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’s Wells, Woking Dance Festival, The South Bank Centre, Barbican Centre, London & Cinedans (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).
Recent & current Flexer & Sandiland projects include: Imagining Otherwise (2021- ongoing) an immersive digital dance performance, Acting Our Age (2020-ongoing) a dance work working with an intergenerational cast aged 24-75 and the Acting Our Age online and live classes for movers aged 55+ (and any interested adults) established as a result of the pandemic.
Past productions include: Curiouser (2019) for children aged 3-6 and their families and carers, a co-production with Norwegian company dybwikdans, the digital work The Hum (2017-2020) commissioned by Brighton Festival premiered and touring across the UK including Without Walls Festivals, Disappearing Acts (2016) which toured alongside the gallery based digital installation Weighting (2015), the live works Weightless (2012-14) & The Living Room (2010-2011) and digital works Trip Hazard (2013-ongoing) and Gravity Shift (2010).
Yael’s 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 University of Chichester and also Artistic Director of mapdance, the University’s MA/postgraduate repertoire touring company.
Key Publications
Further publications available on request
F&S refer to works by Flexer & Sandiland Dance & Digital Works
2018-19Â Curiouser, F&S– Internationally touring dance & digital performance work, co-production with Dybwik Dans Norway, Commissioned by Swindon Dance & RAS, Norway
2018Â Vortex– Maslool, Tel-Aviv, Israel performance commission, performed Bat-Sheva Varda Studios and touring performances, Israel
2017Â Imagining Otherwise– Trinity-Laban performance commission
2017 The Hum, F&S – Brighton Festival Commission, Nationally touring smart phone app presented at outdoor Festivals across the UK, including the Without Walls Network
2017-Â Digital Traces, F&S– Interactive digital & live improvisation performance, Fabrica Gallery, Brighton, part of Draw to Perform Symposium
2016/17Â Re|placed– National Youth Dance Scotland performance commission
2016Â Act Two– University of Stavanger, Norway performance commission
2016Â Act One– Motus Festival, Milton Keynes, outdoor performance commission
2016Â Disappearing Acts, F&SÂ – Internationally touring dance & digital performance work
2015-ongoing Weighting, F&S – Brighton Digital Festival, South East Dance Commission, Nationally touring digital work
2014 Apre Moi – 3score Dance Company, Brighton, performance commission
2014Â Undoing Undone– Mapdance, University of Chichester
2014Â Gravity Shift, F&S-Â Nationally touring interactive digital work
2013-ongoing Trip Hazard, F&S– Nationally touring interactive digital work
2013/14Â Weightless, F&S– Internationally touring dance & digital performance work
2013 Shrink’d (2005), F&S– Cando2 Dance Company, re-staging & adaptation of repertoire performance commission
2010/12Â The Living Room, F&SÂ – Woking Dance Festival commission, Internationally touring dance performance work
2011Â Points Of View, F&S– The Barbican, London commission, interactive digital installation
2010Â The Living Room Outside, F&S– West Sussex County Council site-specific performance commission
2010Â What If– Ludus Dance Company commission, Nationally touring performance work
2010Â Not About Love– Lila Dance Company performance commission, Nationally touring performance work
2010Â Another Way of Remembering– Bath Spa University, site-specific performance commission
2010Â Flying Solo, Cat Casbon, South Hill Park, performance commission
2010Â Doing, Done & Undone, F&S– Internationally touring dance performance work
Published articles, papers and TV programmes
2018 Disappearing Acts, Liminalities, online journal
2012Â Re-visiting A Dance History: Traces of the 1960s in current contemporary dance, Dance Today 2012, Israel, editor Ruth Eshel
2006 Shrink’d, Animated Autumn 2006, editor ken Bartlett
2003 Creative Question & Answer, Animated, Autumn 2003, Editor Donald Hutera
2002 A Certain Flexibility, interview with Donald Hutera, Animated Autumn 2002
Oct 2003 Shrink’d, BBC/BLAST, BBC Learning Zone
Research
Yael’s 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) Disappearing Acts. Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, 16 (2). pp. 1-12. ISSN 1557-2935
Theses
Flexer, Y. (2013) In-Between dancing and the everyday: A Choreographic Investigation. Doctoral theses, University of Chichester.
Shows/Exhibitions
Flexer, Y. and Liss, G. (2023) Acting our age. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2018) Vortex- Maslool, Israel. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2017) Digital Traces. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2016) Disappearing Acts. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2015) Awakening. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2015) Vortex - Project Y 2015. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y., Wright, B. and Charmock, N. (2011) Consequences. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2011) Not About Love. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2010) The Living Room. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2010) Orbital. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2010) What If. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2007) Doing, Done & Undone. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2007) Shrink'd. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2003) Flexible Shorts. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Flexer, Y. (2003) Exit Plan. [Shows/Exhibitions]
Performances
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2023) Imagining otherwise. [Performances]
Flexer, Y., Sandiland, N., Dybwik, S. and Fossdal, N. (2019) Curiouser. [Performances]
Flexer, Y. (2017) Imagining Otherwise (or The Rucksack Club). [Performances]
Flexer, Y. (2017) Re|Place (or the thing I miss most). [Performances]
Videos
Flexer, Y. (2013) Weightless. [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2010) The Living Room. [Videos]
Flexer, Y. and Sandiland, N. (2007) Doing, Done & Undone. [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2007) Shrink'd. [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2003) Flexible Shorts. [Videos]
Flexer, Y. (2003) Exit Plan. [Videos]
Other department members
