| Collecting Strand | National Resource Centre for Dance |
| Level | Collection |
| Ref No | VT |
| Title | V-TOL DANCE COMPANY ARCHIVE |
| Date | 1977-2002 |
| Extent | 360 files of papers, 93 videos, 251 files of photographic material, 60 posters, 34 audio recordings, 17 theatre programmes (catalogued material)
12 boxes and 2 batches of outsized material (uncatalogued material). |
| Name of Creator | V-TOL Dance Company; 1991-2001; dance theatre company |
| Description | V-TOL Dance Company (Vertical Take-off and Landing) (1991-2001) was founded in April 1991 by artistic director Mark Murphy. On graduating from the Laban Centre (London) Murphy participated in a choreographic project for Laban graduates. Here he met Sue Cox and the two developed a working relationship, which lead to the formation of Mark Murphy and Sue Cox Dance Company in 1989.
V-TOL integrated dance, film, music, text and design into their works to communicate narratives and human emotion. Cinema, literature, popular music, and visual arts specifically influenced Murphy's work. Murphy, collaborators and company performers collectively created V-TOL's works. Murphy was generally referred to as the 'artistic director' rather than the 'choreographer'. V-TOL's movement style was highly physical and dynamic, involving speed and risks.
V-TOL was firstly funded by London Arts Board later becoming a Fixed Term client of the Arts Council of England in 1994. In 1999 V-TOL was awarded an Arts for Everyone grant which enabled them to establish an education team. The company dancers had previously delivered this work. Education and outreach work were elements of V-TOL's artistic policy and encompassed workshops, residencies, lecture demonstrations and post-performance talks. V-TOL created three educational cross art-form projects that cumulated in site-specific performances: Where Angels Fear To Tread (1995) at Union Chapel (Islington); Castle Blanca (1997) at Orford Castle (Suffolk); and Running Scared (1998) at Trinity Buoy Wharf (London's Docklands).
The archive contains a variety of text, visual, and audio materials documenting the work of V-TOL Dance Company, 1991-2001. It also has materials dating from Mark Murphy's work with Sue Cox (1989-1991) before he founded V-TOL. The archive includes: performances material including production files, photographs, publicity and marketing files, and videos and recordings; records of education work including project files, videos and photographs; financial records; marketing files; press cuttings; fundraising files; film and special project files; and company administration including contracts and records relating to staff.
There remain an additional 12 boxes and 2 batches of outsized material still to be catalogued. |
| Arrangement | Papers:
In the largest deposit, received June 2001, the administrative papers were organised by V-TOL's general manager and education officer into broad subject headings, which were retained in the cataloguing. Most of the papers from the other deposits fell readily into these subject headings, with the few miscellaneous files catalogued under 'administration'. The order of the files in the June 2001 deposit was retained; files from the other deposits were usually added in appropriate date order. The company's titles for the files were retained (after the subject heading). Where a lever-arch file filled more than one archive folder, the sequence was added to the title (e.g., 1of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3).
The subject categories are as follows:
Productions - arranged chronologically by dance work; within a work, the sequence is usually production, tour preparation, and the tour.
Marketing - arranged chronologically by dance work.
Publicity - arranged chronologically by dance work and education project; this category was created by the archivist to compile a sample of each piece of print publicity (excluding posters).
Press cuttings - arranged chronologically by dance work and education project; this category was created by the archivist to compile a sample of each article.
Accounts and finance
Fundraising
Education
Special projects - only the Fool Time folder had this heading, the others were put into this category.
Film projects
Administration
Video and film: the videotapes were arranged chronologically by dance work, film, and education project. Showreels and the Golden Collection videos followed.
Photographs: prints and transparencies were grouped by dance work and education project. Additional categories: portraits, education (general).
Audio: audio cassette tapes were arranged chronologically by work.
Posters: arranged chronologically by dance work and education project. |
| Administrative History | V-TOL Dance Company (Vertical Take-off and Landing) (1991-2001) was founded in April 1991 by artistic director Mark Murphy. On graduating from the Laban Centre (London) Murphy participated in a choreographic project for Laban graduates. Here he met Sue Cox and the two developed a working relationship, which lead to the formation of Mark Murphy and Sue Cox Dance Company in 1989.
V-TOL integrated dance, film, music, text and design into their works to communicate narratives and human emotion. Cinema, literature, popular music, and visual arts specifically influenced Murphy's work. Murphy, collaborators and company performers collectively created V-TOL's works. Murphy was generally referred to as the 'artistic director' rather than the 'choreographer'. V-TOL's movement style was highly physical and dynamic, involving speed and risks.
Mark Murphy directed eight productions for the company: Crash and Burn (1991), which launched the company at Dance Workshop Europe; Time Spent in the Company of Bad People (1991); Headshot (1992); 32 feet per second per second (1993); In the Privacy of my Own (1995); By Force of Fantasy (1996); …and nothing but the truth… (1998); and WITHOUT TRACE (1999). Their work initially toured to small-scale venues, later to middle-scale ones. The company undertook foreign touring, during which the British Council covered travel expenses, and was invited to several European festivals and venues.
V-TOL was firstly funded by London Arts Board later becoming a Fixed Term client of the Arts Council of England in 1994. In 1999 V-TOL was awarded an Arts for Everyone grant which enabled them to establish an education team. The company dancers had previously delivered this work. Education and outreach work were elements of V-TOL's artistic policy and encompassed workshops, residencies, lecture demonstrations and post-performance talks. V-TOL created three educational cross art-form projects that cumulated in site-specific performances: Where Angels Fear To Tread (1995) at Union Chapel (Islington); Castle Blanca (1997) at Orford Castle (Suffolk); and Running Scared (1998) at Trinity Buoy Wharf (London's Docklands).
Murphy's interest in film led to the production of three dance films: Impact Zone (1994); Where Angels Fear To Tread (1996); and The Snowball Effect (1997). He not only choreographed, directed, and created films for V-TOL but for Northern Stage, National Youth Dance Theatre, Transitions Dance Company and Out of Joint. Murphy received Bonnie Bird Choreography and Wingate Scholarship Awards in 1994 that allowed him to study film at the New York Film Academy. In 2001 Murphy decided to focus his career on film directing, resulting in the closure of V-TOL.
Many people were instrumental to the company's development: Suzanne Walker was involved in the company for nine years, firstly as administrator, than general manager. James Hewison was a founder member of V-TOL and has performed and collaborated on all the company's works. Both he and Christine Devaney were Associate Directors of the company. Devaney first performed and collaborated with V-TOL on 32 feet per second per second (1993). Designer, Miranda Melville, created designs for all of the company's works. |
| Accruals | No accruals expected. |
| Finding Aids | Computer catalogue of the majority of the archive. |
| Custodial History | V-TOL Dance Company deposited the archive in six batches: March 1996, April 1996, April 1998, June 2001, May 2002, and 2004. The majority of the archive arrived after the company had ceased operation. The archive was catalogued in the summer of 2002 with funds remaining from the company's Arts Council grant; as the last batch arrived after this date, it is still to be catalogued. |
| Publication Note | Pallister, Karen. An analysis of dance theatre components in V-Tol's 'Without Trace'. Unpublished MA dissertation, University of Surrey, 2002. |