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School Lane , The Grove,
Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1XR
Box office: 01305 266926
DORCHESTER ARTS is registered in England and Wales as a Company Limited by Guarantee No. 2752793. Registered Charity No. 1015546
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Dorchester Arts Autumn 2012 season includes plenty of ways to get involved: you could become a member and get reciprocal benefits at our partner venues, join our wonderful volunteers and help to bring performances and arts projects to the whole community, or get involved creatively, by enrolling for a workshop or joining in during Kepow Theatre’s interactive improvisation shows.
Dorchester Festival 2012 - procession pictures
Thanks for making Dorchester Festival such a success
It's been an extraordinary five days of events - thanks to everybody who made Dorchester Festival 2012 such a success.
Dorchester Festival will return in 2014.
It's here - Dorchester Festival is back - 1-5 June 2012 !
Dorchester Festival 1- 5 JUNE 2012
The World Comes to Town
Welcome to Dorchester Festival !
Welcome to Dorchester Festival! The world comes to town - five amazing days of international music, street theatre, film, comedy and outdoor performances.
Broadcaster, writer and cook, Hardeep Singh Kohli is offering a wonderfully funny, laid-back evening’s entertainment in the Corn Exchange and Kawa Circus from Rajasthan and the Mighty Zulu Nation from Kwa-Zulu Natal bring their breathtaking circus and pulsating African rhythms to the Borough Gardens.
Enjoy a feast of free entertainment - chill out with locally produced food and music in the acoustic café, discover the secret cinema inside a huge pliosaur, marvel at the insect circus, see animation from around the world at the Plaza cinema – and don’t miss the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations offered by Dorchester Town Council on Bank Holiday Tuesday!
With music and artists from the four corners of the world this year’s festival will be an exciting prelude to the Cultural Olympiad events later in the summer. We hope to see you there. Namaste !
Sharon Hayden Festival Artistic Director
SATURDAY 26 MAY • CREATE A GIGANTASAURUS PARADE!
Join Heidi Steller in South Street to create a huge dinosaur for the Gigantasaurus Festival Parade. Create amazing musical instruments with James Kimber, founder of Weapons of Sound, Britain’s leading “junk” music group. Come and let your imagination run wild!
Saturday 2 June - meet at 12noon at Corn Exchange for the Gigantasaurus Parade through the town centre to the Borough Gardens.
1 - 5 JUNE DORCHESTER FESTIVAL - Five days of amazing events
26 MAY - 10 JUNE • LUCAS WESCHKE • VISUAL ART
An exhibition of block prints by Lucas Weschke winner of the solo exhibition prize at Dorchester Arts Open 2011 competition.
Originally from Cornwall, he moved to Dorset 16 years ago.
His work is figurative and contemporary, characterised by clear line and form, yet each image holds enduring echoes from our emotional landscape
THURSDAY 31 May • CIRCLE OF TALES - PUPPETCRAFT
CIRCLE OF TALES is an imaginative show for children aged 6+ based around African myths with performances in local schools. Prior to the show Key Stage 1 children will be able to take part in music workshops playing African instruments.www.puppetcraft.co.uk
Contact: Dorchester Arts Centre 01305 266926
Friday 1 June • OUT IN THE OPEN: Plaza Cinema
A compelling insight into the lives of the homeless and vulnerably housed community from the Hub Drop–In Centre for Rough Sleepers in Dorchester.
Using film and live improvised music, Out in the Open highlights the plight of those who are often ignored and marginalized and invites us to listen to their stories...
This film and installation are part of a unique project commissioned by the Solo Trust, a Dorchester based charity.
Project produced and directed by Kathie Prince BUZZ Music Projects with film maker Clive Whaley and sonic artist Adrian Newton.
FRIDAY 1 JUNE • MODOU N’DIAYE • West African music
Master kora player and drummer Modou N’Diaye Cissokho is a member of the famous Cissokho family of Griot musicians and oral historians from the Cassamance region of Southern Senegal.
As a virtuoso drummer and percussionist with a superb repertoire of rhythms, Modou plays a variety of West African instruments ranging from djembe, sabar and talking drum to his leading instrument, the 22 string kora.Modou’s music has been in demand from the global film industry.
