Podcasts about Rambert Dance Company

First Nations youth from Rubibi (Broome) and youth from Girrawheen Senior High School in Boorloo (Perth) unite in an energetic double bill in response to Co3's engagement project CONNECT 2024: THE INSIDE, delivered by Co3 Artistic Associate Dave Mack and Co3's Teaching Artist Team. Throughout Term 2, these youth participated in Co3's in-school dance residency and workshop program which involved an immersive virtual reality arts experience created by Artistic Director, Raewyn Hill. CONNECT 2024: THE INSIDE engages with themes of belonging and displacement and explores how youth consider and respond to their built and natural environments. This creative dance response in Boorloo brings our young people together from across Western Australia in a safe and inclusive environment - to voice, to exchange and to dance! Youth dancers ‘Burrb Wanggarraju Nurlu' created by Artistic Director Tara Gower from Rubibi will be presenting a devised response titled Retaliate. Youth from Girrawheen Senior High School will be presenting their devised response titled The Return, mentored in the program by Co3 Teaching Artists Jessica Pettitt and Alex Kay. This event isn't just about dance — it's about empowerment, expression, and forging connections. Supported by Act Belong Commit, we invite you to join us in celebrating our youth in what will be a wonderful and disarming showcase of movement and expression. Move with us. David Mack is an award-winning dancer with more than 20 years of experience performing with companies including Sydney Dance Company, Rambert Dance Company. Phoenix Dance Theatre, West Australian Ballet and Co3 Contemporary Dance. Throughout his career, he has performed principal and soloist roles in works by many notable classical and contemporary choreographers, receiving a nomination for a Helpmann Award and winning a Green Room Award and Australian Dance Award for his performances in William Forsythe's Qunitett and Rafael Bonachela's Frame of Mind.

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nicola Clayton about cognition across many animals. They define cognition in humans and in animals, intelligence, using magic to understand cognition in animals, embodied mind in animals, and comparative cognition as a type of convergent evolution. They discuss difficulties in using human measures for evaluating animal cognition, New Caledonian crows and their intelligence, consciousness, the future of comparative cognition research, and many more topics.Nicola Clayton is Professor of Comparative Cognition in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Clare College and a Fellow of the Royal Society. Her main interests areas are comparative cognition and the evolution and development of intelligence in non-verbal animals and pre-verbal children. She is currently President of the British Science Association Psychology Section. She is also in residence at Rambert Dance Company. Website: https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/nsc22%40cam.ac.uk Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In the final episode of our fashion series, we go to London to meet Patrick McDowell, a pioneering British high-end designer who has been applying circular design for fashion since starting their career. They tell us about their journey and their vision for the future of the fashion industry.Learn more about Patrick McDowell's brand and journeyHave a look at Patrick's collection for Rambert Dance Company

Born in Liverpool, in 1962, John' family relocated to North Wales in the early 1970's where John joined the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. He played in several bands with his Father before moving to the Royal Northern College of Music studying Contemporary percussion/ drum kit and piano.  After 5 years of graduate and post-graduate studies, he joined Rambert Dance Company, London as a percussionist, enjoying extensive touring for a further 5 years. After still more years gigging in bands and theatre John accepted the post as Composer / Musical Director for the Bristol Old Vic. While working in theatre John learned the basics on Bass Guitar, Flute, Trumpet and Trombone until eventually discovering the Accordion.  As of the 2023 release of the new  @officialjethrotull  album RökFlöte, it's been 20 years since John has been part of the Jethro Tull family. In 2003 he met  @IanAnderson  and joined the “Rubbing Elbows” tour on piano and accordion subsequently recording on “Rupi's Dance.” Since that time John has enjoyed touring with the band and scoring, conducting, and playing Ian's orchestral concerts. Outside of the Jethro Tulliverse, In 2004 John was commissioned to compose a children's opera by the  @welshnationalopera  . This was a great success and has led to a further two pieces being commissioned. John has composed for wildlife, drama, and documentary TV. John holds teaching positions at Bath and Bristol Universities and is a guest tutor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. From 2007-2009, he helped arrange and conduct music for the College's stage production of the classic The Who album “Quadrophenia.” This past April (2023), John performed with an All-Star band (including Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson) touring “Jon Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra,” featuring the music of Deep Purple.   John composed the closing oratorio, “The Bargee's Wife” for the Three Choirs Festival U.K. (2013) and “The Gloucester Magnificat” for Gloucester Cathedral U.K. (2016).  During the pandemic, he composed the score for a series of short films for the  @TravellingLightTheatre  designed to help young people during lockdown: 17 and the Squeak Gobbler (2021 available on YouTube). He continues to work with young performers in universities, as well as drama and music schools.

