Switchback

A new choreographic work by Cathy Marston and Lauren Finerman

 

One of the first commissioned projects from Ballet Unleashed includes a new creation by internationally renowned choreographer Cathy Marston and film director Lauren Finerman. In response to an emerging landscape for current artists, Marston’s new choreographic work Switchback offers a physical narrative portraying a dancer’s quest to chase their dreams.

In Marstons’ words, this is a coming of age story about a young adult who leaves their home in order to chase their dream. The film follows their story as they set out on a quest to leave what is comfortable and embark on the unknown. Their story is echoed through the stories of other characters on the same journey, taking risks, getting lost and facing challenges to reach their goal.

By drawing from their personal experiences and that of collaborating artists, this dance film features site-specific solos, performed by six dancers from locations all over the world.

“Cathy Marston and I met by chance in collaboration on a film for the San Francisco Ballet, set to Cathy's choreography, Mrs. Robinson. What was unusual about this project was that we created the entire film without ever meeting in person. It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cathy lived 6,000 miles away in Bern, Switzerland while I lived in Los Angeles, USA. We relied on technology but most importantly, we relied on a collaborative spirit and shared vision. The film was a huge success for the San Francisco Ballet and with that a door opened for us to continue our virtual filmmaking collaboration around the globe.

Reflecting on the crucially formative age of young adults, Switchback is a coming of age story embracing all the twists and turns young dancers must confront in today’s emerging landscape. Exploring how ballet training can embrace contemporary dance, improvisational work, outdoor locations and filmmaking, Switchback is a story about a young adult who leaves their home in order to chase their dream. We discovered how impactful it was to create and direct an international, site-specific film entirely over Zoom, and believe that creating virtual works significantly complements live performances and facilitates the reach to global audiences.” – Lauren Finerman

Watch the trailer

 
 
 
balletunleashed_pagedividers-03.png
 

Awards and Recognition

Cathy Marston

Co-director and Choreographer

Cathy Marston is an award-winning choreographer, artistic director and Clore Cultural Leadership Fellow. After completing her education in Cambridge, she spent two years at the Royal Ballet School, before launching a successful international career now spanning over twenty-five years. Marston’s great gift is to join artistic dots, creating form for stories, emotions and ideas. Many of Marston’s works have been widely critically acclaimed and she has been awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Best Dance Production for Victoria (Northern Ballet), the UK National Dance Award for The Suit (Ballet Black) in 2019 and has been short-listed for both the Olivier Awards and National Dance Awards for several other works including Jane Eyre and Victoria (Northern Ballet.) In 2020, she won the International Institute for Dance and Theatre’s Excellence in International Dance prize.

Passionate about opening original ideas to new audiences, Marston is also becoming increasingly active in creating and capturing her choreography for the screen; The Cellist and Victoria were both live streamed to cinema and are available on DVD. Her works specifically for the camera include short films, Mrs Robinson (San Francisco Ballet), Bertha (Joffrey Ballet) as well as her own performance in Drift, which was filmed in Bern, Switzerland, where she lives with her family. Marston’s proudest moments include major creations/productions for The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Northern Ballet, Danish Royal Ballet, Ballet Black (and many more), founding her charitable company, The Cathy Marston Project, as well as leading the Bern Ballet safely away from the brink of closure to become a flourishing and celebrated ensemble.

Photo credit: Rick Guest

Lauren Finerman

Co-Director and Producer

Lauren Finerman is a Film Director and Screenwriter from Los Angeles, specializing in the expression of dance, theater and circus onto the film screen. Her ability to tell rhythmic stories for screen comes from her time as the in-house filmmaker at New York City Ballet where she worked on projects including Jody Lee Lipes’ feature film Ballet 422 (Tribeca Film Festival / Magnolia Pictures) and Sarah Jessica Parker’s series City.Ballet (AOL.ON). Finerman recently developed three dance films based on original ballets for San Francisco Ballet and has created similar film projects for the web series Dance On, the SF Dance Film Collab and SF Symphony. She is currently working with Olympic athletes, world renowned dancers and professional circus performers on an array of different film projects including the feature-length documentary, Montaño, chronicling the fight for women’s equality in Olympic Sports. Finerman’s work has been recognized by publications including the Washington Post and the New York Times.

