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ARESTLESSARTCASESTUDY #2Men&GirlsDance,FeveredSleep,UK

WrittenbyFrançoisMatarasso.CheckedbyEmilyJamesonandAmelia Ideh (Fevered Sleep) and Rachel Emmett (Dance 4).Version1,lastupdated:31August2016.Text©2016FrançoisMatarasso;images©BenedictJohnsonandFrançoisMatarasso.Thiswork isdistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives4.0Internationallicence.Youarefreetocopy,distribute,ordisplaythedigitalversiononconditionthat:youattributetheworktotheauthor(s);theworkisnotusedforcommercialpurposes;andyoudonotalter,transform,oraddtoit.

MENANDGIRLSDANCEFEVEREDSLEEP,RISK-TAKINGANDPARTICIPATORYART

Men&GirlsDance(photoBenedictJohnson)

WHATDOYOUSEE?

‘That’sabadidea.’ItwasmonthsagoandIdon’tremembernowwhotoldmeaboutaproposeddanceprojectinvolvingmenandgirls,butIdoremembermyreaction:itjustseemedlikeareallybadidea.LastSaturday,IgotthelastticketforthematinéeofMen&GirlsDanceatDance4andwasblownawaybyoneofthemostbeautiful,moving,funnyandjoyoushoursI’vespentinatheatre.Abadidea?Morefoolme.

‘When we went to school, we’d never go in the girl’s playground.’

Apparently, Fevered Sleep’s co-artistic directors, SamButler andDavidHarradine,were sur-prisedbytheresistancetheymetwhentheybeganresearch.Theirinitialimpulsehadbeenaes-thetic–exploringhowbodiesoftall, trainedadultsmightmovewiththoseofsmallchildren.People’sreactionstotheideaofmendancingwithgirlsquicklychangedthat.Atatimeofintenseandwell-foundedquestionsabouthowsomeadultsabusetheirpoweroverchildren,thisreallywasadangerousproposal.

CASESTUDY:MEN&GIRLSDANCE 2

http://arestlessart.com

ButtocourageousartistslikeFeveredSleep,thoseanxieties–andtheirambiguousreverbera-tioninthemedia–wereareasontopersevere,nottobackaway.Theproject,indevelopmentnowforoverthreeyears,gainedaclearlypoliticalstrapline:

Anewdancepiececelebratingtherightsofadultsandchildrentobetogether,toplaytogetherandtodancetogether

It’salwaysgoodtoseearights-basedapproachtoparticipatoryart.Andthisworkhadtobeparticipatory,sinceitsveryconceptionuniteschildrenandadults,thosewhodanceforpleasureandthosewhodoitasaprofession,theuntutoredandthehighlytrained.Soithasdevelopedasaseriesof residencies:Folkestone,Huddersfield,SalfordandnowNottingham. (ThepiecegoesontoBrightoninOctoberandLondoninApril2017.)Eachtownbringsanewpartnership.InNottingham, itwastheever-inventiveDance4, finally installed inpremiseswiththeirownbeautifulstudios.

CO-CREATINGAPARTICIPATORYDANCEPERFORMANCE

Fromanopencallforparticipants,ninegirlsarechosentoworkwiththefivemaledancers.Thechoreographyleavesspacefor improvisationandthepiecedevelopedbyeachnewcompanyduring a two-week rehearsal period is alwaysdifferent. These children truly are co-creators.Theirideas,movementandpresenceremakesthehour-longperformance.Theresult,atleasttojudgefromwhatIsaw,isextraordinary.

Thepresenceoftwogroupsisinescapableandnotavoided:themen’smalenessisplainintheirluxuriantbeards.Buttheyarenotincharge.Oneofthepiece’ssuccessesishowcontrolofwhatishappening,ormighthappennext,seemstodancecontinuallyfromonegrouptotheother,orfromonepersontoanother.Wholeadsandwhofollowsshiftsasintruerelationship.Authorityhereisnotonlyphysical.



Itbeginsindoubtasthegroupslookateachotheracrossaspaceinwhichthereisonlyacarpetofnewspaper.Handsextend invitations.Postureandmovement is slowly imitated.Tentativeconnectionsaremade.Inthisplaygroundthemenremembertheirownchildhoodswhilethechildrenplayatbeingadultsinprofessionalroles.Somewhereinthemiddle,astheirpathscross,theymeetandbegintoplay.

Forset,designandcostume,there'sonlynewspaper.It’san inspiredchoice.Thesepeopleare inaspaceliterallydefinedbythemedia.Inthenexthour,theytakecontrolofit.Whatbeginsasablindfoldoraminotaur’sheadistamedandeventuallymocked.

Theystripnewsprintoffamanencasedinitspages,liftithighasamagiccarpet,rollaboutinitsfoldsandfinallyhaveasnowball fightwith ituntil it's justwastepaper.The laughter, innocence and joyful movement havechasedotherstoriesfromtheroom.

‘She LOVES to fly!’

Attheheartofthepieceisournaturalfascinationwithotherpeople.Itreclaimsthewonderofwatching,asgirlsandmendescribewhattheyseeinapartner’sbodyandits movements: ‘He’s on his left tip-toe.’ ‘He’s leaningbackandlookingatthesky’.‘Icanseeshe’sholdingherankleinherlefthand’.When,attheend,theperformerslineuponebyoneinfrontoftheaudiencetolookatus,aswehavelookedatthem,wearemadeawareofourwatchingandyetmadecomfortableinseeingthatthisiswhatpeopledo.Wedofindoneanotherendlesslywatchable,endlesslyfascinating.