Electronic adventures at the fantastic Smokehouse in Ipswich. Friendship is a large part of the music experience. We meet friends at gigs, we're in bands with friends, and sometimes, when the stars align we get to put on gigs featuring friends. Then there are the magical occasions whereby we are able to promote a gig for a friend who has lived abroad for years and is back in the UK for just a short time. This episode is about one of those magical times. Sure, the huge acts can afford impressive light shows and enough lasers to upset commercial air traffic, but what can artists who haven't already made millions do to make gigs more interesting? This episode of the Beat Motel podcast is a review of a rare UK performance by Egypt-based Nujumi. Support from Jon Bowers, Strandings and Mawhrin Skel. NUJUMIBased in Eqypt, Nujumi describe themselves as 'green pastures and dark debris'. Orchestrated synth and strings emerging from the dusts of the Sahara.Created by Daniel Merrill, one-third of the Dead Rat Orchestra.https://nujumi.bandcamp.com/ JOHN BOWERSIn his first performance returning to Ipswich after 10 years in the Newcastle DIY scene, John Bowers will coax room feedback, chaotic noise, spectral ambience, and extreme dynamics from his modular synthesizer and Pure Data programs. John has a long history in rowdy improvised experimental electronics having performed at festivals including the Venice Biennale, Experimental Intermedia New York, Transmediale/CTM Vorspiel Berlin, Piksel Bergen, Electropixel Nantes, BEAM London, Faster Than Sound Aldeburgh, Yarmonics Great Yarmouth and Spill Ipswich, and toured with the Rambert Dance Company performing David Tudor's music to Merce Cunningham's Rainforest. He is one third of the noise rock trio Tonesucker. He has just launched a personal record label, https://unlanded.bandcamp.com/. Its first album, Unlanded Volume 1 is planned for release June 2023. https://www.instagram.com/johnthemodulator/ STRANDINGSStrandings is the new project by Dead Rat Orchestra member Robin Alderton. A combination of electro-acoustic elements featuring the folk based influences of his soundtrack work with DRO and solo textural collage work utilising turntables, electronics and manipulated vinyl. For fans of Philip Jeck, William Basinski and CST Records. MAHWRIN SKELDepending on whim, willingness and weather Mawhrin Skel makes music that is often described as noise, drone, techno-alt-orchestral and ambient. His music is characterised by its use of harsh, abrasive sounds, deep frequencies as well as long, slow, and meditative passages. Mawhrin Skel is the stage name of Andrew Culture, occasional novelist and bassist of These Are End Times.https://mawhrinskel.bandcamp.com/

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: For more information or to Register for Dr. Carol's 90-Day Wildfit Program, which starts on April 14, 2022....send an email to info@drcarolpenn.com with "WildFit" in the subject line. Contact this episode's Super-friend, Dr. S. Ama Wray * www.embodiology.com * Maximize the potential of your breath through liberatory movement. www.joyinmotion.io * https://events.embodiology.com/how-jim-works ~~~~ Hosted by Dr. Carol Penn, DO, & Diem Jones this exciting 10-part Series, now in Season 8, is presented by Penn Global Visions and Dr. Carol's team of Super-friends as we explore the worlds of: weight loss; weight loss maintenance; aging in reverse; heart health; optimizing health and well being. Weightless in Mind Body and Spirit, is designed to assist each participant in the journey of outrageous self-care and how to prioritize themselves on behalf of achieving their best and highest self. Over the course of our show you will learn how to balance your Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous system. Tune in to this episode as we discuss "Ancestral Movement" with returning Super-friend, Dr. S. Ama Wray. Produced by: Kenya Pope, http://goddess.kenyapope.com ~~~~ Featured Guest: Dr. S. Ama Wray – Performance Architect Dr. S. Ama Wray, TEDx Speaker, has been performing, teaching and choreographing across 3 continents for over 30 years, performing and touring with London Contemporary Dance Theater and Rambert Dance Company across the UK, USA and Europe. As founder and Artistic Director of JazzXchange Music and Dance Company she was Artist-in-Residence at The Royal Opera House and Southbank Center, UK. Improvisation, often seen as the dominion of jazz music is also synonymous with creativity and in 2021, she has launched a new program to bring this insight into the lives of everyday people through a body mind practice called JiM™ - Joy in Motion. This work emerges out a methodology she created known as Embodiology®. It originates from a study of improvisation identified within West African performance practices through which six principles were identified and iteratively tested in western performance contexts to attain their performance efficacy. Committed to recognizing these origins her organization gives royalties back to the rural community with whom she studies Ewe dance and music. These principles are now being translated and applied to illuminate different areas of human communication, across fields such as medical humanities, music, leadership, child development and somatic coaching. Recent publications include chapters in British Dance, Black Routes and The Oxford Handbook of Improvisation. This virtual iteration, developed during this COVID-19 pandemic, led her to provide services to the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, at the University of California Irvine. A former National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts Fellow (NESTA), a UK version of the McArthur Awards, she began her exploration into performance and technology through a concept known as Texterritory produced by Future Physical. These digital terrains continue to be explored through AI 4 Afrika, an initiative she co-founded with choreographers, data scientists, artists, scholars, and entrepreneurs in 2020. Alongside artistic practice she continues her intellectual pursuits, receiving the African Diaspora Emerging Scholar Award from the Comparative International Education Society in 2018. As a public intellectual she has been an invited speaker for the United Nations, Dance/USA, Princeton University, Temple University, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Atlantic Center of the Arts, Florida and New Waves! Institute, Trinidad & Tobago. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/carol-penn/support

