Ceri Rimmer | Cherry Head Productions

Ceri graduated in Dance & Physical Theatre, at John Moores University 2007. Trained in contemporary, jazz, hip hop, contact improvisation, somatic techniques, folk and clog dancing she works within theatre productions and site specific shows.

Sept-Nov 2016

BALLET LORENT / PONTIO   SNOW WHITE

Facilitator | Bangor, North Wales

Ballet Lorent create dance productions which are ascetically beautiful, and engaging for children and adults. They have recently been touring their version of Snow White, in which they have a children's cast as well as adult dancers. Instead of taking children out of school on tour they created a training program, visiting the theatres months in advance of the show dates, to audition and choose children to work with them from the local areas. 

I was hired to facilitate and train the children for the Pontio show, under the skilled guidance of 2 cast members. At auditions children were chosen who did not necessarily have dance training, but raw passion, presence and flair. I lead them through half term training, and 2 weekends with the 2 cast members before they spent 2 days with the full cast, on stage rehearsing for the shows. It was a pleasure to see the children's growth during this time, and their awe of performing with a professional cast and crew.

August 2016

SBARC   MIRI AR Y MOR

Choreographer | Galeri Caernarfon, North Wales

I choreographed the summer show for this welsh children's musical theatre company.

JULY 2015

KATE LAWRENCE VERTICAL DANCE   COATS & CLOGS 

Research and Development | Caernarfon, Wales

Facilitator

JANUARY - MAY 2015

KRABATENE TEATER KOMPANI   LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Cornerteateret   |   Bergen, Norway  |   Ole Bull Scene

Puppeteer of Audrey 2, the meat eating plant!

DECEMBER 2014

BERGEN BYSPILL   RØDHETTE OG BLÅMANN

Fløien   |   Bergen, Norway

Christmas Elf

JULY 2014

CYMRU: BRASIL   WANDERING TALES

Llangollen International Eisteddfod | Wrexham Community Resource Centre

Performer and Musician

Cymru : Brasil's clogs and capoeira were invited back to the International Eisteddfod with a commission to create a show for children's day. 

The company have been performing together for 3 years combining music, movement and folk lore from both cultures. Wandering Tales saw us all delve into our childhood, taking snippets from Brazilian folk stories and the Welsh Mabinogi, with the addition of songs including 'Eu Di Deryn Du' and 'Jac Do' as well as songs written by the company in Welsh, English and Portuguese.

MAY 2014

Festspillene i Bergen (Bergen International Festival), Norway

Alongside creating a Cherry Head Productions performance for the festival I also performed in two other productions:

The Giant Wanderer :  by Cie l'Homme debout

French company Cie l'Homme debout brought their 7.5 meter wicker puppet and 12 company members to the festival, where they enlisted 30 extra people to perform alongside the giant puppet in a promenade piece expressing a search for belonging and the difficulties we face in order to remain standing and find our way in our modern life.

Roots : by Jan Holden, directed by Jorunn Lullau

A political street theatre piece about the Norwegian oil industry. A scientist started the piece by emerging from the top of a constructed oil barrel, mixing oils. One at a time myself and 3 fellow performers emerged from the bottom of the barrel. We four represented Norwegian Mythology, Norwegian traditions, the 200 year old constitution, and the modern business man. Part of our struggle was the fact that we were still attached to the oil, until the barrel broke into 4 sections, to unveil mother nature and all her greenery inside. The 20 minute piece was performed to a Norwegian rock soundtrack.

JULY / AUGUST 2013

 CYMRU : BRASIL   MAN CYFARFOD / MEETING PLACE

Llangollen International Eisteddfod     |   Aber Falls   |   Centro Coreográfico Rio de Janeiro

A cultural and heritage fusion project between two very different nations. 

The concept came about as Welsh choreographer and performer Angharad Harrop travelled to Rio de Janeiro in 2008 to further study capoeira towards her Contemporary Dance Masters. While in Rio she befriended Ruan and Pedro, capoeira brothers with a passion for musicality as well as movement.

The three started improvising with traditional Brazilian instruments, capoeria, contemporary and improvisational dance. Angharad was not only drawn to the music, but noticed a similarity between Brazilian and Welsh folk music and history. 

In 2013 Cymru : Brasil were awarded funding to further the 2012 research into an hour long performance. The boys once again came to Wales, and we also gained female Brazilian dancers Deborah and Cris, and of course the very talented Henry Horrell, violinist exraodinare.

