Jonathan Burrows

Born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England, in 1960, Burrows studied at the Royal Ballet School, both White Lodge, Richmond Park and Baron's Court venues, London, 1970–79, under Richard Gladstone. He was the winner of an Ursula Morton award for student piece of choreography, 3 Solos. From 1979 to 1991, he was a soloist with the Royal Ballet, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and was a performer with the Rosemary Butcher Dance Company between 1986 and 99. He choreographed early pieces for Extemporary Dance Theatre, Spiral Dance Company, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and the Royal Ballet Choreographic Group.He also made experimental work at Riverside Studios in his early career. In 1988, he founded the Jonathan Burrows Group, which became a resident company at The Place Theatre, London, 1992–94. In 1995–96, Burrows entered into co-productions with theatres in Ghent (Belgium), Angers (France), and Utrecht (Netherlands), and in 1997 he choreographed for William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt. He was artist-in-residence at Southbank Centre, London (1998–99), associate artist at Kunstencentrum Vooruit in Ghent, Belgium (1992–2002), and a visiting member of faculty at the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (P.A.R.T.S), the school of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker in Brussels, 1999–2002. Burrows and Matteo Fargion received the New York Dance and Performance Bessie Awards for Both Sitting Duet, 2004. Associate Director on Peter Handke's The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other for the National Theatre, London, 2008. He is Visiting Professor for the Department of Drama and Theatre at the Royal Holloway, University of London. ==Dance works==

• Catch (mus. Douglas Gould, 1980); • Listen (1980); • Cloister (mus. Edward Lambert, 1982); • The Winter Play (mus. Dudley Simpson, 1983); • Hymns, Parts 1–3 (1985); • Squash (mus. Nicholas Wilson, 1985); • Hymns (1986); • A Tremulous Heart Requires (mus. Nicholas Wilson, 1986); • Hymns: Complete Version (1988); • dull morning, cloudy mild (mus. Matteo Fargion, 1989); • Stoics (mus. Matteo Fargion, Mendelssohn, 1991); • Very (mus. Matteo Fargion, 1992); • Our (mus. Matteo Fargion, 1994, film version, dir. Adam Roberts, same year); • The Stop Quartet (mus. Kevin Volans, Matteo Fargion, 1996); • Walking /music (commissioned by William Forsythe for Ballett Frankfurt, mus. Kevin Volans, 1997); • Quintet (mus. and text Tom Johnson, 1997); • ''Things I Don't Know'' (mus. Kevin Volans) (1997); • Singing (1998); • Weak Dance, Strong Questions (collaboration with the Dutch theatre director Jan Ritsema, 2001); • Both Sitting Duet (collaboration and mus. Matteo Fargion, 2002); • The Quiet Dance (collaboration and mus. Matteo Fargion, 2005); • Speaking Dance (collaboration and mus. Matteo Fargion, 2006); • Both Sitting Duet, The Quiet Dance, Speaking Dance, performed together as the Three Duets (2007). == About the work – the Three Duets ==

"Sometimes imitative, sometimes in counterpoint, they weave a complex, witty, rhythmic tapestry, two strange characters entirely lost in obsessive movement." The judges of the New York Dance and Performance Bessies awarded the 2003 prize, "For an extraordinary symphony of upper body gestures performed in extrasensory collaboration in an ordinary setting made tense by the silent musical score, for an intimate production by an unlikely pair of average middle-aged white guys in chairs." Supported by the Arts Council England, the Jonathan Burrows Group, NOTT Dance Festival, Kaaitheater, P.A.R.T.S./Rosas and the Laban Dance Centre London. The Quiet Dance (2005) At the heart of this work is a love of rhythmic form and the quiet intensity of communication this allows them to share with each other and with the audience. "The duo rob themselves not only of conventional music, but also of grace. It begins with the deadpan Fargion bellowing "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" as Burrows stomps across the stage, sinking lower with each step. Then the roles switch, the stomp turns into an angular stagger, and so on. Like all good comedy, it's impeccably timed – and, of course, it's not really that "quiet" at all." Co-produced by Dance Umbrella, London, supported by the Arts Council England & the Jonathan Burrows Group and with thanks to Dance 4 Nottingham. == Reviews ==