Commissioned by Warner Brothers, his djembe playing can be heard in the soundtrack of the blockbluster movie, ‘Blood Diamond’.
After mesmerising audiences at Glastonbury festival 2002 he now regularly performs and teaches at WOMAD Charlton Park and Drum Camp.
FRIDAY 1 June • BEN WATERS BAND • PIANO, PIMMS & POP CLUB
An electric summer’s evening of boogie-woogie with Ben Waters and his band joined by Dorchester Arts POP CLUB near Owermoigne just outside Dorchester.
Hugely popular at home and abroad, Jools Holland has named the Ben Waters Band as number two in his list of top ten bands !
Bid for a signed guitar and get ready to boogie the night away
BOX OFFICE: Dorchester Arts 01305 266926
Book early - tickets limited !
Directions to venue supplied with tickets
FRIDAY 1 JUNE • HENRY OLONGA • Blood, Sweat and Treason
‘Blood, Sweat and Treason’
Author’s talk + book signing
Corn Exchange 6pm £7 & £5 students
In 2003 Henry Olonga, the first black cricketer to play for Zimbabwe, and his senior white colleague Andy Flower, made a protest before the World Cup by donning black armbands on the cricket field to mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe.
It was a stand against the tyranny in their country that would have very serious consequences.
Hear first-hand this extraordinary story of courage and exile from one of the world’s greatest cricketers who will be signing copies of his book ‘Blood, Sweat & Treason’.
Corn Exchange 6pm £7 & £5 students
In 2003 Henry Olonga, the first black cricketer to play for Zimbabwe, and his senior white colleague Andy Flower, made a protest before the World Cup by donning black armbands on the cricket field to mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe.
It was a stand against the tyranny in their country that would have very serious consequences.
Hear first-hand this extraordinary story of courage and exile from one of the world’s greatest cricketers who will be signing copies of his book ‘Blood, Sweat & Treason’.
SATURDAY 2 JUNE, SUNDAY 3 JUNE, MONDAY 4 JUNE • ACOUSTIC CAFÉ
Relax and enjoy the delights of scrumptious, locally sourced food with a side order of heavenly home grown poetry, music and magic. The very best of Dorset’s local talent with organic food provided by Jyoti Fernandes from her Five Penny Farm near Bridport.The Tea Bus will also be serving refreshments in the Borough Gardens throughout the festival.
VINTAGE MARKET + DORSET STALLS
Alongside the Borough GardensLook out for the Vintage Market and sample local Dorset crafts and produce from stalls along West Walks Road, beside the Borough Gardens.
OUT IN THE OPEN: Visual Installation
Homeless and vulnerably housed people have been working with award winning artist Peter Snelling to create striking, life-sized paper cut outs representing their imaginations.
See them appear on walls around Dorchester during the run up to the festival.
See them appear on walls around Dorchester during the run up to the festival.
SATURDAY 2 JUNE & SUNDAY 3 JUNE • wHOOPS - HULA HOOP OLYMPICS
Join the wHOOPS team on their hooptastic journey as they show you just what it takes to get to the Olympics, from one giant hoop through to the rib crushing 50-hoop stack.
SATURDAY 2 June • GIGANTASAURUS FESTIVAL PARADE
Our most spectacular, noisy and scariest parade yet …Join Gigantasaurus - if you dare - as it wends its way down South Street towards the Borough Gardens.
Bop to the sounds of Dorchester’s funkiest, junkiest festival drummers led by James Kimber, founder of Weapons of Sound.
Feast your ears on the music of the amazing Jaipur Kawa Brass Band direct from India who will lead the procession and then perform in the Borough Gardens.
Dorchester’s never seen anything like it!
If you’d like to help create Gigantasaurus or try out some super funky, junky instruments join artist Heidi Steller and instrument maker James Kimber in town on Saturday 26tMay for musical monster mayhem…Free and anyone can join in
SATURDAY 2 JUNE & SUNDAY 3 JUNE • JAIPUR KAWA BRASS BAND
The Jaïpur Kawa Brass Band is one of Rajasthan’s finest brass bands with seven musicians, a beautiful female gypsy dancer and an amazing fakir juggler.
