Suzy Willson Explained

Suzy Willson
Birth Place:Northwood, Middlesex, England
Nationality:British
Alma Mater:University of Manchester
École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq
Occupation:Director and choreographer

Suzy Willson (born 1970) is a British director and choreographer. Willson is co-artistic director of London-based performance company Clod Ensemble.

Early life and education

Willson was born in Northwood, Middlesex, in 1970. She graduated with a degree in drama from Manchester University before going on to study at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq.

Career

Willson founded London-based performance company Clod Ensemble in 1995 with composer Paul Clark and has directed all of their productions to date.

Her body of work "defies categorisation" and crosses the boundaries of theatrical and choreographic practice, working with different combinations of dancers, musicians, actors and independent performers.[1] Her productions take place in traditional theatres and dance houses, but also in found spaces and outdoor locations.[2] Her performance work sometimes takes inspiration from medical themes and explores ways of seeing, thinking about and experiencing the human body.[3]

Recent works include: Placebo[4] – a piece in which seven dancers explore the placebo effect commissioned by The Place; choral lament Silver Swan[5] in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall (2011); Red Ladies[6] – a piece for 18 identically dressed women performed across an entire city (locations include London with Southbank Centre, Porto with Serralves Museum, Margate, with Turner Contemporary); An Anatomie in Four Quarters – a site specific performance originally created for the entire auditorium of Sadlers Wells, London (2012) and Under Glass[7] – a piece in which all the performers are in glass boxes and jars (Sadlers Wells 2009–2017), which won a Total Theatre Award for Physical / Visual Theatre in 2009.[8]

Willson’s work is an advocate for role of the arts in healthcare education[9] She is a regular contributor to journals and books on both performance and medicine (see selected journal articles and book chapters below) and an Honorary Professor at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.[10]

Willson pioneered the award-winning[11] Performing Medicine programme which encourages people working in healthcare to appreciate the choreographic, non-verbal and spatial dimensions of care.[12] [13] Performing Medicine has been cited as an example of best practice in the 2017 report from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing.[14]

Selected journal articles and book chapters

Notes and References

  1. Book: McEvoy . William . Reviews: Brighton Festival: Zero . 22 May 2013 . The Stage.
  2. Web site: Powell . Lucy . The Red Ladies of Clod Ensemble hit the streets of Oxford . The Times . 26 June 2019.
  3. Web site: Mahadevan . Vishy . Another view on An Anatomie in Four Quartets (sic) . Guardian . 26 June 2019.
  4. Web site: Winship . Lyndsey . Clod Ensemble: Placebo review – medical science as hypnotic dance . Guardian . 26 June 2019.
  5. Web site: Silver Swan . Tate . 26 June 2019.
  6. Web site: Roy . Sanjoy . Clod Ensemble: Red Ladies review – dance rendezvous with Grace Kelly style . Guardian . 26 June 2019.
  7. Web site: El Brogy . Mars . We go behind the scenes with Clod Ensemble . Evening Standard . 26 June 2019.
  8. Web site: Bailey . Pippa . Total Theatre Awards 2009 . Total Theatre . 26 June 2019.
  9. Web site: Creative Health Conference 2019 . Southbank Centre . 26 June 2019.
  10. Web site: Embodying space: can architecture create a placebo effect? . Royal Academy . 27 June 2019.
  11. Web site: Excellence and innovation in the arts . Times Higher Education . 26 June 2019.
  12. Web site: Winship . Lyndsey . The doctor will dance for you now . Guardian . 26 June 2019.
  13. Web site: Massie-Blomfield . Amber . Will the NHS count the cost if it doesn't harness healing power of the arts? . The Stage . 26 June 2019.
  14. Web site: All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report . National Alliance for Arts Health and Wellbeing . 26 June 2019.
  15. Willson . Suzy . Arts-based learning for a Circle of Care . The Lancet . 12 August 2017 . 390 . 10095 . 642–643 . 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31970-0 .
  16. Willson . Suzy . Drama for doctors . The Lancet . 26 May 2007 . 369 . 9575 . 1782 . 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60800-9 . 17536239 .
  17. Willson . Suzy . Essay: What can the arts bring to medical training? . The Lancet . 1 December 2006 . 368 . Special Issue . S15–S16 . 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69909-1. free .
  18. Book: Willson . Suzy . 'Moving Medicine' in The Routledge Companion to Jacques Lecoq . August 31, 2016 . Routledge . Chapter 24 . 978-1138818422 . 1st.
  19. Book: Willson . Suzy . 'An Anatomie in Four Quarters: Rehearsal Notes', in Performance and the Medical Body . 25 February 2016 . Bloomsbury Methuen Drama . New York . 9781472570796 . 1.
  20. Willson . Suzy . Clod Ensemble: Performing Medicine . Performance Research . 26 Sep 2014 . 19 . 4 . 31–37 . 10.1080/13528165.2014.947141.

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