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Archived 2005 programme:
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Our 2005 showcase was the second showcase of culturally diverse performance that we have presented in association with decibel.
The showcase took place from May 31st - June 3rd and featured the work of 41 artists and companies, plus a further 50 artists and companies presented work in the Garden of Delights outdoor festival, June 3rd - 5th. Over 370 delegates attended the showcase events including delegates from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Hungary, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and USA as well as the UK. Lots of the artists who presented work have already received bookings as a result.
I must say how brilliantly managed the whole x.trax experience was from start to finish -
This was my first x.trax and I haven't stop talking about it.
Arts Council West Midlands
I just have to comment on what an incredible staff x.trax has…
Congratulations to your entire staff for a seemingly flawless event.
Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Arizona
In terms of organisation, I think Xtrax set the standard we all have to follow and aspire to.
SETA - UK
Supremely brilliant organisation. So well looked after - lots & lots of staff - but amazingly,
they always knew the answer to a question. Please tell me your secret? I'm in awe!
Thank you & congratulations!
Theatre Royal Bath, UK
I thought that the flow of information and content was very good: Impressive actually!!!!!
Gottsunda Dance and Theatre, Denmark
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30 Bird Productions - Majnoun (theatre)
Iran: no booze, no sex, no techno? Majnoun blasts the Western image of Iran through the roof in a surreal and comic collision of images and scenes exposing the relationship between Iran and the West, tradition and modernity, women and the veil. A soundscape of Iranian and Western music, a non-narrative structure, and bi-lingual performance (Farsi and English) reflect the fragmented results of modernisation that swept Iran from the 1920s up to the Islamic revolution.
photo Bridget Jones
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40 x 10 Carnival Consortium (carnival)
Music, Myths and Magic carnival development project
Four carnival organisations – Bridgwater Carnival, Manchester School of Samba, Nostalgia Carnival Club and Masquerade 2000 - have come together in a formal consortium (40 x 10 Carnival Consortium) in order to develop a unique collaborative project. Live music, dance, spectacular costumes and floats combine in an unmissable carnival parade.
photo Jenni Welch
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Abram Wilson (music)
Music to stir the soul, free the mind and move the feet. Raised in New Orleans, Abram Wilson is the hottest young trumpeter and vocalist to cross the Atlantic in decades, and puts the dance back into jazz, incorporating hip hop, RnB and New Orleans grooves. Abram’s debut album, Jazz Warrior (DUNECD011) has received rave reviews from the critics and he’s widely tipped to follow in the award-winning footsteps of label mate, Soweto Kinch.
photo Janine Irons
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Akrasi – We Are In The Future (music)
Akrasi present We Are In The Future – a strong, eclectic and diverse debut LP on Zero-k productions. Akrasi features vocalist and songwriter Akrasi, composer and programmer Patrick, sound controller Devon Shaw, and trumpet player Kevin Davy, accompanied by zero-k visuals. Live performances include breaks, roots, and b-line culture. 'Expect mutations of dub, breakbeat, ragga and electronica, accompanied by unifying lyrics' Metro
photo Christophe Binner
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Angika – Bhakti (dance)
Angika are a leading British Indian dance company and their work is committed to regenerating the rich vocabulary of classical Bharata Natyam dance with a contemporary approach. Bhakti, their new work is powered by the concentrated vitality and sculptural geometry of Angika's dance. Angika communicate through Bhakti a startlingly powerful and imaginative interpretation of the beauty of the human experience of devotion. Bhakti is performed to an exciting original score composed by India's well-known exponents of electronica, MIDIval PunditZ.
photo Mike Zatouroff
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Anurekha Ghosh & Company - Ruins (dance)
"The beautiful world is in ruins. Rarely, time alone makes ruins". Anurekha Ghosh & Company perform a ravishing display of a mixture of North Indian Kathak dance, contemporary dance and music, which is beautiful and mesmerising. In this production the internationally celebrated choreographers Shobana Jeyasingh, Kumudini Lakhia and Anurekha Ghosh investigate the three different impacts of the state of ruins of the world.
photo Patricia Cummay
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Chi2 (music)
Chi2 are Chinese Brit-born violinist/composers Sarah and Liz Liew. Their sound is a cross-pollination of their Chinese roots and own individual music sensibility. Described as “Double violin assault specialists” Chi2 fuse electronic beats and effects with melodies and improvisations on both electric and Chinese violins and keyboards. Their dynamic live show combines melodic banter with effects, plus a stunning visual show. Although now concentrating on their career as Chi2 they are part of Moby’s backing band and have played/recorded with the likes of Lamb, Barry Adamson and Goldfrapp amongst others.
photo Huw Morgon
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Coded Language - The Voice (spoken word / music)
A collaboration between writer, Rommi Smith, visual artist, Mat Lazenby and Musicians, Hightone Productions, The Voice explores the social, cultural, spiritual and political significance of the human voice. The Voice is a journey of questions; its pathway an examination and exploration of the cultural and political significance of voice. Drawing inspiration from Blues, Jazz, Gospel and Electro music forms, the piece interweaves poetry based on stories from diverse cultural origins and pulls together a celebration of parallel metaphors.
photo Kippa Matthews
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Collective Artistes - Lion and the Jewel (theatre)
Rival suitors, an ambitious young teacher and a rich village elder pursue the local beauty. Native beliefs and modern ways clash into a tapestry of ribald rivalry, tantalizing intrigue and robust expectations as the whole village eagerly awaits the outcome. The Lion and the Jewel by Wole Soyinka is a classic play within the Nigerian literary canon A one hour sonorous extract from the play will be presented in the showcase.
