Marianne Machin, Author at Marianne Machin

Metronomy

June 13, 2016 By Marianne Machin 2 Comments

This could be beautiful…

Once upon a time a band called Metronomy played their first wonderful live show and their fate as a totally cool genius pop band was sealed. I went home that night and listened to You Could Easily Have Me about a million times and dreamed a dance – one of my first proper choreographies (and most likely the best thing I’ve ever done).

As the band got bigger and the venues more roomy Sparklemotion were invited to join them on stage as part of their Nights Out shows. I can’t explain what an honour this was for me. Choreographing to a Metronomy track is the best and worst of times. Best because the songs are thrilling and strange and off the wall in a way that makes them just about as interesting as it could ever get for a dance. Worst because it’s nigh-on impossible to do them justice. I will always treasure the fact that Sparklemotion shared a stage with such a special, charming, amazing band.

Guilty Pleasures

June 12, 2016 By Marianne Machin Leave a Comment

Nightclubbing

So, what to say about GP? The daddy of pop clubs. A superbrand with nights all over the world and a pop sensibility borne of a total love and respect for the music they play. And they have dancers. And they REALLY look after their dancers. It’s a BIG DEAL and Sparklemotion have been lucky enough to be part of that. Yeh, I wanted this gig a lot, so it’s magic that it came about and that we got to enjoy so many fun times aboard the good ship Guilty Pleasures.

There is definitely a kid in a sweet shop element to Guilty Pleasures for me. The idea that I can sit down and pick any song from the entire wonderful pop canon and then just make up a dance to it is crazy! And it’s been great in other ways too cause I think I can err on the conservative side and you have to let that all go to make an impact at a GP night. It needs to be WILD. I’ve had to learn to add a sense of spectacle to what I do and I’ve loved that.

More importantly, without GP I never would have discovered I looked so good in a beard, so, for that alone, Mr Rowley and your Guilty Pleasures, I salute you.

Channel 4

February 1, 2014 By Marianne Machin Leave a Comment

Starry starry night... — Starry starry night…

House Party NYE

So, New Year’s Eve 2012 Sparklemotion danced on live TV.That’s LIVE TV kids…and IT ROCKED. A memorable way to see off one year and usher in another for sure.

We were booked as part of Channel 4’s epic House Party…6 hours of kick-ass tunes, visuals and interactive New Year shenanigans. My remit was to fill the gap between the only two ad breaks (no pressure) with a routine to The Jacksons ‘Can You Feel it’ (Tune!). Christmas went by the wayside and instead I had a frantically fab week choreographing, costume making, and rehearsing.

The day itself was amazing and terrifying in equal measures. And yes, the space was tiny, and yes, equipment wobbled and yes,the nerves were off the scale, but the dance passed without incident and the crew at House Party made Sparklemotion look awesome. Seriously, like an episode of TOTP from yesteryear. Pretty special.

Cancer Research UK

January 1, 2014 By Marianne Machin Leave a Comment

The Cancer Slam

David Wilson is a dude. He is also a an amazing video director I’ve been lucky enough to work with on a few projects.

In 2013 Cancer Research chose David to direct a video for their Race for Life campaign. The brief was to create a full length pop video featuring a simple and iconic dance routine that participants and their friends and families could learn and perform en masse at the race meets. A fantastic idea for a fantastic charity and I was obviously thrilled to be part of the project.

My job was to invent the dance, which might sound easy, but creating simple yet original and exciting choreography is actually very, very hard. David and I worked together using Michelle Pfeiffer in Grease 2 as our inspiration (slinking across a parking lot looking effortlessly cool) and thus the Cancer Slam began to take shape. I even had to name the moves to make it easier for people to learn (armpits!).

The video shoot itself was an experience never to be forgotten…16 hours outside in a scrap yard on a grey and freezing February day. Brrrrr. But my god, the result is perfect – a fierce, super cool promo with an unforgettable message.

Adam Buxton

December 30, 2013 By Marianne Machin Leave a Comment

I’m on a Sushi bender

Warning. This is a bit of a sorry tale. Which should not come as a surprise. ‘Cause shit sure does happen in the life and times of a dumbass dance troupe. And one has to be steeled for that. And should I ever choose to write a book about these experiences it will be called ‘embracing failure’ (© Richard DeDomenici) – a concept you need to be fully on board with should you decide to embark upon a life on the peripherals of the business they call show.

I’ll save the tears for later and start with the joy. Adam Buxton. Oh my. Superstar comedian, writer, podcaster, music obsessive and generally amazing entertainer person. And for me, half of Adam and Joe whose ‘Adam and Joe Show’ was one of maybe two comedy programmes I’ve liked in my entire life (not a fan of comedy. Less so of comedians). Star Wars in their Eyes. Toytanic. The record store sketch where the guy asks where he can find the new album by Fointy Pinger. I mean, stupid and sweet and clever and funny. I was def a bit star struck to be part of this project. Which was a video to accompany The Sushi Song, one of a series of spoof promos Adam was making at the time for BUG TV. With Sparklemotion favourite, David Wilson, at the helm (see also The Cancer Slam).

And my job was to choreograph a dance. For Adam to do. Gulp. Yikes. That’s pretty big. And, of course, I have no clue if Adam is a great dancer…a terrible dancer…a person who hates dancing??? All you can do in these situations is make something really simple and hope for the best. So I went for some pretty goofy moves with a bit of a fishy vibe. And then I crossed my fingers he wouldn’t hate it/me??

So shoot day arrives. It’s long. And by the time we get to the dancing it’s really late in the day and having to learn a dumbass routine is probably pretty low on the list of ways Adam Buxton would like to be spending his time. Oh dear. But he’s a pro. He graciously learns the steps. Practices-practices. And then aces it. You can see a dry run in the clip. And how happy I am that we filmed when we did, ‘cause after 13 hours on set, it was decided there was no time to include the dance. Say what??? Boo. Sob. Sad face. Etc.

Chin up chick. Fact is, I had a nice day out. I taught Adam Buxton a dance. It happened. And that, my friends, is what matters.