How can we best navigate power dynamics within a dance workplace? What about through active agency and heterarchy? Organizational structures have historically been a challenge for corporates and performing arts groups alike, mostly presenting itself as a tough nut to crack. However, therein lie a multitude of ways to better grasp and understand the psychology and modus operandi of our environment, resulting in a reframing and distancing from the often negative connotations associated with the concept of POWER. Sarah Rubidge is an educator, academic and choreographer and digital artist working in dance for over 40 years. She was Head of Education at Rambert Dance Company and headed up the MA in Dance Studies at the Laban Centre between 1992 and 1997.  She is currently mentoring Postgraduate students at the Bartlett School of Architecture Masters in Design for Performance and Interaction, and serves as a PhD examiner and mentor.  She was subsequently awarded a Readership and then a Professorship in Choreography and New Media. Kickstarting the month of Politics, this episode explores the research and methods of navigating power dynamics within the increasingly complex workplace of the performing arts. Ready to become an active agent and unleash personal power? Join us as we foreground dance in the background!Sarah Rubidge Paper and articlesRambert SchoolLaban CentreBartlett School of ArchitectureUniversity of ChichesterBooks on politicsIf you resonate, connect with me byVisiting The Background DancerRate and review here Sign up here to receive notifications regarding future contentLeave a thought on Facebook and InstagramJoin the Facebook group and introduce yourself as a member of our communitySoundtrack: Birds - Tyler Twombly | Poison Ivy Yard Work - Uncle MilkSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/background)

When dancer Amy Hollingsworth was just 18, she suffered a potentially career-ending injury. Yet, she didn't just recover — she flourished. She's now the artistic director of the Australasian Dance Collective, which is about to make its return to the stage. Also, we hear a scene from Andrea James and Catherine Ryan's Australian gothic play Dogged now at Sydney's Griffin Theatre and we consider the journey of social dance, particularly hip-hop, from the streets and clubs to the theatre with Erin Brannigan.

When dancer Amy Hollingsworth was just 18, she suffered a potentially career-ending injury. Yet, she didn't just recover — she flourished. She's now the artistic director of the Australasian Dance Collective, which is about to make its return to the stage. Also, we hear a scene from Andrea James and Catherine Ryan's Australian gothic play Dogged now at Sydney's Griffin Theatre and we consider the journey of social dance, particularly hip-hop, from the streets and clubs to the theatre with Erin Brannigan.

When dancer Amy Hollingsworth was just 18, she suffered a potentially career-ending injury. Yet, she didn't just recover — she flourished. She's now the artistic director of the Australasian Dance Collective, which is about to make its return to the stage.Also, we hear a scene from Andrea James and Catherine Ryan's Australian gothic play Dogged now at Sydney's Griffin Theatre and we consider the journey of social dance, particularly hip-hop, from the streets and clubs to the theatre with Erin Brannigan.