• "A surprisingly endearing conceptual comedy of such unpretentious charm that it seals Burrows and Fargion's status as a sort of Laurel and Hardy of the avant-garde." The Times (The Quiet Dance). • "Jonathan Burrows is Britain's Columbus, dance's explorer, a man in quest of new lands and unknown territory.... He is a true original." The Financial Times (The Quiet Dance). • "If Einstein ever pondered on dance, the dance in question would have looked something like the work of Jonathan Burrows." The Guardian • "When composer Matteo Fargion and dancer Jonathan Burrows perform together, they are like two middle-aged boffins retreating into a garden shed. Both men are in their mid-40s, balding and dressed for comfort rather than style; when they collaborate on stage, they could almost be following an obsessively drawn up list of tasks – phrases of material to be analysed, details of performance to be perfected, ideas to ponder. Like all the best boffins, Burrows and Fargion mix their idiosyncrasies with passion and a kind of genius. The joy of these duets is that they deliver dance and music in ways we never expect." The Guardian, 8 January (Three Duets). • "Several times during their opening performance at Sadler's Wells, on Friday evening, Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion almost reduced each other to fits of giggles. And these were among the loveliest moments. Timing being the secret of comedy, and them both having an acute sense of humour, their creation is as much like very clever vaudeville as high art, a brilliantly precise device constructed to amuse and satisfy, performed by a double act as cherishable as Laurel and Hardy or Morecambe and Wise." The Telegraph, 8 January (Three Duets). == Influences and influenced ==

The critic Judith Mackrell has described aspects of Burrows' style as emanating from the influences of folk-dance, classicism and more weighted postmodern dance movement. He also lists Bronislava Nijinska, specifically Les Noces. Burrows' long-time collaborator Matteo Fargion studied composition with the composer Kevin Volans. Burrows consequently chose also to study with Volans, and the ideas which came out of this time are still important to Burrows' work, and a source of connection between Burrows and Fargion. Both Sitting Duet is the translation of a score of a piece of music by American composer Morton Feldman, an important figure in music, and with whom Volans was friends. Burrows comments, "I like the traditional men's dances from England. The dancers had this weird quality of absurdity mixed with profound dignity." Burrows has through his work and teaching and mentoring, been an influence on other successful choreographers. == Film works ==

mus. Matteo Fargion, 1993); • Our (film, dir. Adam Roberts, (film, dir. Ross MacGibbon, A Beaulieu Films production for BBC Television and Arts Council Films, 1991) == Awards and fellowships ==

1992; • Time Out Award, 1994; • Prudential Award, 1995; • Arts Council of England Fellowship 2000–02; • Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, New York, for "ongoing contributions to contemporary dance", 2002; • Nominated for South Bank Show award for Both Sitting Duet and Singing, 2003; • New York Dance and Performance Bessie Awards, 2004. == Articles and interviews ==

• Fifty contemporary choreographers: A Reference Guide, Martha Bremser and Deborah Jowitt, pp. 47–51. • "Dialogue with Jonathan Burrows, Tim Etchells and Kate McIntosh, Siobhan Davies", Adrian Heathfield, at Siobhan Davies Dance Studios, March 2007 • "Speaking Dance: The Storm after the Calm", Daniela Perazzo pricks up her ears to Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion, Dance Theatre Journal, 2007, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 9–11. Publisher: Laban Centre for Movement and Dance • "Jonathan Burrows Group DVD", Perazzo, D, Dance Theatre Journal, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 45–46. Publisher: Laban Centre for Movement and Dance • "The Sitting Duo Now Walks, or the Piece That Lies Quietly Underneath", Daniela Perazzo talks to Jonathan Burrows about his latest piece with Matteo Fargion, Dance Theatre Journal, 2005, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 2–7. Publisher: Laban Centre for Movement and Dance • "Difference and Repetition in Both Sitting Duet", Briginshaw, V. A., Topoi, 2005, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 15–28. Publisher: Springer Science + Business Media • "Two Men, Two Chairs, interview with Jonathan Burrows", Polzer, L., Dancing Times, 2004, Issue 1131, pp. 17–20. The Dancing Times Limited. • "Both Talking: Interview with Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion", Donald Hutera, Dance Umbrella News, October 2003 • "The POSTDANCE Dialogues: Jonathan Burrows and Andros Zins-Browne", Movement Research, 18 December 2015 ==Notes and references==