Press Release: Scottish Ballet collaborate with Kathryn Joseph to create the music video for her song The Bird

[Jan McNulty]

SCOTTISH BALLET COLLABORATE

 WITH SCOTTISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR WINNER KATHRYN JOSEPH TO CREATE MUSIC VIDEO FOR HER NEW SINGLE THE BIRD

 

 

The new music video marks the launch of Scottish Ballet Creative, an outlet for artistic projects exploring the relationship between camera, dance and digital media.

 

“I am delighted to announce the launch of Scottish Ballet Creative with the release of The Bird video. Kathryn Joseph’s music and voice captured our imagination and the music video provides a wonderful starting point for an ambitious initiative that will see future collaborations between Scottish Ballet dancers, filmmakers, musicians and other creative artists to produce innovative dance works for our expanding online audience. Projects like these are vital to help us bring dance to a wider audience and will allow a new generation to experience the beauty of ballet up close.”

Christopher Hampson, CEO/Artistic Director

 

The Bird, directed by Scottish Ballet filmmaker and graphic designer Eve McConnachie, uses the skills of our own dancer/choreographerSophie Laplane. The haunting film features Laplane performing her own work, devised specifically to reflect the fragility and melancholy of the song, filmed on location on a desolate Scottish beach. The music video was launched at 2pm today exclusively by The List, the official media partners for Scottish Ballet’s Autumn Season.

 

Eve McConnachie

Film director Eve McConnachie’s previous creations include the short dance film Healah Dancing, shown as part of the Dance Odysseysprogramme at the Edinburgh International Festival 2013. The film was also selected to be part of the DANCE:FILM Festival in Edinburgh and the Dance on Camera festival in New York.

 

Sophie Laplane

Dancer, Sophie Laplane, joined Scottish Ballet in 2004 and has worked closely with Scottish Ballet’s CEO/Artistic Director, Christopher Hampson, to develop her choreographic skills. Her first commission Oxymore was showcased at the Edinburgh International Festival 2013, Scottish Ballet’s Up Close tour 2014 and more recently at the TEDx Glasgow event. Her latest work for Scottish Ballet, Maze, will receive its world premiere on Thursday 24 September 2015 at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal ahead of a tour across Scotland.

 

Kathryn Joseph

Singer/songwriter, Kathryn Joseph, won the Scottish Album of the Year Award in June for her debut album ‘Bones You Have Thrown Me And Blood I’ve Spilled’. This is her first single release from the album and it is a double A-side featuring The Bird alongside the new song The Worm. The double A-side single, which launches on 27 July, will be available to download and will also be out as a limited edition 7inch vinyl release.

 

Credits:

The Bird by Kathryn Joseph, Scottish Ballet Creative

 

Music by Kathryn Joseph (Hits the Fan Records)

Directed by Eve McConnachie (Scottish Ballet)

Danced and Choreographed by Sophie Laplane (Scottish Ballet)

 

View the music video for The Bird here: https://www.list.co.uk/article/72758-watch-the-video-for-kathryn-josephs-new-single-the-bird/

 

 

EDITORS NOTES:

 

Sophie Laplane biography

Sophie Laplane trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, winning the Prize of the CNSMDP Mention Bien. Prior to this, she trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School. She danced with Le Ballet de Lorraine from 2003 to 2004 and was a member of The Junior Ballet Classique du Conservatoire de Paris between 2002 and 2003. She joined Scottish Ballet in winter 2004, and was promoted to Coryphée in July 2011. Significant roles have included playing Stella in Lopez’s Ochoa A Streetcar Named Desire and Juliet’s friend in Pastor’s Romeo and Juliet as well as performing in Matthew Bourne’s Highland Fling. Laplane is also an emerging choreographer. Her dance work Oxymore was performed at Edinburgh International Festival 2013 as part of the Dance Odysseys event and a second work, Sink In, was showcased at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014. Laplane also choreographed a new work for students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland as part of their end of year performance in 2014. Most recently she presented a new dance work at the Linbury Studio Theatre in London as part of The Royal Ballet's Draft Works programme. Laplane’s new creation Maze will be performed as part of Scottish Ballet’s upcoming Autumn Season 2015.

 

Eve McConnachie biography

Eve McConnachie studied Animation at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee before expanding her skillset by volunteering at the filmmaking charity GMAC film. She further honed her design skills while working as a freelance graphic designer. After stints volunteering as a designer for the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2007 and 2008 and the Glasgow Film Festival in 2009, McConnachie joined Scottish Ballet as in-house designer and filmmaker in August 2009. McConnachie is responsible for art directing Scottish Ballet’s campaign images as well as creating custom illustrations and branding. She is also responsible for producing Scottish Ballet’s video content including a wide range of films such as animated trailers, behind-the-scenes documentaries and short dance films.

 

Scottish Ballet Digital

Scottish Ballet has embraced digital media and is using it in creative ways to relay the beauty of ballet and engage with a growing online audience without any geographical or time limits. Scottish Ballet won the UK Golden Tweet Award in 2009 and was the first dance company in the UK to do a webcast in 2010. Scottish Ballet has more than 300,000 video views per year and has developed a free iPad app. The company was recently nominated for a Dadi Award for Digital Media Strategy, with the awards ceremony taking place in October this year.

 

Autumn Season 2015

Scottish Ballet’s Autumn Season 2015, featuring Elsa Canasta by Javier de Frutos, Motion of Displacement by Bryan Arias and Mazeby Sophie Laplane, will be performed at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, Eden Court in Inverness and His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen in September and October 2015. The List is the media partner for Scottish Ballet’s Autumn Season 2015.