Ep. 30: Brazilian Dance with Choreographer Deborah Colker; Lowborn by Author Kerry Hudson; Artistic Director Wasfi Kani on Porgy and Bess

Stance meets Brazil's most famous choreographer, Deborah Colker. Career highlights include winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2001; writing, directing and choreographing the Cirque du Soleil show, Ovo; to creating one of the biggest shows of her career - the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics opening ceremony featuring over 3000 performers.

In her latest award-winning show, Dog without Feathers, she uses dance to explore the mythology of the people of Brazil's Capibaribe River in the northeastern region of Pernambuco. Using inspiration from the poem Cão sem Plumas by the country’s most influential poets, João Cabral de Melo Neto.

Kerry Hudson - Photography Eleonore de Bonneval

Stance catches up with award-winning and best selling author, Kerry Hudson, to discuss her new book, Lowborn - Growing up, Getting Away and Returning to Britain's Poorest Towns. In this non fiction memoir, she paints a vivid picture of growing up in poverty whilst on the move with her mum and sister.

Stance speaks to her about her journey revisiting the towns she grew up in, from the suburbs of Aberdeen and Glasgow, all the way down to the outskirts of Newcastle, Norwich and Canterbury, to try to discover what being poor really means in Britain today.

Chorus - Photography by Richard Lewisohn

And, Stance was given exclusive access into the rehearsals of the upcoming George Gershwin Opera Porgy and Bess. We interview Wasfi Kani OBE, Artistic Director of Grange Park Opera which is considered one of the leading Opera companies in the UK.