STRUT ABERDEEN
Sunday 20th October: 7pm – 8pm
Part of City Moves’ Dance Live Festival.
STRUT is a night time outdoor performance and mobile projection parade by visual theatre makers MHz which comes to Aberdeen on Sun 20th October as part of City Moves’ Dance Live Festival of contemporary dance.
We shine the light on 5 talented dancers with a connection to Aberdeen whose personal choreographies reflect the celebratory energy of the town with Ballroom, Pop, Highland Dancing, Latin and Freestyle dance styles in the mix.
These talented movers and shakers were selected from a wide-ranging Open Call, with the help of a community panel. The rotating one-performer parade weave its way around Aberdeen city centre with spectators watching from the pavement, waving from their windows or following the event and dancing along.
The show is also streamed live during the event
Footage of the 2021-22 Glasgow and Paisley shows below:
STRUT ROUTE:
Start Point: St Nicholas Square
Route: A loop around St nicolas St, Correction Wynd, St Nicholas Lane.
7pm Sunday 20th Oct 2024
YOUTUBE LIVE LINK:
DANCER BIOS
Mailén
Mailén (43) was born in Caracas, Venezuela, married to Carlos and mother of Gabriel, 16 years old, and Mia, 11 years old. She graduated in Human Resources Administration but for 7 years has been teaching Zumba to young people and adults.
She has happily lived in Aberdeen for 3 years and loves the city and its inhabitants.
“Since I was little I have danced Latin rhythms, especially salsa, which I enjoy the most. I connect a lot with people through dance and music. Music and dance allow us to drain, express ourselves, gain life, health and happiness.”
Claudia
Claudia (20) is a hip-hop/urban dancer. She moved to Aberdeen from Madrid, Spain, when she was 12 years oldand has lived in the city for 8 years. She lives with her Mum and Auntie in Aberdeen’s city centre where she studies marine biology at University of Aberdeen.
“I love dancing because as well as keeping me fit and getting me to how my body wants to look, it is a very freeing way of expressing myself through movement rather than with words which sometimes are not enough. I am very excited to get involved with STRUT since there aren't many opportunities for dance shows here in Aberdeen unless you're enrolled in a studio, and I miss that adrenaline while performing in front of an audience.”.
Yuliia
Yuliia has danced Ballroom and Latin American dance styles since age 6. In Ukraine she graduated from Kyiv National University of Culture and Art, majoring in choreography. As a result, her hobby became her professional field of activity. She has been working as a dance teacher for 10 years and enjoys being able to continue to teach in Aberdeen.
Yuliia says: “Dance for me is a way to reveal emotions and feelings without speaking. Dance gives me the ability to express my inner state through music and movements and share it with others.
In my opinion, I’m a really lucky person because I was able to participate in a wonderful project STRUT. This is a great opportunity for me to meet new people with the same passion and improve my dancing skills.
Aberdeen has become my second home since May 2022 because of the war in my country. Here I have met lots of kind people ready to help and support at any time. Living in Scotland helped me to realize that, fortunately, there are much more people with a good heart and love for the world than I imagined.”
Erin and Lucy
Erin (22), and Lucy (18), are excited to be a part of Strut this year to showcase Highland Dancing within the community. Both girls have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of their dancing journeys so far, having had many opportunities to compete and perform across the world. Recent highlights for Lucy include travelling with Robert Gordon’s College to participate in New York Tartan Week and performing with OzScot International at the Basel Tattoo in Switzerland. While Erin has had many opportunities to travel this year, performing in the US, Norway, Germany and Switzerland, her highlights include performing in the Royal Albert Hall for the Mountbatten Festival of Music and in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo for the third time. They both also love teaching and sharing their passion for Highland dance with younger children. Erin and Lucy were born in Aberdeen and both currently study law at the University of Aberdeen, where they are involved with the University’s Highland dance class and competition team. They look forward to working with production and the rest of the team to create an uplifting and engaging performance, which may even inspire some to pick up a pair of dancing shoes!
Michael
Michael has been a member of City Moves Dance Agency for the past fourteen years and loves performing Contemporary and Hip-Hop dance in public. He’s excited to be part of STRUT to learn from his fellow dancers and explore new types of dance and music.
Michael is also a music producer and will be dancing to a track he created.
Michael says: “I love dance because it makes me feel more independent, alive and full of excitement. It not only helps me to evovle as an artist/performer but also in my personal life it gives me more confidence. I hope to be tremendous asset to the dance team and share my knowledge to inspire other artists and be inspired by artists myself.
I am excited to get involved in STRUT because it gives me the opportunity to showcase my abilities and learn new varietiies of dance from other dancers and I look forward to learning even more styles of dance and music.
I live in Aberdeen and City Moves Dance Agency have given me the privilege to not only perform for so many audiences but to learn so much from other artists/performers.
I've been able to reach the level I'm at now and look forward to improving and learning all the time. I've had fantastic support and tuition from the amazing team at City Moves over the years. Without them I wouldn't be where I am today.”
MC – KAT OFFICER
The event is MC’d by Kat Officer who has worked in the dance industry for over 15 years, including with dance stars from Dance Moms, Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. Originally from Aberdeen, she now splits her time between the UK and the US and maintains a close relationship with students from Aberdeen College of Performing Arts.