‘Cloudburst’ in creation

1 Dec 2023

To kick-start our Spotlight on: BELONGING series, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Miguel Altunaga’s new commission for Phoenix – Cloudburst – which will premiere as part of our upcoming BELONGING: Loss. Legacy. Love. Spring tour.

The film and images were captured earlier this year during Miguel’s first creative period with our Company Dancers – well before the work even had a name! What he created during this time was then adapted for Phoenix’s inaugural Community Engagement Tour in November – December 2023, where short excerpts were performed in a select, and rather unusual, spaces. Watch footage from Thackray Medical Museum here.

Miguel’s daring new work explores mankind’s relationship to tribe and community, mythology and deity, ritual and surrealism, and how choices made by our ancestors shape our cultures as well as our very being. It is set to a new score by composer David Preston and will receive it’s world premiere at Leeds Playhouse in February 2024. Full tour dates to be announced.

Watch this space for more behind-the-scenes content, interviews and insights into the making of our next tour!