Dance4’s biennial festival, Nottdance, is back this month to bring experimental dance to the heart of Nottingham. Be you a dance fan or one of the uninitiated, we’ve had a look at what you can expect from the ten-day celebration of movement…
If, while out wandering in Nottingham, you happen across a troupe of dancers piled up in heaps on the pavement, don’t be alarmed – there’s a good chance you’ve just stumbled upon an experimental exploration of modern dance. That, or your lunchtime session at The Old Angel was a bit too enthusiastic and you’d better sit down until the hallucinations go away.
Nottdance brings a variety of dance professionals, amateurs and newbies to Nottingham. This year builds on the previous festivals’ successes with a packed programme of experimentation, exploration and spectacle to traditional and not-so-traditional venues around the city...
Space
Don’t assume Nottdance will stay confined to the theatre – the whole city will become the stage for several performances this year. Paul Russ, artistic director of Nottdance, says, “There are lots of debates happening around context and where dance is found. We continue to have a conversation about the relationship of dance and choreography in unusual and non-theatrical spaces and I think that continues to be an area of interest.” Performances will take place in galleries and some shows will be open air, so whether you catch them by accident or you journeyed to watch, they’re on the streets and restrictions are reduced.
On Saturday 7 March, artist Florence Peake will present Lay Me Down, a performance that will appear around the city in sites such as the train station and shopping centres. Arranged across glossy mirrored surfaces and spread out beneath silky fabrics to mimic resting bodies, participating dancers will provide a calming disruption to the normal flow and speed of daily life. According to Peake, the piece “intervenes the vertical public space with a horizontal composition.” Taking a contrary approach, George Stamos’s Reel will recreate the dizzying euphoria and wildness of nightclubs right on the streets.
Using the city as a stage for his communion with dance, the audience will form an ebbing and flowing wave of people caught up in Stamos’ exhilarating movement as they pass by. Russ hopes that the unconventional locations will provoke thought. “By finding something odd in a public space that’s completely unexpected, people might find them an exciting opportunity to engage in an idea or a place or conversation which extends their understanding of their locality, the sense of self and community.”
Audience engagement
Throughout the festival, people can drop into the Nottdance hub at the Malt Cross for a pint of ale and a buffet of news, music and dance discussion. Many of the pieces throughout the festival will invite engagement from those watching. Lay Me Down is a performance designed to disrupt by bringing experimental dance straight to the public, giving passersby reason to stop and find themselves part of the exhibition. “Maybe some of the public might join in and have a little rest in amongst their busy lives!” Peake laughs.
On the final day, audiences will get the chance to help shape dance pieces themselves at the College Street Centre during Tri-Out, where the dialogue between the audience and the artists will act as feedback for three new presentations. There’s also the chance to take part in a personal interactive dance experience with Robert Clarke in The Happiness Treatments at the Surface Gallery. The wind-down – aka Nott The Closing Party – on Saturday 14 March, invites anyone who dares to stage three minutes of their own choreography, alongside more experienced dancers. Bloomin’ scary, but pretty exciting.
Diversity
This year, one of Paul Russ’s goals in designing the programme was to bring in more female artists, particularly from the UK, to showcase their talent and innovation. “I’ve been keen to demonstrate through this festival that women who have established practice but are new and emerging choreographers have a voice which is important to the development of the art form,” he says, noting the current lack of spotlight on female champions.
Jack Webb, who this year will be showing Opulence, a metatextual look at a performance descending into disarray, praises Dance4 and Nottdance for their commitment to bringing new perspectives to the city, “They’re an important player in showing things that other people might not be showing, so they have the edge in terms of appeal to audiences who are interested in seeing something not quite the usual, but are willing to give it a go… they’re committed to dance, but also committed to pushing the envelope.”
Movement
This one’s a bit of a gimme, but Nottdance will be pressing against the boundaries of what movement in dance means. Paul has tried to bring the focus back onto the human body and its range of movements with this year’s selection, “It seems that quite a lot of dancers and artists have been exploring choreographic work without really engaging the moving body.” One such example is What The Body Does Not Remember, an acclaimed show first performed in 1987, that tests the limits of its dancers’ physical ability and reactions with choreography that depends on accuracy in movement and impeccable timing. Due to the nature of the performance, the show is one that seems to precariously balance on nothing but the rush of adrenaline and instinct.
History
One of the highlights of the festival, says Russ, is the series of gallery performances devised by renowned choreographer Rosemary Butcher, taking a journey through the past. During Secrets of the Open Sea, three interconnected screens will air archival footage and interviews that delve into concepts surrounding contemporary dance, mimicking the visual experience of a live performance.
As well as glimpses into the legacy of dance, audiences are shown a world where echoes of the past are both lost and found, forefronting a series of photographs that were found at the bottom of the sea. In Test Pieces, Butcher takes a closer look at the history of contemporary dance and her own response, as well as the response of other creatives, to the archives of the art. “I have an interest, not only my own history, but reflecting on how other people and other artists, writers and theorists look at archival material,” explains Rosemary. Although she stresses that the dancing body itself will still be at the forefront, “It’s still a choreographic work.”
With a packed lineup that will see the city’s streets, theatres, galleries and restaurants undulating with one of the most physical ways to express yourself for over a week, don’t miss out on having your eyes opened.
Nottdance runs from Thursday 5 March – Sunday 15 March at various sites around Nottingham. Full details of performances and talks are available on the Dance4 website.
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