Ilan Eshkeri is the featured guest on this Score to Screen podcast. The award-winning composer highlights the importance of narrative and story when it comes to crafting score music. Eshkeri provides an in depth look at his soundtrack to the documentary series, A Perfect Planet as well as the admired video game, Ghost of Tsushima. A Perfect Planet is a unique fusion of blue chip natural history and earth science that explains how our living planet operates. This five-part series shows how the forces of nature drive, shape and support Earth's great diversity of wildlife. It takes us on a stunning visual journey, from lands drenched by the Indian monsoon to the slopes of fiery Hawaiian volcanoes, from the tidal islands of the Bahamas to the frozen wastes of Ellesmere Island. From Arctic wolves prowling moonlit landscapes in winter, to frozen wood frogs magically thawing back to life in spring; from the vampire finches of the Galapagos who drink the blood of seabirds, to the African flamingos who gather in their thousands every year in a vast volcanic lake to breed. The video game, Ghost of Tsushima, takes place in the late 13th century, when the Mongol empire has laid waste to entire nations along their campaign to conquer the East. Tsushima Island is all that stands between mainland Japan and a massive Mongol invasion fleet led by the ruthless and cunning general, Khotun Khan. As the island burns in the wake of the first wave of the Mongol assault, samurai warrior Jin Sakai stands as one of the last surviving members of his clan. He is resolved to do whatever it takes, at any cost, to protect his people and reclaim his home. He must set aside the traditions that have shaped him as a warrior to forge a new path, the path of the Ghost, and wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Tsushima. Ilan Eshkeri is an award-winning composer, artist, songwriter, producer and creator. Eshkeri's work is performed in concert halls, theaters, galleries, on film and television and in video games. Recent projects include A Perfect Planet, his fourth collaboration with the legendary naturalist David Attenborough and The White Crow which he worked on with Ralph Fiennes. Both followed the creation of a ballet, Narcissus and Echo, choreographed by famed dancer Sergei Polunin with set designs by David LaChapelle and a ballet commission from Rambert Dance Company. Eshkeri has collaborated with Burberry on a landmark fashion show, where he composed and conducted a choral symphonic suite, Reliquary, which then reached No. 1 in the UK classical chart. Before this, he worked with astronaut Tim Peake and the European Space Agency on a film documenting his mission to the International Space Station. He continues his collaboration with Tim Peake and ESA with his spellbinding show Space Station Earth, last performed in Stockholm to an audience of 10,000. Eshkeri's many creative partnerships include artists such as Annie Lennox, David Gilmour, Sinead O'Connor, KT Tunstall, Tom Odell, Ash and The Cinematic Orchestra. Amongst his extensive catalogue of film and television are multiple Oscar & BAFTA winning films, such as Still Alice, Stardust and Shaun The Sheep.  The Score to Screen podcast series is produced and hosted by Crossover Media's Max Horowitz. Listen to the Soundtrack to A Perfect Planet here. Listen to the Ghost of Tsushima Soundtrack here. List to the official Ilan Eshkeri Spotify playlist here. To learn more about Sony Soundtracks visit https://lnk.to/son

(TSAP S03E19) Sam speaks with composer, Ilan Eshkeri, about his journey into music composition, his recent work on Ghost of Tsushima, collaborating with Shigeru Umebayashi, Space Station Earth and more! "Ilan Eshkeri is an award winning composer, artist, songwriter, producer and creator. Eshkeri's work is performed in concert halls, theatres, galleries, on film & television and video games; his eclectic body of work is linked by his love of narrative. Ilan is currently creating music for A Perfect Planet, his fourth collaboration with the legendary naturalist David Attenborough. Recently, Ilan and Ralph Fiennes completed their third film together – a biopic about Rudolf Nureyev, ‘The White Crow'. This followed the creation of a ballet ‘Narcissus and Echo', choreographed by famed dancer Sergei Polunin with set designs by David LaChapelle and a ballet commission from Rambert Dance Company. Ilan has collaborated with Burberry on a landmark fashion show, where he composed and conducted a choral symphonic suite, ‘Reliquary', which then reached no.1 in the UK classical chart. Before this, he worked with astronaut Tim Peake and the European Space Agency on a film documenting his mission to the International Space Station. Ilan continues his collaboration with Tim Peake and ESA with his spell-binding show ‘Space Station Earth' last performed in Stockholm to an audience of 10,000. Other performance highlights include a unique concert for thousands in the gardens of the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Rudolfinum in Prague." NOTE: The quality of Ilan's audio was lower due to technical issues. Huge thanks to our editor, Toivo Kallio for improving it greatly and we hope you still enjoy this episode. Want to sponsor an episode? E-mail Sam at sam@thesoundarchitect.co.uk for your sponsorship to be read out on the podcast. This episode and so much more at: www.thesoundarchitect.co.uk Twitter: @SoundDesignUK Facebook: facebook.com/thesoundarchitect.co.uk Instagram: thesoundarchitectofficial Stay up to date via our Monthly Newsletter as well: www.thesoundarchitect.co.uk/newsletter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thesoundarchitect/message

Ballet Rambert gehört zu den renommiertesten Tanzkompanien Großbritanniens. Nach 17 Jahren ist sie wieder in Berlin zu Gast. Im Haus der Berliner Festspiele präsentieren die Tänzer Lloyd Newsons Neubearbeitung von "Enter Achilles" - einem Stück über Männlichkeit aus dem Jahr 1995. Unser Tanzkritiker Frank Schmid hat es gesehen.