They play a range of instruments including trumpets, trombones, tubas, clarinets and saxophones and perform stunning dances and mind-boggling feats of strength and skill.
SATURDAY 2 JUNE • GRIOT STORYTELLING WORKSHOP
GRIOT STORYTELLING WORKSHOP with Mandinka song and kora accompaniment
Borough Gardens 1.30 pm £3
Modou N'Diaye was born into a musically famous Jali (griot) family which have functioned as carriers of tradition in the Southern region of the country for over 700 years. Before reading and writing reached West Africa, griots have had the job of preserving and passing on the regions history and culture through story telling and song, a skill passed down through generations.
Blending tales explained in English with Mandinka song and kora accompaniment, Modou N'Diaye recollects aincent griot stories from the Manding empire like 'Kadiba' and 'Nani Baa'.
Workshop participators also have the chance to learn traditional West African songs passed down through generations and to sing accompanied by the kora playing of Modou.
Borough Gardens 1.30 pm £3
Modou N'Diaye was born into a musically famous Jali (griot) family which have functioned as carriers of tradition in the Southern region of the country for over 700 years. Before reading and writing reached West Africa, griots have had the job of preserving and passing on the regions history and culture through story telling and song, a skill passed down through generations.
Blending tales explained in English with Mandinka song and kora accompaniment, Modou N'Diaye recollects aincent griot stories from the Manding empire like 'Kadiba' and 'Nani Baa'.
Workshop participators also have the chance to learn traditional West African songs passed down through generations and to sing accompanied by the kora playing of Modou.
SATURDAY 2 JUNE • AFRICAN DANCE WORKSHOP
Join Natasha Player of Zubida Movements for a workshop in contemporary African dance with live drumming.
SATURDAY 2 JUNE • DORCHESTER YOUTH THEATRE • Bully
Dorchester Youth Theatre performing excerpts from "Bully" the musical at 3pm
SATURDAY 2 June & SUNDAY 3 June • TRAVELLING PLIOSAUR CINEMA
A life-size Jurassic sea lizard is touring the Jurassic Coast this summer. Explore the beast - operate its mouth and jaw - then venture into its cavernous belly on a cinematic journey.
Here, amongst the gastric juices, you will encounter fascinating marine creatures such as plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs.
Devised by artist Sarah Butterworth with theatrical engineer Mike Pattison, and film by Forkbeard Fantasy.
SATURDAY 2 JUNE & SUNDAY 3 JUNE • TEAM BGee
Markmark Productions has just gotta get a message to you.
Team BGee is a brand new street spectacle that unites two of Britains greatest achievements...Incredible Sporting Success and 70s Disco Pop from the Isle of Man.
To miss them would be a Tragedy!Get Jive Talkin' with Team BGee!
SATURDAY 2 JUNE & SUNDAY 3 JUNE • MUNCH & CRUNCH
Munch & Crunch - an interactive family show about healthy living.
Songs, stories, puppetry, music, magic and games - presented by two young performers - to show the importance of varied diets, exercise and rest.
Energetic, delightfully engaging important messages about healthy living mixed with music, song, slapstick comedy and awe and wonder!
SATURDAY 2 June • BOY LE MONTI - Ska band
Boy Le Monti, a five-piece band from North Dorset, bring their distinctive mix of Ska and Rocksteady music to festivals from Glastonbury to the Larmer Tree.
With their infectious, brass drenched sound suffused with sweet vocal harmonies, their irresistible grooves not only lift the spirits but also your dancing feet!
SATURDAY 2 JUNE • HARDEEP SINGH KOHLI • CURRY AND COMEDY
Everyone loves a curry - after all, it is Britain's national dish!
Broadcaster, writer and Celebrity Masterchef finalist Hardeep Singh Kohli is on a mission to find the best Indian takeaway in the UK.
In this, the third of his massively popular live tour shows, he will order a takeaway live on stage for delivery to the theatre, then race against time to cook his own sumptuous feast before it arrives, whilst sharing recipe tips, anecdotes and stories of his Scottish and Indian heritage.
SUNDAY 3 JUNE & MONDAY 4 JUNE • THE INSECT CIRCUS MUSEUM
'Ladies & Gentlemen! Boys & Girls! Stroll Up for the Magnificent Insect Circus Museum!
