Transitions Dance Company Archive

The archive of Transitions Dance Company, Laban's in-house dance company, including moving image material, administrative files, photographs, slides, dance theatre programmes and publicity material. The company was founded in 1983 and has been touring internationally since 1985. This collection is in the process of being catalogued.

Established in 1983, Transitions Dance Company was among the first graduate performance companies in the United Kingdom. An idea conceived by dance pioneer and educator, Bonnie Bird, Transitions Dance Company was the performing name of Laban's Advanced Performance Course - a one year intensive training course for dancers who had recently graduated and wished to pursue a professional performing career in contemporary dance. The course was structured as a dance company and the name 'Transitions' described the transition from trained student to professional performer. Today, Transitions Dance Company is known for its extensive national and international touring, educational residencies and professional successes. Its core principles have remained the same today as at the company's inception through constant fine tuning and responsiveness to professional developments. Transitions now offers a Masters degree programme, actively collaborating with international choreographers to produce high quality work and well informed, talented alumni. Continuing with Bonnie Bird's belief in the importance of collaboration between today's dancers and choreographers, the three or four choreographers chosen each year are selected to give dancers the widest possible experience of different techniques and styles and an understanding of the diverse requirements of professional choreographers. Sources: Laban (1993). Transitions Dance Company tenth anniversary year 1983-1993.London: Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. Laban (2009). Transitions Dance Company 25. London: Laban Centre for Movement and Dance.

Records generated by Transitions Dance Company are arranged in date order whilst in use. Transferred into the archive two years after production, they are accessioned and box listed with original order maintained as far as possible. The records are in the process of being catalogued by season. The following seasons have been catalogued: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09. Most of the remainder of the archive has been box listed.

Temporarily closed to the public.

Transitions Dance Company administrator.

Records for the seasons 2005-2009 have been catalogued and can be searched on the Laban Archive catalogue. Most of the remaining archive has been box listed and these lists can be searched on the archive catalogue.

Access copies of many of the moving image items are available to view in the library collections of the Laban Library and Archive.

Description compiled by Nicola Korkoi Tettey, Glasgow University, 2009.

Photocopies can be made according to copyright law and depending on the condition of documents. Please consult the Archivist.

Duplicates and ephemeral material have been destroyed.

Records generated by Transitions Dance Company are arranged in date order whilst in use. Transferred into the Laban Archive two years after production, they are accessioned and box listed with original order maintained as far as possible.

Accruals are received every year from the administrator of Transitions Dance Company.

Further records and material concerning Transitions Dance Company can be found in the Bonnie Bird Collection, the Marion North Collection and the Laban Centre Archive, held in the Laban Archive.