I thoroughly enjoyed working as a musician and dancer within this project, especially with Henry and his depth of musical knowledge. From welsh jigs, lullabies and waltz's, we re-built the traditional music for the harp and violin, with the heartwarming addition of brazilian guitar, drums and berimbau.

We performed Man Cyfarfod / Meeting Place on the main stage and S4C stage at Llangollen International Eisteddfod, and also at Aber Falls, North Wales. To equal out the balance (!) we then went to Rio de Janeiro where we performed after a two week residency at the Centro Coreográfico.

Man Cyfarfod is an absolute pleasure to perform and be part of. To be given the opportunity to explore the possibilities of harp with traditional and modern movement from my culture, and that of a beautiful country thousands of miles away was and always will be a great honour.

Jan / Feb 2013

 EFFERVESCENT SOCIAL ALCHEMY   THE FISH HEARTED BRIDE

National Aquarium, Plymouth

The Fish Hearted Bride is a Grimm’s Brother style-esque fairytale, created by Effervescent as an arts project between themselves, the Children's Services and National Marine Aquarium. Working with a group of vulnerable young adults as Young Producers, they were involved in every step of the project, from the months of planning, story writing, auditions, to choosing the 3 performers to bring their production to life, and then back stage work and front of house within the show.

I was cast to play Rapunzel, the silent and wronged twin. The month of rehearsals and shows took place in the National Aquarium Plymouth, which made for an interesting and unconventional rehearsing, rigging and performance stage. As Rapunzel I was suspended up high in an aerial hoop with a celtic harp for the beginning half of the show, before descending on silks into a pool of water to then continue the show as a human with a fish heart.

Music was an important aspect of the show, and was all performed live. Plymouth Music Zone provided arrangements and remixes of popular songs, played by the Music Zone choir and band. Myself and co-performers Jo Bowis and Lewis Peek had weekly singing rehearsals with the band and choir which was a great experience alongside the phyiscal rehearsals.

June - October 2012 

THEATR GENEDLAETHOL CYMRU   Y STORM 

National Eisteddfod  |  Caerfyrddin  |  Bangor

‘Y Storm’ is a Welsh language adaptation by Gwyneth Lewis of Shakespeare’s classic ‘The Tempest’, and was part of the World Shakespeare Festival and the London 2012 Festival, the cultural programme of the Olympic games.

Directed by Elen Bowman Y Storm was an exciting show full of  elements such as circus, dance, music and a little magic. The show was performed and toured in a Saddle Span circus tent, which allowed for inventive staging and  lighting design, and immersed the audience in the dynamic journey. The production included live music, and the physical element of circus by Citrus Arts.

Working with Citrus Arts, Aerial's spirits were brought to life, playing and descending on silks and ropes, scaling the truss in harnesses, creating giant harpys on stilts, all in the name of causing lots of mischief! In the wedding mask scene I played Iris, presenting magic butterflies to the happy couple before spiraling my way to the top of the tent thanks to a counterweighted moment with my celtic harp. 

July 2012

 CYMRU : BRASIL   CULTURAL DIALOGUE PROJECT

Edge Hill University  |  De Montford University

In 2012 Angharad Harrop received Arts Council Wales funding for research & development to further her inquisitive thought between Brasilian and Welsh folk history. And so Ruan, Pedro and Feino flew over from the 40 degree rays in Rio to the harsh February winds and side rain of Wales!

For our first Cymru : Brasil project on the Welsh team we had myself as harpist, clogger and contemporary dancer, Ynyr Gruffudd on guitar and singing, and Angharad on the dance floor combining Welsh and Brazilian movement. Dancer and capoeirista Will Thornburn also performed with us - a male version of Angharad, trained in contemporary dance, and has also studied capoeira in Rio. From Brasil: Ruan, Pedro and Feino, who all specialise in capoeira and music, and traditional Brasilian folk songs and movement.

The two weeks of research and development was an inspiring collaboration between welsh music and brazilian movement, and vice versa. We performed the 20 minute findings at Edge Hill University, De-Montford Cultural Exchanges Festival, and for the Queen’s Jubilee tour.