Hope Muir is artistic director of Charlotte Ballet. Her first season as artistic director in 2017-18 included the introduction of eight new choreographers to the company, the creation of five new ballets, and two ballets making American premieres. Before joining Charlotte Ballet, Hope was assistant artistic director at the Scottish Ballet. She has taught classical and contemporary dance at The National Ballet of Canada, English National Ballet, Rambert Dance Company and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Company. She had a 20-year career as a dancer.  She was a founding member of London Festival Ballet School, then joined the company (now English National Ballet) before dancing for the Rambert Dance Company in London and later Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In the summer of 2018, Hope will serve as a guest artist for The School at Jacob's Pillow. This episode is perfect for anyone interested in the work of an artistic director of a ballet company and a career in ballet and modern dance. IN THIS EPISODE Hope reflects on her first year as artistic director of the Charlotte Ballet and what surprised her. She explains what an artistic director does and what part of her work she loves the most. She describes what someone would have seen if they watched the ballet The Most Incredible Thing and the significance of presenting it. She talks about the pros and cons of touring as a company. Hope answers why Charlotte Ballet does not identify any of its dancers as principal dancers. She considers the responsibility of artistic directors to connect what is on stage with social realities in the world. She answers whether she would stage gay and lesbian themes on stage.  She explains how she assesses a dancer and what traits in a dancer she is drawn to and excites her. Hope shares whether she sees any changes in the composition of the dance company at Charlotte Ballet She discusses whether there is space on stage for older dancers and what project and role would bring her back on stage. She talks about deciding what not to do, what choreographers she would like to bring to Charlotte, and the 'bespoke repertoire' she wants to create. She remembers growing up in Toronto and what drew her to dance. Hope notes the turning point in her dance career and what she learned about herself as a young dancer. She answers whether the Charlotte Ballet is a stepping-stone job for her and whether she would take the call to become the artistic director of a national ballet company. She shares what informs her intellectually and what she values most. plus Mark's Personal Word Essay: Exploring A New Tangent To learn more, visit On Life and Meaning

Rafael Bonachela moved to Australia in 2009 to be the Artistic Director at Sydney Dance Company. He followed Graeme Murphy, who had been at the helm for decades, and took up the role after the tragic death of Tanja Liedtke, who was named as Murphy’s successor. Since his appointment, Rafael has brought the works of a diverse range of leading choreographers to Australia including Alexander Ekman, Adam Linder, William Forsythe, Jacopo Godani and Kenneth Kvarnstrom. While programing the works of Australian choreographers including Larissa McGowan, Stephanie Lake and Gideon Obarzanek. Rafael works with a range of collaborators including with Toni Maticevski, Sarah Blasko, Nick Wales and Katie Noonan. His works includeg 360° C (2008), We Unfold (2009), 6 Breaths (2010), Shared Frequencies (2011), 2 One Another (2012), Les Illuminations (2013), and Lux Tenebris (2016). Rafael has helped instigate a Pre-Professional Year for early-career dancers, as well as focusing on school students to help to develop the next generation of contemporary dance audiences. Before moving to Sydney he ran his own company, the Bonachela Dance Company. Rafael danced for the Rambert Dance Company in 1992, where he developed a strong interest in choreography. This work lead to him choreographing for Kylie Minogue, on the Fever and Showgirl tours. In this conversation we discussed Kylie, dance, leadership, inspiration and arts funding. More information on Sydney Dance Company can be found at www.sydneydancecompany.com Rafael is his own social media celebrity and can be found on Twitter and Instagram. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes including interviews with Gideon Obarzanek and Alexandre Hamel from Le Patin Libre.

