YESTERDAY by the Jasmin Vardimon Company has its debut at Brighton Dome on September 2 before heading out to 19 UK venues, culminating with three performances at The Peacock Theatre, Sadler's Wells, London.

"We have a relationship with Brighton Dome for three years and are very excited about that," said Jasmin, associate artist at Sadler's Wells. "We will be introducing all our productions there. It is our home theatre from now and we are happy to première to a Brighton audience.

"We always took our shows to the Gardner Arts and every time we were there the show sold out. Out of London, you never know if you will get a good audience but we always did there.

"Since the Gardner closed, we have new relations with the Dome and hope we will get good audiences there."

YESTERDAY, an intimate piece, revisits some of the most memorable moments of the company's repertoire from the last 10 years.

"I think it is a journey in my memory," said Jasmin. "As a dancer, I learned to trust my body memory more than my conscious memory – the things that my muscles and bones remember but my conscious body doesn't remember.

"The piece itself is a journey. I see it very much as walking backwards into the past. Your memories are very bumpy, they are never a straight line."

Included are moments from Park, Lullaby, Ticklish, Tête and Lure Lure Lure, integrated with new choreographic material, live video and animation to create a new and exhilirating production stamped with her daring theatricality and contemporary social relevance.

Themes include cancer, the health service and the process of memory but
Jasmin said subjects and emotions weave through it and are episodic rather than forming a straight story.

There was a huge amount of material for Jasmin to draw from for the work and she said she created double the amount of new material.

"Selecting and editing was a very hard process," she said. "I tried to go for the most vivid memories. For people who know my work, I will be asking them what they remember from 10 years ago and were my memories favourites of the audiences."

Eight international dancers perform the piece, some of whom have been working with Jasmin since the beginning.

Many of the creative team have also been with Jasmin's Brighton-based company for many years.

The only thing the company lacks locally is rehearsal space and Jasmin said she was working on that. "We want to create and produce in Brighton and not just perform," she said.

Her next challenge is working with a production company from Fife on a large-scale piece for 2010.

From Israel, Jasmin started dancing at a young age and joined the Kibbutz Dance Company while living in a Kibbutz.

"It is a big company and has been everywhere in the world, including the UK," she said. "Dance is very strong in Israel, more than theatre and other art forms. The audience is very much into dance."

Jasmin worked round the world with different dance companies before she decided she wanted to start creating.

Moving to the UK, she gained the support of different institutions and developed into being a choreographer.

Although she has won a number of international awards, including the prestigious Jerwood Choreography Award in 2000, Jasmin said: "Awards are less important than audience reaction. When I succeed in telling my story or create an atmosphere, that is what is important for me.

"I am in my work to engage the audience in an emotional or intellectual level."

YESTERDAY is at the Corn Exchange on September 2 at 8pm. Tickets are £15 (£12.50 concessions, £10 students) from the box office on 01273 709709 or www.brightondome.org

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