Finerman’s circus film Paper Birds (which she wrote and directed) was awarded an International Page Screenwriting Awards Semi Finalist, ScreenCraft Screenwriting Semi Finalist, Best Short Screenplay nomination (MIFF), Best Short Film nomination (PIFF), among other awards. Her recent project This Isn't Me (Executive Producer) has snagged the award for Best Comedy Series by HBO’s Catalyst Film Festival and a SXSW official selection for 2020. Her screenwriting has gone on to award her a seat at the Sundance Collab Screenwriting Program under Semi Chellas (Mad Men). Finerman recently sold her Cabaret styled screenplay The Cave to The Open Door Project, which she will direct this fall.

Photo credit: Magana

Iain Farrington

Composer

Iain Farrington has an exceptionally busy and diverse career as a pianist, organist,composer and arranger. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London and atCambridge University. He has made numerous recordings, and has broadcast on BBCTelevision,Classic FM and BBC Radio 3. Iain’s concert programmes often mix popularand jazz elements into the traditional Classical repertoire. His many chamber orchestralarrangements allow large-scale works to be presented on an affordable smaller scale, and his compositions range from virtuoso display pieces to small works for beginner instrumentalists. As a solo pianist, accompanist, chamber musician and organist, Iain has performed at all the major UK venues and abroad in the USA, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong and all across Europe. He has accompanied numerous leading singers in concert, including Willard White, Bryn Terfel, and Lesley Garrett. Iain played the piano at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics with Rowan Atkinson, the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, broadcast to a global audience of around a billion viewers. In 2018 he performed his solo piano arrangements of Mahler's symphonies in an eleven concert series in London.

Iain has composed film, opera, ballet, orchestral, choral and instrumental pieces and has arranged hundreds of works in many styles, including opera, orchestral, choral, African songs, cabaret, klezmer, jazz and pop. He is the Arranger in Residence for the Aurora Orchestra, for whom he composed two orchestral works for the Wallace and Gromit Prom in 2012, and orchestrated all of the songs for the Horrible Histories Prom in 2011. His orchestral compositions for the BBC Proms include Beethoveniana in 2020, Gershwinicityin 2018, and A Shipshape Shindig in 2017. With the poet, DJ and actor Craig Charles he has written two large-scale orchestral works based on traditional fairytales. His chamber orchestrations of the symphonic repertoire are regularly performed around the world and his organ arrangement of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 5 was performed at the Royal Wedding in 2011. He has arranged and performed all of Elgar's symphonies for solo piano and is the General Editor of the Elgar Complete Edition. With his Art Deco Trio, he has performed and recorded his own jazz/classical versions of popular favorites.

Photo credit: Iain Farrington

Dancers

  • Inara Wheeler

    Inara Wheeler is from Boulder, USA, and trained at Canada’s National Ballet School. She has worked with The National Ballet of Canada and joined the Junior Company at Ballet Zurich in August, 2022.

  • David West

    David is from Saddle River, USA and trained at the Boston Ballet School. He is currently completing his second season with Orlando Ballet II.

  • Marusya Madubuko

    Originally from New York, USA, Marusya has trained with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, the Royal Ballet School, and at San Francisco Ballet School. Madubuko joined LINES Ballet in 2021.

  • Tristan Toy

    Tristan Toy is from New York, USA and trained at the Academy of Ballet San Francisco. He also studied at Boston Ballet School’s Post Graduate program and is currently completing his second season with Ballet Met II.

  • Camilla Agraso

    Camilla Agraso is from Toronto, Canada and is a graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School. In 2022, she was an apprentice with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and joined Ballett Am Rhein.

  • Leah Reiter

    Leah Reiter is from Kansas City, USA and is a Dutch National Ballet Academy graduate. She is currently dancing with the Oklahoma City Ballet.

  • Michaela Marrable

    Michaela Marrable is from Toronto, Canada, and studied at Canada’s National Ballet School for nine years. She is currently training at the English National Ballet’s Trainee Program.

  • Annabella Hustace

    Annabelle Hustace is from Hawaii, USA. She trained at San Francisco Ballet School and at the Dutch National Ballet Academy. She recently completed her first season at Gyori Ballet Company.

Collaborators