Following the huge success of her debut production, No Time Like The Present, Barnsley-born, Bolshoi Ballet Academy alumna Tala Lee-Turton returns to Sheffield on 11th November with parler femme – a dance-based triple bill celebrating innovative and inspiring stories about women.
Last month, Exposed spoke to Tala about what to expect from another intriguing live performance combining live performance, film and immersive technologies.
Hi Tala, great to catch up with you again! The last time we spoke it was ahead of ‘No Time Like the Present’ – an open-air dance production which you brought to the Botanical Gardens. Could you refresh us on what that event was about, and how it was received?
I’m still over the moon about how well No Time Like The Present was received. The production drew in a significant amount of first-time dance and/or performing arts-goers, which is something I’m proud of. But what stays with me the most is how moved people were; I’ve received a lot of feedback from audience members who connected with the work on a very personal and emotional level.
Photo credit: Xenia at Zavod Studio
For those readers who didn’t catch you in these pages last year, could you provide a bit of an introduction to yourself and your dance story so far?
I’m a creative producer for dance, on stages, screens and in immersive spaces. I graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Moscow, in 2016, and I founded Tala Lee-Turton Productions in 2020 to produce and perform my own work. My work to date has been supported by Arts Council England, Screen Yorkshire, Sheffield City Council, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and The Genesis Foundation.
You’ll be returning to Sheffield in November, this time to the Playhouse at Sheffield Theatres, where you’ll be presenting a brand-new contemporary dance production, parler femme. How is this event structured and what are the main themes you’ll be exploring?
parler femme is a dance-based triple bill, celebrating innovative and inspiring stories about women and experienced through live performance, screen-based and immersive technologies. The production tells a collection of stories about lived experiences, performed, choreographed, or directed by different creative team members, all of whom express aspects of womanhood that mean something to them.
The work is structured in three parts. Act I is a compilation of award-winning short dance films by female filmmakers, including the first film I ever produced, Chinese Laundry. I’m proud to say, Chinese Laundry was very well received, winning multiple awards, including the Activism category at the French Riviera Film Festival (FRFF) and the gold medal in the Made in Sheffield category at Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (SHAFF).
An animation still by Ed Swales from Tala’s new production
Act II is the premiere of multi-layered dance and music duet, Here Lies, a magic realist tale about two estranged sisters, reconnecting after the death of their Grandmother. I perform en pointe alongside an artist who plays the cello, an Iranian folk instrument called a ghaychak, vocalises and uses a loop pedal.
I’m also bringing back No Time Like The Present, for Act III. It’s a cast of five dancers performing to a synth-pop score, exploring power and femininity, and the indoor version is a huge development from the outdoor performances we did last August and will look completely different.
I have a fabulously talented creative team and crew performing and staging parler femme. We’re also involving local communities, inviting young people and community groups to participate in workshops ahead of each performance to help them engage with creative activities and potentially even be part of our production.
Photo credit: Xenia at Zavod Studio
You’ve spoken before about how you’re keen to challenge traditional boundaries and conventions of the ballet industry. How does this production do that?
I’m committed to building a world receptive to culturally and socially disruptive creative voices – that’s the dream. So, I aim to ask a lot of questions through my work, and in particular in parler femme, by facilitating spaces for female dance artists and creatives to express some personal truth about themselves. I love to celebrate unapologetic self-exploration because I’ve found that, in contemplating ourselves as artists, we open up a dialogue with audiences via which they become active participants in the contemplation. It’s beautiful to be engaged in a collective conversation.
What would you say to anyone who might hold pre-conceived ideas as to what a contemporary ballet performance might entail?
I really encourage audiences to approach parler femme like going to the cinema. In the same way that movies transport you into other worlds, times and spaces, this production is aiming to do the same. Ballet is part of the language the creative team and I use to build these worlds, but it is not the only one. We are being ambitious, implementing immersive technology and pushing viewing dynamics to create a work that is very far from a traditional ballet production; this is an experience that is different from sitting and watching a production in a theatre or at home on TV. Audiences will also get the opportunity to engage in a question and answer session after the performance.
Photo credit: Xenia at Zavod Studio
What has the preparation for show been like? How many hours of training and organisation does something like this consist of?
The production has taken three years to develop. It began with preparation for my previous work; I knew that, even as I was developing No Time Like The Present, that I wanted to tour a triple bill. I started writing an Arts Council England bid immediately after finishing the No Time Like The Present production run last year and submitted it hours before Christmas Eve! It’s been non-stop creative and operational planning up until now. We start research and development for the extended reality elements of the work in September at an XR Stories residency that I’m super excited about and then we start full rehearsals in October. During all this, I train daily (technique class in styles such as ballet and contemporary dance) and I’m working on other creative projects. I’m not even sure how many hours all that is.
Photo credit: Xenia at Zavod Studio
What are you hoping people take away from Parler Femme?
I simply hope people connect with the work as much, if not more, than they have done for my previous work. I also hope that new audiences continue to discover a love of live dance through my work and that they embrace the conversation that parler femme offers on female perspectives.
Tickets for the performance at The Playhouse at Sheffield Theatres on 11 November are on sale now sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or talaleeturton.com. The production also heads to Elsecar Heritage Centre, Barnsley, on 16 November.
