BIO
Biography - observations - considerations
JULYEN HAMILTON
I have been making dances, directing and teaching for over 40 years.
I was born in England, then lived in Amsterdam and am now based in Girona in northern Spain and Athens, Greece.
I was born in England, then lived in Amsterdam and am now based in Girona in northern Spain and Athens, Greece.
My work, both in company and solo, develops dance for the theatre - a place where an atmosphere of transformation, insight and understanding is permitted without resort to thin conclusions.
In this ambience dancers and light designer are directed to compose pieces instantly; we practise a process of improvisation in rehearsal and in the moment of performance.
These are refined skills; they are a way of tunnelling down into ourselves with the light of spontaneity and producing material. This material is fresh to the intelligence of the moment and also linked to the months years and epochs that it has been gestating in the individual and the individual's history.
In this ambience dancers and light designer are directed to compose pieces instantly; we practise a process of improvisation in rehearsal and in the moment of performance.
These are refined skills; they are a way of tunnelling down into ourselves with the light of spontaneity and producing material. This material is fresh to the intelligence of the moment and also linked to the months years and epochs that it has been gestating in the individual and the individual's history.
performances making
Since 1990 I have made more than 100 solos which have been seen all over the world. They are an original interplay between dance, live text, and decor. Each piece is made specifically for each venue thus harnessing the architecture and ambience of the performing arena as forces which support and amplify the inherent themes of the piece.
solos
In this work the voice is one which comes naturally from the body in motion;
from a mind which is housed in a dancing body.
It is the voice of the itinerent more than the sedentary being. I sense that the intelligence of the mover comes from the whole body thus the rational lives alongside a vision of things as they change - as they are being and becoming.
duets
It was never my intention to make so many duets. Practicalities and offers just led me there and over the years i have greatly enjoyed the intimacy and challenge to be so directly in harmony and conflict with one single other´on stage!
COMPANY
Over the years I have had three companies, the present one based in Brussels, Belgium is named: 'Allen's Line'. As director of the group, I develop a communal language where movement and text constantly intertwine as they are passed amongst us; it is our way of manifesting a sharing of the imagination.
Choreographies for others
I have also been invited to choreograph for other dancers and to collaborate with other directors. Pieces made in this context have included:
'No Man's Gone Now' for Opiyo Okach ;
'Queen' for Françoise Leick.
TEACHING
My teaching work comes straight from the stage experience; it goes deeply into the compositional aspects of creativity through the areas of the physical body, space, time, dramaturgy and voice.
SPACE
I have also been invited to choreograph for other dancers and to collaborate with other directors. Pieces made in this context have included:
'No Man's Gone Now' for Opiyo Okach ;
'Queen' for Françoise Leick
´´Venus´for Lauriane Chamming´s
'S.K.I.N.' co-directed with Iztok Kovac for both performance and then in the film 'What Are You Going To Do When You Get Out of Here?'
TIME
I have also been invited to choreograph for other dancers and to collaborate with other directors. Pieces made in this context have included:
'No Man's Gone Now' for Opiyo Okach ;
'Queen' for Françoise Leick
´´Venus´for Lauriane Chamming´s
'S.K.I.N.' co-directed with Iztok Kovac for both performance and then in the film 'What Are You Going To Do When You Get Out of Here?'
VOICE
I have also been invited to choreograph for other dancers and to collaborate with other directors. Pieces made in this context have included:
'No Man's Gone Now' for Opiyo Okach ;
'Queen' for Françoise Leick
´´Venus´for Lauriane Chamming´s
'S.K.I.N.' co-directed with Iztok Kovac for both performance and then in the film 'What Are You Going To Do When You Get Out of Here?'
OBJECT
I have also been invited to choreograph for other dancers and to collaborate with other directors. Pieces made in this context have included:
'No Man's Gone Now' for Opiyo Okach ;
'Queen' for Françoise Leick
´´Venus´for Lauriane Chamming´s
'S.K.I.N.' co-directed with Iztok Kovac for both performance and then in the film 'What Are You Going To Do When You Get Out of Here?'
MUSIC and POETRY
My work with musicians includes much rich work as a dancer and in recent years, as poet/voice artist. (see Lily's Band, Marjolaine Charbin, Wilbert de Joode). It has been a pleasure to perfom with amongst others : Barre Phillips, Michael Moore, Fred Frith, Malcolm Goldstein, Daniel Humair, Alfred Spirli, Xavier Garcia, Christian Reiner, Jean-Claude Jones, Vladimir Volkov, Tristan Honsinger, Sebi Tramontana, Axel Dörninger, Ritsche Koch, Roy Carroll...
poetry
I have always written poetry and yet rarely have I published it. In the last few years, with the poetry readings with Lily's Band in Amsterdam, I started making music to accompany recordings of some of the poetry. Venturing for months into the world of recording and composing, I eventually produced a whole range of tracks;
in 2011 the CD of poetry and music "The Edge of Letters" was released on the Sibyl Sings label in Holland.
music
Venturing for months into the world of recording and composing, I eventually produced a whole range of tracks;
in 2011 the CD of poetry and music "The Edge of Letters" was released on the Sibyl Sings label in Holland.
In 2018 he released the double cd with Wilbert de Joode ¨Jack Gets Out of Prison.
and in 2022 he will release a cd of piano with bassist Giorgos Kokkinaris ¨The Road to Amarillo
