Chloe Loftus (bungee-assisted dance image)

Chloe Loftus has been creating mesmerising choreographic work that engages the public eye for 15 years. Italian born and New Zealand bred, Chloe Loftus emigrated to the UK in 1997 where she gained a BA (Hons) Dance Performance at Middlesex University, London. She has worked internationally as a freelance dancer and choreographer since 2004 throughout the UK, touring to Europe, Canada, India and New Zealand for a wide range of productions. She founded Chloe Loftus Dance in 2005 with a passion for creating work outdoors to engage new audiences to the genre, ventures into harness aerial dance and contact work. Her choreographic career has seen her create works for Olympic events and Mass Movement Direction for large-scale events, including ‘City of the Unexpected’ in Cardiff which saw 350,000 audience attend over one weekend. Having returned to Aotearoa in 2016, she is thrilled to be unleashing her creativity here. More information about that below!

www.chloeloftus.com
www.vimeo.com/chloeloftus
www.facebook.com/chloeloftusdance
Twitter @loftyloftus

Organisation/Company

Name: Chloe Loftus Dance

My Role: Artistic Director / Choreographer / Performer

Chloe Loftus Dance was formed in 2005 and has since received many distinctions for contributions to the dance world including nomination for a Theatre Critics of Wales Award for Best Small Scale Dance Production and winning Welsh Independent Dance's 'Dance Bytes' choreographic competition. The company have been fortunate to receive numerous commissions for theatre, film, arts and music festival productions, including funding from Kevin Spacey Foundation, Arts Council Wales, 1SquareMile, Articulture Wales, Community Dance Wales, Creative Communities and Creative New Zealand. Projects have seen the company collaborate with National Theatre Wales and the Welsh School of Architecture. Chloe returned to live in New Zealand in 2016 and has since been named Auckland Parks Artist in Residence 2017, choreographed on Touch Compass Dance Company and has been touring new works across Aotearoa to critical acclaim – 'Out of the Blue', 'The Arboreal Aerialist', 'Herelessness', 'Us' - a community mass movement project, and her new work 'The Air Between Us' collaborating with Rodney Bell. She is co-producer/director of the annual dance festival, Conscious Dance Aotearoa/NZ.

The Air Between Us

Artform: Dance

Development Status: Tour Ready (Following a week long research and development in early 2020, the company gained CNZ funding to further develop and tour The Air Between Us through 2021/22. Premiering at Auckland Arts Festival (5-7th March 2021), we are touring to an initial 9 festivals across Aotearoa. Following wonderful responses, we'd love to continue to share this work so are open to bookings and available for touring throughout 2022/2023.)

Media Uploads

Trailer

Full Length

If the full length video requires a password, you can contact the artist here.

Synopsis

The Air Between Us is a captivating outdoor aerial dance event performed mid-air.

Arriving at this point in time from diverse backgrounds and life experiences, critically acclaimed choreographer Chloe Loftus and multi-award winning disabled artist Rodney Bell – who performs in his wheelchair – explore our innate capacity to exist in symbiotic harmony, with each other and with our environment.

Like encircling planets, magnetically pulled by each other’s energy, their partnership in this mesmerising performance celebrates equality and connection.

Rigged between trees or existing buildings, a unique rigging design and counterweight system is crafted and expertly executed by Tym Miller-White.

For evening performances the duo have bespoke fibre-optic costumes, adding to the vibrancy and spectacle of the work, making it ideal for Winter and Light Festivals.

Performance run time of 20 minutes.

Creative Team and Crew

Chloe Loftus and Rodney Bell have a combined 42 years experience in their fields.

Rodney Bell Ngāti Maniapoto is a renowned dancer and performer. His artistic expression demonstrates elements of traditional Maori culture, and at the same time he's continually seeking new ways to enhance his creative process. Rodney received the 2017 Arts Access award for artistic achievement and the 2016 Attitude award for Artistic achievement, both recognising his most recent work MEREMERE. Rodney has been dancing professionally since 1994 beginning as a founding member of Touch Compass Dance Trust, which is an internationally renowned physically integrated dance company based in Auckland.

I, Chloe Loftus, have been a dancer and choreographer since gaining a BA (Hons) Dance Performance in London 2004, working in the UK, Italy, Canada, India and New Zealand. My work was nominated for Best Dance Production for the Wales Critic Awards, I was Associate Artist at the Wales Millennium Centre for three years and I specialise in outdoor, large-scale productions and Mass Movement Direction with extensive international touring experience. I am passionate about making theatre accessible to all, engaging and inspiring new audiences to dance through mesmerising high quality free-to-access events.

Tym Miller-White is our legendary rigger and counterweighter. He's IRATA Level 3 qualified with extensive experience in performing arts and large-scale events. We see him as another dancer in the work and his intricate finely-tuned counterweighting skills are visible for audiences to witness.

Our combined calibre of expertise ensures an original and mesmerising production, performed outside and accessible to all.