RISKINGCONVERSATIONS

Still,despitethesmilesandlaughter,weliveintheworldweliveinandthere’splentyheretomakeyouthink.Waitingtogoin,onemansurroundedbyfamiliesandcouples,Ifeltuncomfort-able,wonderingifotherswouldbelookingatme.It’sanexperiencethatDavidHarradineevokesinthenewspaperthatisanotherelementoftheproject:



‘There was me, this solitary man, alone at the village bonfire, watching someone else’s children playing. A self-censorship: not letting myself watch for fear of being watched.’

TheMen&GirlsDancenewspaperisarichartworkthatbringstogetherimagesfromperfor-manceandrehearsal,criticalreflection,personalmemories,officialdocuments,audiencereac-tionsandmore.Itacknowledges,inalastingbutapproachableform,theproject’stensionsanddifficulties.Butitalsoaffirmsthebeliefofthoseinvolvedthattheevildonebysomemustnotbeallowedtospreadeverywhereandpoisonthevitalrelationshipsofadultsandchildren.Beingawareisnotthesameasbeingwary.

Thethirdelementofthisimportantprojectisthetalkingspace,whichishowIgotdrawnintoitinthefirstplace.WalkingthroughtheoldSneintonMarketIpassedashopwithitsdoorsopenandaneonsign:‘comeinwe’reopen’.SoIdid,andfoundmyselftalkingwithLukePell,whosetask is toencourageconversationsaboutmenandgirlsdancing.Amongblackboards,photo-graphsandplatesofposhbiscuits,peoplecantalkabouttheirfeelings,ideasandmemoriesoftheirownchildhoods.Somewriteinscrapbooksor–habitofthesocialmediaworld–commentonwhatothershavewritten.

Aftereachvisit,LukecontinuesthediscussionontheMen&GirlsDanceblog:

Peopletalkedwithusaboutfamilyandtouchandnotbeingafraid.Aboutnotgrowinguptoosoon.Aboutsummersoffunwithfriendsandfamilyplayinggames,childrenrunningaboutintheir knickers in gardens, bouncing on trampolines. We heard about favourite nights outdancing,queuingforclubs,aboutsalsainthenorthernquarter,dancesinwarehousesbyfleamarketsandinthevillage.

LukePell

Noanswersaresoughtorgiven:there'sjusttheaimofencouragingreflection.Iespeciallylikedthestraightforwardlanguageused.Unlikesomanyworksaspiringtobeparticipatory,therewaslittlesenseofartworldlanguageandpreoccupations.



REFLECTION

WhydidIlikethisprojectsomuch?Partly,it’strue,becausetheshowwasdelightful,thoughtcontemporarydance isn'talwaysthemostaccessibleform. Itremindedmeofwhenmyownchildrenweresmallandthejoysofthatcloseness.Itpassesandisreplacedwithotherkindsofcloseness,buteachstageofparenthoodisuniqueandspecial.Ineverlookedintomydaughter’seyeswiththesameintensityaftershelearnedtotalk:untilthen,allIhadtounderstandwhatshewantedwastheexpressiononherface.Soyes,thereisapersonaldimension–butwhatisartgoodforifitdoesn’ttouchuspersonally?

Butthatfeelingwouldnotgofarinthiscomplexandriskyproject.Therearesomanytrapsherethatcouldhavecurdledmyenthusiasm.Glibness,exploitation,grandstanding,incompetence:I’veseenthemallinparticipatoryprojects.Here,Isawcare,method,bravery,opennessandaconsistentconsciousnessoftherisksinvolved–especiallyforthoseoutsidethecompany.Thedecisiveelementwassensingthattheseartistsweregenuinelymoreinterestedinthosetheywereworkingwiththanintheirownideas.Thatwasevidentineachdancer’sperformanceandintheproject'sconceptionandexecution.Thedifferentelementsmakeawholewithbeauty,politicalresonanceandhumanintegrity.That’sararetricktopulloff.

‘I felt very proud and honoured to be part of such a beautiful, powerful project. The equality between the dancers was profound the trust passion and connection were incredibly touching. A space that needs to be nurtured.’

Men&GirlsDanceisafinedemonstrationthatparticipatoryartcanbeaschallengingasanyotherpracticeandthatitcanofferexperiencesthataresecondtonone.



‘It reminds me of dancing with my grandpappy. He would pick me up and spin me around and I miss him.’

SOURCES

Visitsandconversations

• VisittoMen&GirlsDanceTalkingSpaceatSneintonMarketandperformanceatDance426–27August2016,(Nottingham,UK),conversationswithLukePellandbriefmeetingswithothermembersoftheteam.Quotestakenfromblackboardsandcommentbooks.

• AllphotosbyMen&GirlsDancebyBenedictJohnson,courtesyofFeveredSleep,exceptphotosoftheTalkingPlacebyFM.

Publications

• Men&GirlsDanceNewspaper(NottinghamEdition)

Films

• Men&GirlsDanceTraileronVimeo-https://vimeo.com/153937408

Websites

• http://www.menandgirlsdance.com• http://www.feveredsleep.co.uk• http://dance4.co.uk