Resolution! was founded by John Ashford in 1990, and while it's quickly become an essential rite of passage for new dance companies and new choreographers, in the three years since John Ashford left The Place, Resolution! seems to have been seeking ways of redefining itself, especially in the face of a changing industry. The 2013 edition seems to have one of strongest and most diverse lineups of recent years, while The Place has transformed the support they offer, providing even more much-needed guidance on presenting one's work.

As Resolution! and Aerowaves have parted company, there will be 81 companies performing in 27 triple bills over six weeks. While some of the companies and choreographers may be known to various people, either to their friends and peers, or as dancers in well-known companies - what about everyone else?

As it's impossible to expect people to attend every single night, it's valuable to have recommendations on who to watch out for - as one of the selling points of Resolution! is the opportunity to catch The Next Big Thing - perhaps the next Matthew Bourne or Hofesh Shechter or even Rafael Bonachela...?

But while some people will be excited by the chance to watch dancers from Random Dance, StopGAP Dance or other companies perform their own work, others will look forward to seeing companies they know or which they've watched before - and both groups of people will be missing out on the other gems in the lineup who they'd have otherwise overlooked.

And so I've researched all 81 companies. Some have made it easier than others; a few companies have provided so little information about themselves and their work, it's anybody's guess what they'll be performing on the night. And of course, Resolution! will always continue to be a mixed bag: on some nights, you might get one great piece, you might even get two good pieces, but as it's impossible for a work of any artform to appeal to everyone, there will be plenty of pieces which you won't enjoy. C'est la vie.

Update: This list was drawn from previous works, rehearsal videos and trailers. And this year has particularly highlighted the error of doing so, as the finished product rarely resembles an early snapshot of it. We've been disappointed by more than a few of the works below, while we've been unexpectedly impressed by works we would have otherwise overlooked. Again: c'est la vie.


Highlights

12 January: Attach Dance Company
Attach Dance Company is Andy Macleman and Drew Hawkins, two recent graduates from London Contemporary Dance School, whose duet for the Bob Lockyer birthday celebrations earlier this year - an evening of prestigious commissions - turned out to be the most outstanding work of the programme. Our review of that show noted that "Drone was of an impressively high standard: Andy Macleman is a choreographer to watch out for" - and now we have a chance to see what Andy and Drew have followed it up with.
Website: www.attachdance.co.uk


19 January: Matthew Robinson
Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnZoFnB_b-4
Matthew Robinson joined Scottish Dance Theatre on graduating from London Contemporary Dance School, and although he's had limited opportunities to choreograph since then, the results have always been impressive and of a high standard, from graduation work Bruised Skin to For A Second I Stood, commissioned by the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance. While his previous collaborations with fellow SDT dancer Toby Fitzgibbons have been more exploratory and theatrical, Vacant Skin will be his first Resolution! work created by himself, and we'll be watching to see what he's created.

Matthew has been posting thoughts, ideas and sources of inspiration on his site www.matthewrobinsondance.co.uk, and he has created a Facebook page for this work: www.facebook.com/vacantskin


22 January: Charlie Dixon Dance Company
Trailer: youtu.be/hhE88UoYEf8
Charlie Dixon has been impressing audiences with her high-powered and challenging choreography for Wise Man, which she has been performing since 2011. She is now following that up with a new work, Long Road, which displays the maturing of her style: still physically powerful but exploring different dynamics within movement. The trailer looks very impressive indeed.
Website: www.charliedixondance.com


23 January: Tara D'Arquian
Short extract of "Would you save me from us? (for them)": vimeo.com/48647931
Tara's work is experimental, but very imaginative, using confident choreography.
Website: www.taradarquian.com


24 January: rAn Network
The choreographer of rAn Network, Fortu Angelini, has had a very distinguished career in dance, having worked with a number of major European dance and opera companies. The clips we've seen of his past work are very mature and accomplished, so we think he's definitely worth watching.


8 February: taciturn
Trailer: vimeo.com/46307743
Anyone who knows Cloud Dance Festival will know that we love Taciturn. All of us love them. And with their first ever Resolution! performance, it's a chance for other people to find out why, and to experience their winning fusion of great dance with their funny and engaging personalities. While their past works have been created by themselves, Tom Roden of New Art Club and Lisi Perry, Worst Case Scenario has been co-choreographed by a diverse and impressive range of choreographers, including Gary Clarke, Frauke Requardt, Company Chameleon, Big Wow Theatre Company and Lisi Perry.