Number of People in the Touring Party

3

Previous Seasons

Current 2021/2 tour schedule for The Air Between Us:
Auckland Arts Festival (5th - 7th March '21)
CubaDupa Wellington (27th & 28th March '21)
Festival of Colour Wanaka (16th & 17th April '21)
Te Ramaroa / Light Nelson (9th - 13th July '21)

Ritaha -Touch Compass event Auckland (15th Feb '22)
Hawke's Bay Arts Festival (14th - 17th Oct '22)
Dunedin Arts Festival (22nd - 25th Oct '22)
Taranaki Arts Festival (18th - 19th November '22)
Splore Festival (25th Feb '23)

Technical Rider & International Touring Info (if applicable)

  • View/download document #1 here

US - A mass movement event

Artform: Community Mass Movement Dance

Development Status: Tour Ready (Premiered at Nelson Arts Festival 2020 and programmed for Wanaka Festival of Colour 2021, a bespoke development of this is available for your event, working with your local communities.)

Media Uploads

Trailer

Synopsis

At a time when connection and belonging feels such a visceral need, this mass movement event champions community and unification.

On Thursday 1st October 2020, over 60 Nelsonians took to the streets in mesmerising unity.

Crafted by choreographer Chloe Loftus, originally for the Nelson Arts Festival, ‘Us’ is a processional mass movement event, a long line of community in unison, weaving through the city and its galleries. This event is a celebration of the unique heart and soul of a city/town - its people. Drawing inspiration from Pina Bausch’s ‘lines’, this serene and symbolic mass movement happening is a reminder of the power of community. 'Us' brings a joyful sense of connection, to each other and the place in which we call home.

Creative Team and Crew

Alongside freelance dance work and her choreographic work for her company Chloe Loftus Dance, Chloe has had the immense pleasure of working as Mass Movement Director on large-scale events.

This includes Olympic events, Capital of Culture opening ceremonies, 10 year celebration for the Wales Millennium Centre and most epically, 'City of the Unexpected', a celebration of the 100th centenary of Roald Dahl. This saw 350,000 audience immerse themselves in flashmobs, pop-up spectacles and unexpected theatricalities throughout Cardiff city over one remarkable weekend. Chloe has been greatly inspired by working alongside London Olympic Opening Ceremony Director Jeanefer Jean Charles.

'US' saw Chloe bring her mass movement work to New Zealand and is excited to continue to create community focused large-scale spectacles across NZ.

Number of People in the Touring Party

1

Previous Seasons

Nelson Arts Festival 2020
Wanaka Festival of Colour 2021

The Arboreal Aerialist

Artform: Outdoor aerial dance-theatre

Development Status: Tour Ready (Ongoing tour availability)

Media Uploads

Trailer

Synopsis

Originally commissioned for Light Nelson Festival (2018), the Aboreal Aerialist is an installation-style performance, high on the trunk and branches of heritage trees. An ethereal ‘mesmerising’ performance designed to slow audiences down, looking up and connecting with the incredible heritage trees in their community.

This critically acclaimed performance lasts for up to 25 minutes at a time, performed up to two times per evening and is available for touring throughout 2021/22.

Creative Team and Crew

Chloe Loftus - dancer, choreographer and aerialist (please see bio for further information)

Tym Miller-White - IRATA Level 3 qualified rigger. Alternatively, in-house arborists can be used to rig and supervise the performance.

Number of People in the Touring Party

2

Previous Seasons

The Arboreal Aerialist has been in stunning trees enchanting audiences across Aotearoa, to date toured to 13 festivals with over 90 performances.

2018-20 New Zealand wide tour including:
Light Nelson
Hawkes Bay Arts Festival
Shakespeare in the Park, Invercargill
Splore Festival, Auckland
Hamilton Garden Arts Festival
Festival of Colour, Wanaka
LUMA, Queenstown
MOTAT Night Lights, Auckland
Lights on Bikes, Whanganui
Waitaki Arts Festival, Oamaru
Festival of Lights, Taranaki

Upcoming 2021 dates:
Dunedin Arts Festival

Reviews and Quotes

“Chloe Loftus had me absolutely spellbound as she twirled and twisted in midair and daintily stepped from branch to trunk. She was spectacular. Not the kind of thing you see everyday, that’s for sure.” (The Herald)

"...all Chloe Loftus needs is a tree. Her uplifting performance in Tree Dancer (The Arboreal Aerialist) high above Bullock Creek outside the Lake Wanaka Centre raised the bar for outdoor entertainment.

Dangling from a rope invisible against the darkening sky, Loftus was a floating, wind-touched fairy, a white flower unfurling in slow motion.

Every movement was a masterclass in control and balance as she held perfect poses in, on and below branches, gliding between them with perfect precision.

While every graceful gesture seemed effortless, any technical climber knows how much strain ropework involves. Despite appearances, Loftus is no delicate fairy, but an arboreal athlete."
- Otago Times

Technical Rider & International Touring Info (if applicable)

  • View/download document #1 here

The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector. 

Auckland
Feb 22 2021 To Mar 05 2021