Matthew Sweet chairs the British Academy of Song Writers, Composers and Authors debate about relevance and the contemporary across art forms. He is joined by Mark Baldwin Artistic Director of Rambert Dance Company, Catherine Wood curator at Tate, Jennifer Walshe composer and vocalist, Vayu Naidu storyteller and Sarah Kent art critic and performer. Recorded in front of an audience at the studios of Rambert on London's South Bank.Part of BBC Radio 3's coverage of the BASCA awards which you can hear broadcast on Saturday's Hear and Now. Producer: Torquil MacLeod.

Hollie Evans, who plays Jill in this year's pantomime, made a visit to Swindon's Central Library on Saturday 2 November to tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Hollie trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. Since her graduation, Hollie has workshopped with The Rambert Dance Company, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, has appeared in the Bradley Johnson Music Video and was featured on the Pawn Stars History Channel Commercial. Hollie recently played the role of Wendy in Peter Pan last year.

Philip is a composer from the UK who is currently based in Berlin. His commissions have included the Bregenz Festival in Austria, the BBC Singers , and the BBC Symphony Orchestra . Other works have been written for and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, Rambert Dance Company, and the Cheltenham International Music Festival. You can listen to more of his music at www.philipvenables.com.In our conversation we discuss his background in the natural sciences, the new music scene in London and the UK, and his collaboration with the ex-boxer/poet Steven J Fowler.

With Mark Lawson. Writer Neil Cross created Luther, the tormented detective played by Idris Elba on TV, and also wrote for the acclaimed spy series Spooks. He discusses why he hopes Luther will move from the small screen to the cinema. A century after Diaghilev's Ballets Russes caused a sensation in Paris, two major British ballet companies are re-imagining the Ballets Russes' most famous works. Mark talks to the 21 year-old choreographer George Williamson who has re-worked Stravinsky's Firebird for English National Ballet, and Mark Baldwin from the Rambert Dance Company, who has created a contemporary take on Debussy's L'Apres-midi d'un faune. Novelist Naomi Alderman reviews Journey, the acclaimed new video game in which players find themselves in a vast and empty desert. This week Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner announced he would change a piece of music in the first episode of the new series, set in 1965, after canny preview audiences spotted the song hadn't been written yet. Music writer David Hepworth considers what happens when writers get their musical references wrong. Producer Ellie Bury.

Nicky Clayton is Professor of Comparative Cognition at Cambridge University. Her work challenges how we think of intelligence and she says that birds' brains developed independently from humans or apes. Members of the corvid family, such as crows and jays appear to plan for the future and predict other birds behaviour in her elegant experiments.One experiment she has designed was inspired by Aesop's fable of the hungry crow. Her work raises questions about the understanding of animal behaviour, including whether, as humans, we can ever interpret the actions of other species accurately. But she says her research with birds and other animals can help illuminate young children's activities and how their brains develop. Nicky Clayton is scientist in residence at the Rambert Dance Company and her latest collaboration with Mark Baldwin, the artistic director, is "Seven for a secret, never to be told" which takes concepts from childhood behaviour and reinterprets them choreographically. Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald.

This week Libby Purves is joined by Professor Nicky Clayton, Bill Roedy, Edward Petherbridge and Steve Greenhaugh. Nicky Clayton is Professor of Comparative Cognition at Cambridge University and is an expert in bird behaviour. She is also passionate about dance and now combines these two strands as the Rambert Dance Company's first 'Scientist in Residence'. She is working with the Rambert on a new production, "Seven for a Secret, Never to be Told" and will be at this year's Hay Festival. Bill Roedy is the former Chairman and Chief Executive of MTV. In his book, 'What Makes Business Rock', he tells the story of how he built MTV into a global phenomenon. 'What Makes Business Rock' is published by Wiley. Edward Petherbridge is a distinguished stage actor who has had a long and varied career. He was part of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre Company at the Old Vic and starred as Lord Peter Wimsey in the BBC adaptation of the Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries. He is currently playing the prophet Teresias in Sophocles' 'Antigone' (translated by Timberlake Wertenbaker) at London's Southwark Playhouse. Steve Greenhaugh worked as an RSPCA inspector in Lancashire for twenty-eight years. His book ' A Seal Pup in My Bath' tells of his training and early career rescuing thousands of injured, abandoned and abused animals from stranded cats and injured birds, to joining on police raids on quail fighting rings. 'A Seal Pup in My Bath - Tales From an RSPCA Inspector' is published by Constable.

Professor Nicky Clayton researches the social behaviour, intelligence and dance credentials of birds! As an accomplished dancer in her own right she has fused her passions by collaborating with Rambert Dance Company to produce a Darwinian inspired ballet called The Comedy of Change.