Mark Baldwin
Mark will be adding to his blog posts over the coming weeks and months.
Blog
I feel so lucky
Posted by: Mark Baldwin on 20 November 2009
After several weeks out on the road with The Comedy of Change we have a week back at base, learning Siobhan Davies' The Art of Touch, a revival of one of her seminal works (1995).
Last week two new dancers stepped into my new work, Gosia (Malgorzata Dzierzon) and Alex (Alexander Whitley), both experienced artists with Rambert, and it was nice to see them tackle the detail and the unusual movement used in the work. They both bring their dance technique to it, which in my opinion is essential as this work relies on building up moments of interest and consequence out of how they deliver dynamics through their trained bodies.
Even though the composer (Julian Anderson) has described the flow of his music as abstract in my mind there is a mimetic influence which is never far away as the dancers ape (the pun is intended) and copy nature's movements. Weaving their way through the seven movements which span, time, tortoises, birds displaying, camouflage even female choice. The last movement encompasses Kader Attia's (Production Designer) fascination with man's need to build something to worship and there is a hint of politics as the work speeds up towards the end. 
This tour, until last week, has relied on one of the dancers stepping in to help rehearse and stage the work: Angela Towler. Angela is nursing a hip injury but her years at Rambert and her artistry have made her an excellent Rehearsal Director, managing the stage calls and day to day personalities with ease and aplomb. I feel so lucky.
Mark.
Image: Angela Towler
Comments
There are no comments for this post