photo Robert Day
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Creative Origins - The Word Temple (spoken word / drama/music)
The Word Temple is a hybrid of talent and creativity, investigating the musicology of the spoken word. It will bring together the most talented writers, rappers and spoken word artists, for a lyrical exploration and vocalised performance in search of an audio visual environment. 6 lyricists, including Nolan Weeks, Segun and Michelle Scally Clark, will work alongside musicians including DJ Amplified, guitarist Fidel and others. Featuring breaks, beats and visuals, Amani Naphtali introduces us to a pulsating new theatrical genre.
photo Diane Morgan
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Dennis Rollins
Griots t' Garage - A Musical History of The African Diaspora (music)
Drawing on his many musical experiences, and extensive research, Dennis presents Griots t' Garage - A Musical History of the African Diaspora, his personal tribute to over 500 years of Black music in which he documents the path of peoples and time: the horrors of transportation and slavery; field work songs; the developments of the Blues and Jazz and onwards through Samba, Soul and Reggae, to the funky, urban Hip-hop and Garage grooves of today.
photo Walter Dirks
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Francesca Beard - Chinese Whispers (theatre / spoken word)
Chinese Whispers combines love and linguistic limbo dancing into a fun-sized hour of poetic dim-sum. Journey to a world where issues of cultural identity are settled by a fight between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a Hungry Ghost Chinese Ancestor, as Francesca Beard reinterprets modern life through her trademark acerbic wit. Written and performed by Francesca Beard. Commissioned and developed by BAC and Apples & Snakes.
photo Jason Larkin
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Fusing Naked Beats - Digital Asia (music)
A live set from Fusing Naked Beats involving DJ, MC, Tablas and keyboards under the title Digital Asia which takes Eastern and Western cultures and roots and fuses them. As leader DJ Asif says “The UK … is a melting pot of cultures which is constantly evolving and is a great source of new ideas. I tend to look at musical styles from all over the world, not just Asian or Arabic... Diversity is the key to creativity. 'Pure uncorrupted talent' Time Out
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Grace Ndiritu - The Fall of Eve (live art / video installation)
Some say Eve was the first (black) female and mother of mankind, therefore her degeneration into domestic slavery is of up most importance. Hence The Fall of Eve looks at the portrayal of black women during the first part of the twentieth century. My purpose as an artist is to rewrite Black history through the immediacy of Performance Video Art. The Fall of Eve is an attempt to give back, what has been taken from those who lack power: their dignity.
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Gurdev Singh - The Waves of Indian Strings (music)
The waves of Indian Strings brings an exciting range of melodies and rhythms on Sarod, Dilruba and Tarshehnai by Gurdev Singh accompanied on Tabla by Sanju Sahai and NavinderPal Singh. The Sarod is an extremely demanding instrument to handle, mastered by only a handful of players in these regions. It is capable of an extraordinary range of sounds, from haunting sweetness to dazzling speed and power.
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Hip Hop Collective - Heroes (dance)
Heroes is an electrifying mixture of full throttle, maximum velocity Hip Hop dance and a mythic urban legend, told in the theatrical style of comic book adventures. The dancers astound with their extraordinary virtuosity and daring acrobatics, drawing on their expertise in a range of Hip Hop styles from the staccato isolations of Locking to the phenomenal gymnastics and athleticism of Breaking and the sexy groove of Nu Skool as well as body Popping.
photo Tim Brown
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Juliet Ellis - The Meeting Place (live art / film)
She is a woman dressed in red, on stage she disappears and reappears on film, she is a sleeper, she is caught wandering between waking and dreaming, she is looking back unable to return. She is searching in the dark for traces of light. A highly visual work using video, a stunning sound-scape and live performance, The Meeting Place conveys complex and contradictory information that disturbs our perception and subsequently calls into question our understanding of the self.
photo Graham Clayton Chance
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Kali Theatre Company - Calcutta Kosher by Shelley Silas (theatre)
If the past is another country, where is home? Two sisters return to their crumbling family home to discover a long hidden secret that forces them to re-examine their relationship with their mother and the reality of their lives. Set in the Indian Jewish community, this funny and moving play, examines how family and culture, time and distance, influence our sense of who we are. ' A gem that glows in the dark' The Times
photo Robert Day
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Kazuko Hohki - Evidence for the Existence of Borrowers
(live art / installation / theatre)
For the past two years, Kazuko and colleagues at the Borrowers International Network have been working hard, promoting cultural exchange between Borrowers and human beans through their website. Now, BIN come to Manchester to host a special interactive installation and presentation which explores the unique world and culture of the small people who live under the floorboards.
photo David Woods
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Kevin Haynes Grupo Elegua (music)
Kevin Haynes Grupo Elegua is a band that performs Jazz music and traditional folkloric music from Cuba/Nigeria/Trinidad/Brazil. We bring these music art forms together to create our own style of Afro jazz or traditional folkloric Afro Cuban and Nigerian Yoruba music with modern jazz harmonies that comes out of the schools of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Steve Colman, Pharaoh Sanders, Abbilona Lazaro Ros, Fela Kuti, Irekere. With a mix of narration and Yoruba chants and projection images.
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Browse the 2005 programme:
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