Protein Dance

Protein is Company in Residence at Greenwich Dance and a Yorkshire Dance Partner, and in 1997 it became a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England. Luca Silvestrini's concern for the human condition and his drive to communicate contemporary dance to a wider public has led to Protein carving out new territory in which to develop, pres... ent and experience dance theatre. Protein has created several projects for large cross-generational casts. Most influentially, Alfresco (2005) established Protein's reputation for this work nationally and internationally, leading to commissions in Athens (Stavrodomi, 2007), Valencienne (Valfresco, 2007), London (Crossroads, 2011), Barcelona (Cruilles, 2011), Turin (Dimore 1997) and Kinosaki, Japan (Crossroads 2015). At the same time, Protein has developed dance participation packages for schools and colleges that help to enhance students' understanding of the company's work and meet the needs of the National Curriculum for dance and performing arts. With East London Dance, Protein created its dance filmStart to Finish, which involved 150 schoolchildren, the development of which led to the creation of an educational CD Rom that enabled teachers to link dance to the 1997 Olympics. Luca's ongoing contribution to participatory dance has also included Big Dance Class, 2006, which involved the record-breaking simultaneous participation of 8962 people all around the country; LIFT's Eat London, 2007; 8 Steps for 08 for Liverpool City of Culture, 2008; and Big World Dance, 2010, Protein's largest ever Big Dance event for Trafalgar Square in London. Equally challenging and also immensely rewarding has been Protein's Real Life Real Dance programme, starting in 2006 with I Woz 'Ere 2, a performance-led project involving young people excluded from mainstream education in collaboration with arts organisations and Pupil Referral Units in London, Birmingham, Swindon and Swanley. Everything Stopped (2006), a documentary commissioned by the Gulbenkian Foundation, has promoted ...Read More