You should all go see Taciturn. And that's not just because we're hopelessly biased.
Website: www.taciturn.co.uk


Highly Recommended


15 January: Tom Bowes Dance
Trailer: vimeo.com/52637341
A relatively new choreographer, Tom's work is stylish, with interesting use of movement and theatricality. Although this work, Brute, is still in its early stages, it's showing a lot of promise.
Website: tombowesdance.com


16 January: MurleyDance
I missed MurleyDance's last Resolution! piece, but David Murley is a very ambitious choreographer with big ideas and great dancers - and a fab promo photo for this show.
Crowdfunding campaign: www.gofundme.com/wwwmurleydancecom
Website: www.murleydance.com


18 January: Paolo Mangiola & Benjamin Ord
Paolo Mangiola and Benjamin Ord are dancers with Wayne McGregor's Random Dance. While you might expect this piece to be another McGregor copy, given the feedback from the recent showcase for McGregor's dancers at the Royal Opera House, Paolo is a seasoned choreographer in his own right, so, despite the lack of footage, we expect that he's managed to identify his own choreographic voice.
Website: www.paolomangiola.com


30 January: Rubedo Dance
Rubedo Dance is the new company of Dena Lague, known to many from her work with Matthew Bourne's New Adventures. In 2009, she created a solo for Kerry Biggin for Cloud Dance Festival which we loved to bits; Dena is now receiving Dance UK mentoring, and this group work sounds like it'll be in a different league altogether.
Website: denalague.com


30 January: Anne-Gaëlle Thiriot
Anne-Gaëlle, a member of h2dance, primarily creates and performs engaging & interesting solo work, and this will be a welcome opportunity to watch her latest work, Vertigos.
Website: annegaellethiriot.tumblr.com


31 January: Porkpie Dance Theatre
We were impressed with Anaish Parmar's graduation choreography back in 2009, but it's taken until now for him to decide he wants to create new work. "Mum, What's My Gam?" is inspired by his experiences as a British-raised Asian, and his post-Resolution! plans involve exploring this further. We're sure you'll be entertained.


31 January: Hack Ballet
Part of Hack Ballet's work is focussed on taking ballet to unusual locations such as bars and nightclubs, however this work, Zone, looks at ballet as an extreme athletic sport - which it actually is anyway, when you think about it.
Website: www.hackballet.com


2 February: Wayne Parsons
Wayne Parsons may be better known from his work with Rafael Bonachela's Sydney Dance Company, or National Dance Company of Wales, however we've had few opportunities till now to focus on him as an independent dance artist, who will be going places, and fast!
Crowdfunding campaign: www.sponsume.com/project/meeting


7 February: Diciembre Dance Group
A Cloud Dance Festival "frequent flyer", Diciembre Dance Group's neoclassical work has always been of a high standard, and the taster of Yerma's Nights, performed at the Female Choreographers' Collective in October received much praise. At a time when co-directors and co-choreographers Lucía Piquero and Sara Accetura are working in Malta and Italy respectively, this is a welcome opportunity to see their work, and them again.
Website: www.diciembredancegroup.com


9 February: Coda Dance Company
We're a bit biased when it comes to Coda Dance, but besides being a wonderful person generally, Nikki Watson is also a very talented and sensitive choreographer, focussing on awareness-raising about multiple sclerosis. Uncluttered by snazzy choreographic tricks, Nikki creates simple but effective and moving choreography, this time exploring the role of the caretaker, always overlooked yet still bearing the brunt of the pain.
Website: www.codadance.com


15 February: Off The Map
The Place usually programs a special work for the final piece of each Resolution!, and with Steve Johnstone's latest work for Off The Map closing this year's season, we can expect that we've got a treat in store. While Steve has created relatively few works for Off The Map, they're always very enjoyable and interesting.
Website: www.stevejohnstone.co.uk


Recommended


9 January: Moving Dust
Kate Sagovsky's work is very different: there might not be much dance, but the piece itsef will be very theatrical and interesting.
Website: movingdust.com


10 January: theMiddletonCorpus
Trailer: vimeo.com/54663329
Anthony Middleton is currently a Motionhouse dancer, and a former member of BalletBoyz; we're impressed by his use of physicality and theatricality.
Website: www.themiddletoncorpus.co.uk


11 January: Ji-Eun Lee
We don't know much about Ji-Eun Lee, but this looks like it'll be an interesting and enjoyable solo - and it's always rewarding to watch solos which have something different to say.