Behold the Liberty Beetles and the Cheeky Ladybirds! Be thrilled by the Knife Thrower and the Painted Lady!
Gasp as Captain Courage, the intrepid Wasp Tamer, defies Danger! Marvel at the Worm Charmer and Laugh at the Dancing Snails!'
This unique museum displays a stunning array of costumes, props, puppets, toys and ephemera from the extraordinary collection of the Insect Circus Society.
SUNDAY 3 June & MONDAY 4 June • KAWA CIRCUS
BOWLING GREEN, BOROUGH GARDENS.
FreePerformances throughout the day
The mystical and magical wandering circuses of Rajasthan are a tradition stretching back centuries.
They take audiences into their rarely seen world, through an inventive show featuring a fusion of live music, dance, puppetry, theatre and breathtaking circus skills.
SUNDAY 3 JUNE • THE MIGHTY ZULU NATION
The Mighty Zulu Nation Theatre Company have delighted audiences across the UK over the past 15 years and have been called upon to perform in front of HM The Queen, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, among many others.
Originating from Durban in the kingdom of Kwa-Zulu Natal, their vibrant spectacle of song and dance showcases a kaleidoscope of dynamic traditional Zulu culture.
Splendid dance sequences accompanied by pulsating drums are guaranteed to hold you spellbound.
ZULU TRIBAL DANCE WORKSHOP
Bowling Green, Borough Gardens 4pm £3
The Mighty Zulu Nation will lead a workshop in Zulu tribal dance on the Bowling Green in the Borough Gardens.
SUNDAY 3 JUNE • THE ADVENTURES OF ANDY KERSHAW
Author’s talk & book signing
Corn Exchange 6pm £10 & £8
An unmissable evening in the company of Andy Kershaw, DJ and globe-trotting BBC journalist, whose extraordinary life is captured in his book ‘No off switch’.
A central figure in the popularisation of world music, his record collection weighs seven tons and he’s seen his own intestines…
"I make it a rule not to puff books but Andy Kershaw's ‘No Off Switch’ is sensational. An amazing read. An amazing man." Stephen Fry tweet.
An unmissable evening in the company of Andy Kershaw, DJ and globe-trotting BBC journalist, whose extraordinary life is captured in his book ‘No off switch’.
A central figure in the popularisation of world music, his record collection weighs seven tons and he’s seen his own intestines…
"I make it a rule not to puff books but Andy Kershaw's ‘No Off Switch’ is sensational. An amazing read. An amazing man." Stephen Fry tweet.
SUN 3 JUNE • ALEJANDRO TOLEDO & THE MAGIC TOMBOLINOS/THOMAS & THE MOCKUPS
Argentinean Alejandro Toledo, an outstanding classical saxophonist, leads this group of international players. Middle-Eastern, Latin, and gypsy influences dominate but the music of this sax-and-accordion-fronted quintet contains much else besides - a jot of jazz, a pinch of punk, a taste of tango…
+ Thomas and the Mock Ups – combining rock, ska and indie with attitude - one of Dorchester’s best-kept secrets!
SUNDAY 3 JUNE • THE IN CROWD WITH DAVIDMILLS • COMEDY
Droll raconteur, David Mills (Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2011) hosts a wildly entertaining evening of comedy cabaret.
Mills’ chic, underground style mixes Dave Allen and Elaine Stritch. Expect insider celebrity gossip, shameless bitching, impromptu diatribes and the occasional gospel medley with the dashing Mr. Michael Roulston on piano.
MONDAY 4 JUNE • Jurassic Youth Showcase! • Music, Theatre, Dance!
Borough Gardens 2.30 – 4.30pm
Presenting Pop Club, Portland Rocks, B Sharp, Dorchester Dance and Ballet School plus rapping with Lyric and more...
Presenting Pop Club, Portland Rocks, B Sharp, Dorchester Dance and Ballet School plus rapping with Lyric and more...
Monday 4 June • Dorchester Song Project: Join the Biggest Choir Ever!
Corn Exchange - Rehearsal 1 – 3pm for performance in Borough Gardens 8pm. Free – for all ages.
