| Description | Dancer, choreographer and teacher, Maedée Duprès was involved in the British 'New Dance' scene from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Duprès came to London in 1968 to study music. In 1971, she started a full-time course at London Contemporary Dance School and was awarded a scholarship to stay on for a fourth year. On graduating, Duprès became involved in the X6 Dance Collective, alongside other prominent New Dance practitioners, such as Emilyn Claid, Fergus Early, Jacky Lansley and Mary Prestidge.
From 1975 to 1978 Duprès was a regular performer with the Rosemary Butcher Dance Company. In 1978 she began work with Richard Alston and also toured her own solo programme titled 'Dance & Slide' (1978), which was included in the first Dance Umbrella festival. Duprès was best known for her solo work and, in addition to her own choreography, had dances created on her by choreographers such as Siobhan Davies, Kate Flatt, Richard Alston, Ian Spink, Sally Potter, and Mary Fulkerson. Her interest in music was reflected in collaborations with composers, such as John Marc Gowans and Christodoucos Georgiades.
With Kate Flatt, Julyen Hamilton and director Timothy Lamford, she was a member of the dance-in-education group Scaramouche. She was commissioned to choreograph work for dance companies such as Cycles Dance Company, Spiral Dance Company and Extemporary Dance, and she also performed for the Royal Opera, English National Opera, and Second Stride. Duprès also taught workshops and lectured in choreography.
The Maedée Duprès Archive documents her work in England in the 1970s and 1980s. The papers include choreographic notebooks, touring schedules, budgets, administrative documents, lesson plans, reviews, publicity information, funding applications, financial accounts, festival brochures, and performance programmes. The videotapes, DVDs, and photographs record her solo performances and other works. The audiotapes contain recordings of music for her own choreography and for other people's choreography, in which she danced.
A small number of posters have not yet been catalogued. If you require further information about this material, please email archives@surrey.ac.uk. |