHS staff, who gave their free time outside of work to contribute to the celebrations, showcasing their support for this project. The video introduces Pearl Makayi (credits include dancing for Lizzo, Stormzy, Tinie Tempah, Miguel, AJ Tracey, and Big Zuu), a talented black female lead making her debut with 201 Dance Company. Alongside her, co-lead queer dancer Nicholas Piscedda will deliver a captivating performance. Nicholas Piscedda has been an integral part of 201 Dance Company for several years, demonstrating exceptional talent and dedication. Walker expressed his enthusiasm for their involvement, stating, "I couldn't think of anyone better to capture my movement and the sense of defiance and protest we wanted to convey with this year's Pride project. Both Pearl and Nicholas are powerful talents and a staple of the Brighton dance community." The video also features queer icons Dolly Rocket and Dave the Bear and Drag Artists Ex-Girlfriend, Alik, Ophelia Payne and King Sammy Silver. As well as the inclusion of a drag king, who are often unrepresented or overlooked by the media, the video features queer families, trans individuals proudly showing their scars from gender reassignment surgery, and numerous other proud members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Their inclusion in the video speaks to the importance of being truly representative of the diversity in the queer community and in today’s society, and a celebration of how far we’ve come. Capturing the essence of Brighton's beauty, the video is skillfully filmed and edited by videographer Josh Brady. The stunning locations chosen for the shoot highlight the city's vibrant atmosphere and scenic charm.
Watch the Pride Video here:
We all have some sad stuff - maybe you have some right now, as you read this. What makes Michael most sad is thinking about his son Eddie, who died.
Through an intimate, visual spectacle that includes dance, storytelling, animation and original music, 201 and Choreographer Andrea Walker bring Michael Rosen’s award-winning book to the stage.
SAD BOOK premieres at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Zoo Main House, 22-28th August, 6:30pm. Tickets available from the 6th of June! For more info visit www.201dancecompany.com.
Watch the trailer here:
Andrea is adapting Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake's award-winning picture book: "SAD BOOK" for the stage. The production will be making its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2021. Read 201 Dance Company's full statement below:
We want to share some exciting news! Back in March, we were just about to announce our next full-length production, which would have premiered at Edinburgh Fringe 2020. Then lockdown happened. Last week, we found out we're one of the lucky and grateful recipients of Arts Council England's Emergency Grant, which will help us to keep working on this project. Thank you ACE!!
To celebrate such happy news during such difficult times, we think it's time we reveal what we've been creating this past year:
We are honoured to be adapting Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake's award-winning "SAD BOOK" for the stage. This is a very personal story about what it means to be sad, with some truly beautiful - and sometimes haunting - writing and imagery. We're so grateful to Michael for lending his beautiful story to us. "SAD BOOK" is already pencilled for an EdFringe 2021 run. We're working with some incredibly talented performers, animators, projection artists, composers, musicians and designers to bring to you one of our biggest productions to date, with a fusion of choreography, animation, design, and original composition that we are very proud of. We are so excited to bring Sad Book's pages to life, and we can't wait to share our hard work with you all.️ Meanwhile, stay safe!
Read what The Guardian thought about Sad Book by CLICKING HERE.
Andrea Walker's 201 Dance Company is casting their Lead Role for their upcoming production "Sad Book"! The role is open to Male Actors of 50+ years. Full info here: www.201dancecompany.com/auditions.
Andrea Walker choreographed a video to Kylie’s latest single “New York City” in honour of Brighton Pride and her headline slot at the festival. When Kylie heard about the project she loved the idea, and joined Andrea and the dancers for a cameo. Having Kylie on board really made this a special experience!
Andrea Walker is back in the studio with 201 to choreograph the company’s brand new full-length production. A lot more will be revealed soon!
HOME - Andrea Walker’s world-premiere for the Joffrey Ballet - has concluded a successful run at The Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. What a journey this has been! Check out some of the reviews here:
"A showcase for rising talents ... Fernando Duarte in HOME is hauntingly effective"
- Chicago Sun Times,
out of 4
"HOME is unabashedly political ... Walker finds all the words he needs to persuade in mere — and magnificent — movement"
- Stage and Cinema, Highly Recommended
"The Joffrey dancers cut loose in Walker’s electrifying ballet, with exciting sequences of group moves against the isolating bewilderment of Fernando Duarte’s solo as the outsider"
- See Chicago Dance, Recommended
“HOME is an intense, piercingly political work of dance theatre that left the audience (and only a Britishism might do here) completely gobsmacked. HOME's portrait of physical and emotional alienation has clearly struck a chord with the Joffrey dancers"
- Chicago on the Aisle, Recommended
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