Lawrence Towers is the director of S.A.P.A., the South American Piping Association, which works to promote and spread Scottish culture and traditions, and is made up of pipers, drummers and dancers. In 2007 S.A.P.A. celebrated its 40th anniversary, releasing its first CD and participating in November’s Buenos Aires Celtic Festival.

In this interview Lawrence talks about his career as director and drum major in S.A.P.A., and discusses the different approaches of Irish and Scottish dance and music. He also talks about S.A.P.A.’s first CD and the group’s plans for 2008, which include participating in Oktoberfest in Córdoba, Argentina, and in the South American Pipe Band Gathering in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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Dancer and choreographer Lára Stefánsdottir began her career as a permanent member of the Icelandic Ballet from 1980 to 2004, dancing many leading and solo roles as part of the troupe. Simultaneously, she developed her own work as a choreographer, with pieces such as Motions (1997), Minha Maria Bonita (winner of the first prize for the Choreographer’s Competition in 1998), Elsa (winner of the first prize at the International Dance Competition in Helsinki in 2001), and Lona, for which she received the Icelandic Dance Award and Best Dance Piece in 2004. In that same year, Lára left the Icelandic Ballet to create her own dance company, Pars Pro Toto. At the 2007 Nordwind Festival in Berlin, Lára presented two solo pieces: Langbrok and Joi — the first piece was performed by Lára herself, while the second was performed by Canadian dancer Brad Sykes.

In this KadmusArts interview she talks with us about the process of creating her dance pieces, and the sources she draws her inspiration from. She also presents a detailed picture of the dance world in Iceland, with its challenges and recent achievements.

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