Busy start to LDI for Harlequin in Orlando today

It is already busy today at the Orange County Convention Center, Florida where Harlequin are exhibiting at LDI until Sunday 30th October. 

Harlequin is the floor Phoenix Dance Theatre keep coming back to

 John Slater

British Harlequin recently installed a Harlequin WoodSpring™ sprung floor, with a Harlequin Studio™ dance surface in Phoenix Dance Theatre’s new building in Leeds. 

" I am very happy with the Harlequin floors in the building." said John Slater, Technical Manager of Phoenix Dance Theatre. "There are no complaints from the dancers at all…trust me, if there were any problems, I would know about it." 

" For touring I have used Harlequin floors in the past and I am about to buy some more...the dancers and the rehearsal director won’t allow me to buy anything else! " 

The interview with John Slater will soon be published on the Harlequin video channel and on their YouTube channel. 

Harlequin team engage with IADMS dance health conference

Harlequin delegates - Mark Rasmussen,
Pat Basileo & Claire Londress.

When the 21st Annual Meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) convened in Washington DC this month representatives of dance floor specialist, Harlequin numbered among the delegates. 

Summing up the event, Patricia Basileo, Vice President of the American Harlequin Corporation said "Supporting the work of IADMS is part of our worldwide commitment to healthier dancers. The Washington DC meeting was a great success and full of enthusiastic delegates sharing that same commitment. In addition, it was a wonderful opportunity for us to meet with customers and friends old and new." 

Harlequin – Annual Sponsors of IADMS - is a brand well recognised throughout the dance community as leading the way in developing and evolving the modern dance floor. This is thanks in no small part to a close relationship forged between dancers and a manufacturer intent on developing floors that dancers choose to dance on. In recent years Harlequin has supported various researchers to gain a greater insight into understanding of the important contributing factors that constitute a "good floor". Dancers are naturally well aware of the importance of the dance floor. 

The IADMS annual conference provided an important opportunity for Harlequin to interact with the dance community. 

Harlequin Cascade gives Riverdance confidence to go all out

Julian Erskine

Since its beginnings as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest staged in Dublin, Riverdance has gone on to conquer the world. And where Riverdance goes so do rolls of Harlequin Cascade™ dance floor. 

Recently British Harlequin Marketing Manager, Caroline Reilly caught up with the show and Executive Producer Julian Erskine, in Killarney. In a soon to be released video interview to be published on the Harlequin video channel and YouTube, Julian explained how an extensive search for the right floor ended with choosing Harlequin Cascade™ - a floor that has since toured the world with Riverdance for seventeen years. "We found Cascade™ solved our problems – enough slipperiness for the tappers and enough bite for the Irish dancers. " In the video Julian emphasises how important the floor is to the dancers’ confidence, so they don’t "hold back" and can "go all out" without fear of slipping. Slipping was a real problem in the early days before Cascade™ as the special shoes used for Irish dance polished the traditional wood surface to a shiny and slippery gloss. He explains too the importance of floor colour to work with scenic projection and even the effect of temperature. 

The full interview will be released next month showcasing the continuing role of Harlequin Cascade™ in this long running success, plus a look back at Riverdance history and an interview with a dancer.

Harlequin goes green for the day

Harlequin has gone green today to raise funds for Hospice in the Weald’s ‘Wear Green for the Hospice’ appeal week. 

"As most people know someone who has been affected by a terminal illness we are all dressed in green today to raise money for our local hospice in Pembury. It has been a week-long campaign run by the Hospice in the Weald to raise money. It is a fantastic cause that we are delighted to support, as they provide care to people with life limiting illnesses, to their families and carers."

"With a minimum donation was £1 and almost everyone taking part we have managed to raise £100 - every penny helps! " 

American Harlequin supports dancer safety at IADMS conference

Company Sets the Stage with Sprung Performance Flooring

Washington, DC, October 13, 2011 – American Harlequin (Harlequin), a world leader in floors for the performing arts, along with British Harlequin and Harlequin Europe , is proud to partner with the International Association for Dance & Medical Science (IADMS) for its 21st Annual Meeting, held in Washington, DC from October 13-15, 2011, to support those involved with the healthcare, education, administration and supervision of dancers. 

"Harlequin has been an annual sponsor of IADMS for nearly a decade, " said Bob Dagger, president of American Harlequin. "We believe this partnership is a testament to our Company’s long-standing philosophy to deliver performance flooring products that enable dancers to sustain a long, healthy career." 

Illustrating its dedication to safety at IADMS, American Harlequin displays its cost-effective Harlequin Liberty™ Sprung Floor Panels, which feature uniform suspension and point elasticity to enable compression at the point of contact. Further adding to performance safety, Liberty flooring, available in portable and permanent options, also features: 

• “Area elasticity” to provide flexion and support where a performer lands 
• Consistent shock absorption to reduce injury risk 
• Limitation of flexing to avoid disturbance of neighboring performers
Performance flooring experts from Harlequin will be available throughout IADMS to address the needs and concerns of attendees, including physicians, physical therapists, artistic directors, educators and dancers. 

IADMS was formed in 1990 by an international group of dance medicine practitioners, dance educators, dance scientists and dancers. Membership is drawn equally from the medical and dance professions, and has grown from an initial 48 members in 1991 to over 900 members at present world-wide, representing 35 countries. 

Gala event raises funds for The Hunger Project

The Royal Ballet's Liam Scarlett 
dances Texan Kangaroo Rat
 - ‘Still life’ at the Penguin Café. 
© All rights reserved by
 The Hunger Project UK

The Gary Avis & Friends Charity Gala, which took place in September, turned out to be an important fund-raiser for The Hunger Project. A Harlequin Liberty™ sprung floor used in conjunction with black Harlequin Reversible™ dance surface was installed at the Ipswich Regent Theatre for the two performances, which included dancers from The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet. 

Gary Avis, a Principal Character Artist and also Ballet Master at the Royal Ballet brought a glittering array of talent to his home town of Ipswich. "It was a fantastic success, we had two packed performances with 2600 guests and we raised £50,000 for The Hunger Project which was incredible" said Mark Speirs Marketing, Communications & Fundraising Manager of The Hunger Project UK. 

Bryony Wells of The Hunger Project explained, "the performances, hosted by Angela Rippon involved 10 Principal Dancers from the Royal Ballet and we therefore needed to put in place a good sprung floor. " She continued, "Harlequin provided the floor for an event involving the Royal Ballet last year in Lagrasse, and all the dancers were very happy with this floor. Additionally, Gary Avis teaches at the Wells Summer Schools at which a Harlequin floor is used, and has been very impressed with it. " 

This "World Class Dance Event"included 80 performers supported by 250 volunteers backstage. Performers included The Royal Ballet’s Steven McRae, Jumoké Fashola, Roberta Marquez, Nehemiah Kish, Melissa Hamilton, Paul Kay, Leanne Cope, David Pickering, Yuhui Choe, Ryoichi Hirano, Yasmine Naghdi, Nigel Cliffe and; English National Ballet’s Principal Ballerina Begoña Cao and from East Anglia - The Co-op Juniors, Ipswich Operatic Society, Appeal Theatre Group, The Gallery Players and young performers from the Linda Shipton School of Dance. 

A round up of the gala is published on The Hunger Project blog and there is still an opportunity to give at Gary’s fundraising page on Justgiving.com.