Here’s your chance to launch Dorchester’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Join Geof Edge and Kathie Prince for a performance of ‘Dancing the Rings at Maumbury’ a very special song commissioned this year by former Mayor, Tess James.
Here’s your chance to launch Dorchester’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Join Geof Edge and Kathie Prince for a performance of ‘Dancing the Rings at Maumbury’ a very special song commissioned this year by former Mayor, Tess James.
Monday 4 June • MARY ANNING’s Fossil • Workshop
Borough Gardens Workshops throughout the day £3
Mary Anning is famous for being the Lyme Regis fossil hunter and first female palaeontologist.
Paint your own fossil and discover more about her amazing story in this participatory drama and painting workshop.
Mary Anning is famous for being the Lyme Regis fossil hunter and first female palaeontologist.
Paint your own fossil and discover more about her amazing story in this participatory drama and painting workshop.
MONDAY 4 JUNE • SIMON ARTHY • Author’s Talk
Dorchester Arts Centre 5pm £5 / £3
Simon Arthy has served as a Royal Marine Commando in many of the world’s most troubled spots. His first-hand experience of conflicts in Bosnia, Chechnya, Sierra Leone, the Congo and Nepal has given him a unique insight into the challenges of reconstruction and conciliation.
Now living in Dorset he works with the government on creating strategies for peace building.
He is also the author of two books written for children in Nepal.
MONDAY 4 JUNE • MONSTER CEILIDH BAND
Borough Gardens 5pm
End the day with the Monster Celidh Band who have performed all over the world from Glastonbury to the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo.
With outrageously foot stomping tunes this Newcastle based group, led by a celidh caller, are guaranteed to get you dancing!
End the day with the Monster Celidh Band who have performed all over the world from Glastonbury to the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo.
With outrageously foot stomping tunes this Newcastle based group, led by a celidh caller, are guaranteed to get you dancing!
MONDAY 4 June • PROCESSION 8pm • MONSTER CEILIDH BAND
The procession starts at 8pm and the Magic Drum performance in Salisbury fields follows at 8.45pm
A performance of Dorchester’s very own song celebrating its people, its history and its landscape will mark the start of our Grand Procession to Salisbury Fields.
Join us as we set off on our journey led by the amazing Monster Ceilidh Band, to light the beacon that will herald the start of the Jubilee celebrations.
The band, which began as a Dorchester ARTS project has been together since 2005 and has made regular appearances at UK festivals such as the Big Chill, Festinho, Larmer Tree, Festival of Bryan, Cloud Cuckoo Land and Dorchester Festival as well as club gigs, parties and parades up and down the country.
Monday 4 June • TRANSGLOBAL UNDERGROUND • World music
After their stunning concert at Dorchester ARTS last year, TGU are back with a full band line up.
Globally renowned for their unique fusion of electronic dance music and western, oriental and African sounds, TGU won the 2008 BBC Radio 3 Award for World Music after the release of their seventh official album, Moonshout.
Their eighth album, 'The Stone Turntable', was released in May 2011. An amazing collective of world musicians sure to get the Corn Exchange moving like never before....
After Show Party with ShindigNation 10.30 pm till late. At 'Goldies', 36 High East Street Dorchester.
Dance the night away to an eclectic mixture of funky electronica and world beats courtesy of DJ's Biggabush, Full Moon Tunes, Mr Smiff and Djem'.
TUESDAY 5 JUNE • THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
Borough Gardens 1.30 – 9pm
On this special Bank Holiday we shall be joining the thousands up and down the country celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Dorchester Town Council is joining forces with the Festival to host a day of iconic music from the six decades of her reign, from the fifties to the noughties, interspersed with sounds and images of key international, national and local events that have taken place during the Queen's reign.
Dorchester has proudly celebrated many a Royal occasion and this year's Diamond Jubilee will be no exception.
We look forward to seeing you!
Dorchester Town Council is joining forces with the Festival to host a day of iconic music from the six decades of her reign, from the fifties to the noughties, interspersed with sounds and images of key international, national and local events that have taken place during the Queen's reign.
Dorchester has proudly celebrated many a Royal occasion and this year's Diamond Jubilee will be no exception.
We look forward to seeing you!
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Dorchester Arts funders and partners