16 January: MonixArts
Trailer: youtu.be/jQ3MK-bmdb4
MonixArts is a new company formed by Monica Nicolaides, whose training has focussed on both performance and screendance. The rehearsal videos show her work as tightly-choreographed, very physical and fast-pasted without falling into the usual clichés of similar work. Which is to be encouraged. And supported.
Crowdfunding campaign: www.sponsume.com/project/nuvna
Website: monixarts.wordpress.com


18 January: Jordan Massarella
Trailer: vimeo.com/49227797
The trailer for this work doesn't give much away, focussing on glamour and paparazzi. His work was recently performed by Verve, alongside works by James Cousins, Akram Khan and Lea Anderson, with favourable reviews, so this new work has been eagerly anticipated.
Website: jordanmassarella.blogspot.co.uk


23 January: Arc
Trailer: vimeo.com/49366529
A Sense of Beauty, by Suzie Birchwood, is an integrated dance work, effortlessly - and creatively - fusing ballet, silks and ladders to strong effect. The little bit we've seen so far looks very promising indeed.


25 January: Ceyda Tanc Dance
Trailer: vimeo.com/m/51289671
Many new choreographers boast that they're creating a new movement language, but Ceyda Tanc is specifically creating a unique movement language, fusing her Turkish heritage with contemporary dance. The trailers suggest a Turkish flavour and inspiration, but very little work has been done in fusing these two cultures, so we're impressed by the work she's done so far.
Website: www.ceydatancdance.com


25 January: Ieva Kuniskis
Ieva is a Lithuanian choreographer whose work explores emotional content as part of her storytelling, accompanied by strong choreography, creating a potentially powerful impact. Gone To Get Milk explores the frustrations in relationships, and she's creating this work with a great trio of dancers - we're really looking forward to seeing this.
Website: www.ievakuniskis.com


25 January: NRG Dance Company. Or possibly NR7G.
Nathan Goodman joined Richard Alston Dance Company on graduation from London Contemporary Dance School in 2009, and while he has been quietly performing in the company since then, during the company's most recent performances at The Place in October, Nathan appeared completely transformed, performing with a fire and dynamism which clearly outstripped all other dancers. We hope that that's an indication of what this work will be like; until then, though, we're all being kept in the dark.


26 January: Mansoor Ali
Mansoor Ali's choreographic star has been rising fast, with his works performed at unusual venues such as The Wallace Collection and Brickbox Market and also performed by EDge and the recent graduating London Contemporary Dance School students. He's no doubt already on several Who To Watch lists, so it's probably about time we added him to ours.


One of the things about Resolution! is that there's something for everybody, so for those with specific tastes, here's some lists:

For those who like...... Dancer-spotting (some, not all):
10 January: Anthony Middleton, former BalletBoyz dancer, now with Motionhouse
10 January: Rebecca Evans from Marc Brew Company
12 January: David Willdridge from StopGAP Dance
15 January: Chris Pavia from StopGAP Dance
18 January: Paolo Mangiola & Benjamin Ord from Random Dance
22 January: Alotta Fagina - not from Austin Powers, but Karima El Amrani & Victoria Hoyland from Hofesh Shechter Company
25 January: Nathan Goodman from Richard Alston Dance Company
2 February: Wayne Parsons, formerly from Sydney Dance Company
15 February: Steve Johnstone from StopGAP Dance and Springs Dance Company

For those who like...... Breakin' Convention fans
25 January: Nathan Goodman has previously performed at Breakin' Convention
1 February: Scope Dance Theatre - not a Breakin' Convention company, but a hip hop dance theatre crew
2 February: Botis Seva
8 February: Ivan Blackstock

For those who like...... Performance Art
9 January: Taragano Theatre
11 January: Panic Lab
15 January: Mazzilli Dance Theatre
17 January: The Mostly Everything People
29 January: Ingrid Molinos
13 February: 70/30 Split

For those who like...... Ballet(ic)
16 January: MurleyDance
31 January: Hack Ballet
1 February: Sven K Dance
7 February: Diciembre Dance Group

For those who like...... Something Different
8 January: Jacob Hobbs - think of him as a futuristic Michael Clark.
9 January: Moving Dust - not much dance, but more than makes up for it.
8 February: The Artful Badger - expect a lot of animals.
14 February: The Nonsuch Dancers - recreated historical dances.