June 2011

SHIFTING SANDS THEATRE CO   THE MADNESS of LOVE

Deda Theatre, Derby

The Madness of Love takes us into the world of Clowning and Commedia dell’Arte to meet the wonderfully comical characters that arose in 16th-century Italy. Feigning madness to escape an arranged marriage, Isabella begins a chain reaction as others go mad around her. As everybody is dragged into this folly, can true love prevail? The Madness of Love is the result of a workshop project hosted by Déda in collaboration with Shifting Sands Theatre Company. The performance has been created by physical theatre performers from across the UK, working under the direction of clowning expert Gerry Flanagan.

June 2011

ANGHARAD HARROP    TY BACH TWT

Galeri, Caernarfon

Commissioned by Dawns i Bawb, Ty Bach Twt was devised by Angharad Harrop in collaboration with Lucy Simmonds (cellist) Ian Dolan, Lisa Spaull, Despina Goula, Megan Henderson, Gemma Williams, and myself.

Ty bach Twt is a Welsh nursery rhyme in which we found a spark to create solo’s and duets with a glimpse into our ‘Ty Bach Twt’ (tidy little house). Breathing life into this old nursery song based on folklore, culture and heritage were North Walian folk band Brigyn, and cellist Lucy Simmonds.

April 2011

THEATRE CYNEFIN      ECO PANTO

Caerdroia, Gwydyr Forest, North Wales

A Theatr Cynefin labyrnith with a difference! The sensory theatre company have been creating performances in Caerdroia, a the mile long labyrinth in Gwydyr Forest, since 2003. Eco Panto was directed by performance artist Megan Broadmeadow, with a cast of well known pantomime characters including Cinderella, Prince Charming, Panto Cow, Captain Hook, Widow Manky, Genie, Blind Mice and Sleeping Beauty!

Pantomime has gone green and is finding its roots in the forest. A handcrafted outdoor performance combining the fun of pantomime with re-cycled goods and materials. Interactive performance, art, music and much more, by artists from Wales, UK and Europe.

I brought Sergeant Cinderella to life, who upon meeting the audience lined the group of 10 up. After a quick undertaking of Panto Knowledge tests, the audience were marched onward down a tunnel to the Sergeant’s headquarters. Once inside the yurt a vigourous training in the arts of stage manners commenced: learning panto convorastion, role play, balance, and voice volume. Once deemed sufficiently trained they were allowed to walk onward along the track until they came across the next character, who happened to be Jack, his magic beans and Panto Cow!

 September 2010

ANGHARAD HARROP   CYNEFIN

Dance film, Snowdonia

Cynefin is a dance for film piece supported by the Arts Council of Wales. A collaboration between two dancers, myself and Angharad Harrop, and composer James Kelly. This playful film takes a look at the welsh landscape through the eyes of two dancers who grew up in North Wales. Both moved away to bright city lights, but the call of the sunrise over the mountains, the whispers of the winds through the valleys and singing of the rivers journey keeps bringing them home. In Welsh we have a word for this phenomenon, Cynefin. Cynefin is an exploration of what it is to live in a landscape and how we play our part in shaping it, perhaps through walking the well trodden paths of miners and shepherds or perhaps how we choose to view it and show it to others.

I played the harp for the soundtrack which James edited together with the natural sounds of the environment in which we filmed.

June-July 2010

REFRESH THEATRE   WALKING THROUGH WINDOWS

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral

Refresh Theatre was commissioned to create a piece of dance theatre about Agnes Jones, a 19th century pioneer of nursing, who was known as an “Angel of Mercy”.

Based in the impressive well of the cathedral we had a set of hospital beds, a commissioned soundtrack, and a film instillation projected onto sheets on set.

Thea Woolcote headed Walking Through Windows to commemorate the one hundredth birthday of the “Women of Noble Character” window in Lady Chapel. Lively and challenging pieces based on these women were sought for the promenade performance.

The window depicts women who’s astonishing achievements date back 800 years, and were an influence on our education, health services, welfare, the arts and parliament.

Testing the strength of human contact our performance explored the journey from dependancy to empowerment. We examined the bond between the patient and the nurse and asked if the nurse can ever switch off while caring for the victims of our society? 

September 2009

SIMON WHITEHEAD     LOCATOR 20

Rowen, North Wales

Directed by Simon Whitehead, presented by Migrations and Dawns i Bawb: Performances in the Landscape.

A guided walk through landscape filled with live performances from eight Welsh and International artists and an historian.

