In 2019 Candoco Dance Company, in collaboration with Lost Dog and with the support of the British Council, presented The Argonauts, the culmination of our four-year programme. With The Argonauts, the Unlimited programme showcased how ten professional and non-professional, disabled and non-disabled performers from different countries can work together. The result was a professional performance produced in just over 20 days during three residencies held in Kyiv between June and September 2019.
The Argonauts was the creation of Lost Dog’s Artistic Director Ben Duke, working in collaboration with artists Welly O’Brien and Jemima Hoadley and producer Ellie Douglas-Allan of Candoco Dance Company. The 20-minute performance “looks at how we build our sense of individual and collective identity through the telling and re-telling of stories. It is a piece about the mythical and the mundane and how they are much closer than we think” (Ben Duke, Artistic Director, Lost Dog).
Go behind the scenes and take a look at videos with our choreographer Ben Duke and trainer Welly O’Brien. Some exciting photos from residencies in Kyiv – work-in-process – are available on our Flikr account.
The Argonauts premiered on 25 September in Tbilisi, Georgia during the UK/Georgia 2019: New Horizons, with promoting disability arts being one of the key highlights. The Unlimited programme was set to run alongside two 30-minute works performed by Candoco Dance Company at the Tbilisi International Festival of Theatres.