Dr Yael Flexer
Reader in Dance and Artistic Director of mapdance
About
Yael Flexer is co-artistic director of Flexer & Sandiland. Originally formed by Yael as Choreographer in Residence at The Place Theatre, London, to date Yael has created 14 full-length productions for the company, touring throughout the UK and internationally.
The company has been commissioned to create live and/or interactive works for among others: Brighton Dance Festival and Digital Festival, Sadler鈥檚 Wells, Woking Dance Festival, The South Bank Centre, Barbican Centre, London & Cinedans (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).
Recent & current Flexer & Sandiland projects include:听Imagining Otherwise听(2021- ongoing) an immersive digital dance performance,听Acting Our Age听(2020-ongoing) a dance work working with an intergenerational cast aged 24-75 and the听Acting Our Age听online and live classes for movers aged 55+ (and any interested adults) established as a result of the pandemic.
Past productions include:听Curiouser (2019)听for children aged 3-6 and their families and carers,听a co-production with Norwegian company dybwikdans, the digital work听The Hum听(2017-2020) commissioned by Brighton Festival premiered and touring across the UK including Without Walls Festivals,听Disappearing Acts听(2016) which toured听 alongside the gallery based digital installation听Weighting听(2015), the live works听Weightless听(2012-14) &听The Living Room听(2010-2011) and digital works听Trip Hazard听(2013-ongoing) and听Gravity Shift听(2010).
Yael鈥檚 commissions as an independent artist include works for London Contemporary Dance School, The Place, Dance East, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Hull Dance, Three Score, National Youth Dance Company Scotland, Trinity-Laban, Motus Dance Festival, Maslool, Tel-Aviv, Israel, RAS & Stavanger University, Norway, Mapdance, YDance Scotland, Wessex Academy, E-Werk Tanz Festival (Germany), Scottish Dance Theatre, Ludus, Gravity & Levity, Freefall and Cascade Dance Companies and numerous works for University students, C.A.T. programmes and other youth companies across the UK and internationally. Yael regularly leads choreographic Labs, workshops and professional training in the UK and internationally, and mentors emerging choreographers.
Yael is a reader in dance at the 香港六合论坛 and also Artistic Director of mapdance, the University鈥檚 MA/postgraduate repertoire touring company.
Key Publications
Further publications available on request
F&S refer to works by Flexer & Sandiland Dance & Digital Works
2018-19听Curiouser, F&S– Internationally touring dance & digital performance work, co-production with Dybwik Dans Norway, Commissioned by Swindon Dance & RAS, Norway
2018听Vortex– Maslool, Tel-Aviv, Israel performance commission, performed Bat-Sheva Varda Studios and touring performances, Israel
2017听Imagining Otherwise– Trinity-Laban performance commission
2017听The Hum, F&S听鈥� Brighton Festival Commission, Nationally touring smart phone app presented at outdoor Festivals across the UK, including the Without Walls Network
2017-听Digital Traces, F&S– Interactive digital & live improvisation performance, Fabrica Gallery, Brighton, part of Draw to Perform Symposium
2016/17听Re|placed– National Youth Dance Scotland performance commission
2016听Act Two– University of Stavanger, Norway performance commission
2016听Act One– Motus Festival, Milton Keynes, outdoor performance commission
2016听Disappearing Acts, F&S听– Internationally touring dance & digital performance work
2015-ongoing听Weighting, F&S听鈥� Brighton Digital Festival, South East Dance Commission, Nationally touring digital work
2014听Apre Moi听– 3score Dance Company, Brighton, performance commission
2014听Undoing Undone– Mapdance, 香港六合论坛
2014听Gravity Shift, F&S-听Nationally touring interactive digital work
2013-ongoing听Trip Hazard, F&S– Nationally touring interactive digital work
2013/14听Weightless, F&S– Internationally touring dance & digital performance work
2013听厂丑谤颈苍办鈥檇 (2005), F&S– Cando2 Dance Company, re-staging & adaptation of repertoire performance commission
2010/12听The Living Room, F&S听– Woking Dance Festival commission, Internationally touring dance performance work
2011听Points Of View, F&S– The Barbican, London commission, interactive digital installation
2010听The Living Room Outside, F&S– West Sussex County Council site-specific performance commission
2010听What If– Ludus Dance Company commission, Nationally touring performance work
2010听Not About Love– Lila Dance Company performance commission, Nationally touring performance work
2010听Another Way of Remembering– Bath Spa University, site-specific performance commission
2010听Flying Solo, Cat Casbon, South Hill Park, performance commission
2010听Doing, Done & Undone, F&S– Internationally touring dance performance work
Published articles, papers and TV programmes
2018听Disappearing Acts,听Liminalities, online journal
2012听Re-visiting A Dance History: Traces of the 1960s in current contemporary dance, Dance Today 2012, Israel, editor Ruth Eshel
2006听厂丑谤颈苍办鈥檇, Animated Autumn 2006, editor ken Bartlett
2003听Creative Question听& Answer, Animated, Autumn 2003, Editor Donald Hutera
2002听A Certain Flexibility,听interview with Donald Hutera, Animated Autumn 2002
Oct 2003听厂丑谤颈苍办鈥檇, BBC/BLAST, BBC Learning Zone
Research
Yael鈥檚 research and practice centres on generating of a sense of intimacy in live performance and digital installation, in a way that acknowledges the physicality and presence of the viewer.
The work has a subtlety that is apparent in the movement choices, wry humour and informal on-stage dialogue between performers and the audience. Works play with the space in-between formal and informal presentation, reflecting on the overlapping between performance and the everyday.
Research Output
Articles
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2020) Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, 16 (2). pp. 1-12. ISSN 1557-2935
Theses
Flexer, Y. (2013) Doctoral theses, 香港六合论坛.
Shows/Exhibitions
Flexer, Y. and Liss, G. (2023) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2018) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2017) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2016) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2015) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2015) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y., Wright, B. and Charmock, N. (2011) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2011) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2010) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2010) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2010) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2007) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2007) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2003) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2003) [Shows/Exhibitions]
Performances
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2023) [Performances]
Flexer, Y., Sandiland, N., Dybwik, S. and Fossdal, N. (2019) [Performances]
Flexer, Y. (2017) [Performances]
Flexer, Y. (2017) [Performances]
Videos
Flexer, Y. (2013) [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2010) [Videos]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2007) [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2007) [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2003) [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2003) [Videos]
Other department members