The culmination of intensive residency to create new performances using music, dance, visual arts and the spoken word responding to the local environment and history.

 October 2008

CERI RIMMER   UP THE WALL

Chester Performs

Chester Performs curate an annual winter promenade around the walls of the city, inviting artists from all disciplines to perform. For the 2008 Up The Wall I was positioned in the cathedral gardens with my durational dance piece Spot the Difference, which interacted with a light instillation and audience members 

August 2008

CERI RIMMER   ROAM THE ROWS

Chester Performs

Roam the Rows 2008 is the summer event curated by Chester Performs, letting performers loose along the cobbled lanes, and in shop windows, to amuse and interact with passers by.

I had the pleasure of  developing 7 Bells for the promenade. The bells were attached to the outside of my shop window, each with its own saying. Sometimes I would wait patiently, and sometimes I would try to get the attention of passers by, as they needed to rang a bell to make me move. I would quickly get changed into one of the 7 dresses which was specifically connected to the bell in question. Each bell had a dress which needed to be worn and a specific dance to be performed. It would often get very messy when lots of people were testing out bells  at the same time! But there were also tender moments when one or two people would stay for half an hour and make their way through each bell and story.

June 2008

THEATR CYNEFIN   ALBAN HEFIN

Caerdroia, Gwydyr Forest, North Wales

Cynefin’s fifth sensory theatre production at the Caerdroia labyrinth, a one mile path deep in the heart of the Gwydyr Forest. The event combined visual arts, music, dance, poetry, local produce, and games; a festival of the senses!

‘Alban Hefin’ (‘The Light Of Summer’) was a celebration of the Llanrwst area, it’s people, produce and environment through the vibrancy of midsummer traditions.

Based on the maypole dance, I was wrapped in a tangle of ribbons against a maypole for the whole performance. Infront of me I had miniature ribboned maypoles, between 2 - 3 feet tall. My character had become over excited during rehearsing the maypole dance - at the prospect of meeting her one true love! Audience groups of up to 7 people came upon the maypole section of the labyrinth every 20 minutes, and within each group I hoped my love might be among them! Upon learning that he wasn’t, or that no-one in the group was in love with me, the group were asked to participate in a maypole dance, which might draw him, my love, to me. Instructed by me they choose a miniature maypole and followed by elaborate dance instructions, before i sent them off so that I could await my love to rescue me!

October 2007

SUGAR MUSHROOMS   UP THE WALL

Chester Performs

Sept-Nov 2007

THEATR CYNEFIN   YSBRYDNOS

Caerdroia, Gwydyr Forest, North Wales

The clocks go back, as we go forward into the impending darkness.
The summer a faint memory as we venture into the castle of turns, that leads to a door.
On the other side is the unknown and unknowable.
Do you open it?

An  experience  like no  other  in  theatre!

Ysbrydnos is the 4th Cynefin performance in three years at the purpose built  Caerdroia Labyrinth, and marks the handing over of what has become an annual tradition, to the control and aspirations of local artists and volunteers.

Ysbrydnos is directed by local performers, Jaqui Banks, Megan Broadmeadow and Ceri Rimmer, and is presented by Golygfa Gwydyr.

Ysbrydnos, translating as Night of Spirits, was my third project with Theatr Cynefin. Performed over October and November, at the root of the sensory performance was Halloween. I worked with sound instillation artist Simon Proffitt, and our piece was half way along the 2 hour journey through the dark forest. Entering our space in the darkness the audience were greeted by Simon in a tailed suit and glowing ball in hand; he then led the audience into a circular clearing, to the sound of insects, exotic birds and rainforest. I was hidden inside an igloo of umbrella’s, often surprising the audience as it lit up and started spinning under pine trees. After absorbing the movements and sounds the audience were invited into the igloo to spin the contraption themselves before being let out facing a different path to continue along, following the tumbling glowing ball.

July 2007

SUGAR MUSHROOMS   CREAM CAKE

Site Gallery, Liverpool Docks

Nov-Dec 2006

THEATR CYNEFIN   HEULDRO GAEAF

Caerdroia, Gwydyr Forest, North Wales

Aug-Sept 2006

ELAN WALES (Firenza Guidi)    CRASH

Aberglasney Gardens, South Wales

June-July 2006

THEATR CYNEFIN   HEULDRO HAF

Caerdroia, Gwydyr Forest, North Wales