2Faced: DREAMING IN CODE
The Place
10/03/2015 @ 20:00
2faced Dance Company was founded in 1999 by Tasmin Fitzgerald and is based in Herefordshire.
The company’s ethos is one of inclusivity and community. Their main aim is to inspire others through both education and performance, by providing the wider community with opportunities to both watch and partake. They look to train and employ ‘using the arts, business and entertainment to reach into the furthest corners of society’ and during their beginnings they focused greatly on the inclusion of youth, running workshops and apprenticeships for younger people. This particular production is split into two parts, with the first being a collaboration with choreographer Eddie Kay for Frantic Assembly and the second choreographed by 2Faced’s own Tasmin Fitzgerald. Their work, always utilising an all-male troop, draws inspiration greatly from the physicality and agility of the male form; Tasmin Fitzgerald states ‘I think audiences go to see dance because they like to see people move, in a way that they can’t’, and with a lot of the movement within Dreaming in Code heralding a kind of acrobatics, these beliefs materialise.
The politics surrounding Fitzgerald’s decision to only choreograph men is reasonably problematic when concerning the limitations on accessibility and relatability this arguably creates for 50% of the work’s audience. Justifying her decision on maintaining the company’s original roots, Fitzgerald potentially is overlooking the progression of 2Faced’s work over the past 15 years, presenting its audience with an undeniable form of discrimination. However, the evidently conscious decision to embed ‘lad’ culture within both the text and choreography (the inclusion of the word “man” and a frequented shrugged/hands in pockets position) is innovating in its destruction of stereotypes within dance, and perceptively modernises what is often deemed an exclusive art form. This demonstrates clearly 2Faced’s philosophy.
I found that Lucid Dreams, the second of the two performances and the piece choreographed by Tasmin Fitzgerald, really resonated with me. The quality of the movement, in particular the employment of repetition and ‘ugly’ positions was mesmerising, creating an on-stage spectacle out of nothing more than bodies and lights. They successfully experimented with tempo also, another element I aim to explore in my work. The aesthetic was mechanical, but also fluid, with the juxtaposition of silver foil hangings and blue flickering lights creating an aquatic depth. The music reinforced this, with the exceptionally heavy bass rattling the foil like mercury.
The Place
10/03/2015 @ 20:00
2faced Dance Company was founded in 1999 by Tasmin Fitzgerald and is based in Herefordshire.
The company’s ethos is one of inclusivity and community. Their main aim is to inspire others through both education and performance, by providing the wider community with opportunities to both watch and partake. They look to train and employ ‘using the arts, business and entertainment to reach into the furthest corners of society’ and during their beginnings they focused greatly on the inclusion of youth, running workshops and apprenticeships for younger people. This particular production is split into two parts, with the first being a collaboration with choreographer Eddie Kay for Frantic Assembly and the second choreographed by 2Faced’s own Tasmin Fitzgerald. Their work, always utilising an all-male troop, draws inspiration greatly from the physicality and agility of the male form; Tasmin Fitzgerald states ‘I think audiences go to see dance because they like to see people move, in a way that they can’t’, and with a lot of the movement within Dreaming in Code heralding a kind of acrobatics, these beliefs materialise.
The politics surrounding Fitzgerald’s decision to only choreograph men is reasonably problematic when concerning the limitations on accessibility and relatability this arguably creates for 50% of the work’s audience. Justifying her decision on maintaining the company’s original roots, Fitzgerald potentially is overlooking the progression of 2Faced’s work over the past 15 years, presenting its audience with an undeniable form of discrimination. However, the evidently conscious decision to embed ‘lad’ culture within both the text and choreography (the inclusion of the word “man” and a frequented shrugged/hands in pockets position) is innovating in its destruction of stereotypes within dance, and perceptively modernises what is often deemed an exclusive art form. This demonstrates clearly 2Faced’s philosophy.
I found that Lucid Dreams, the second of the two performances and the piece choreographed by Tasmin Fitzgerald, really resonated with me. The quality of the movement, in particular the employment of repetition and ‘ugly’ positions was mesmerising, creating an on-stage spectacle out of nothing more than bodies and lights. They successfully experimented with tempo also, another element I aim to explore in my work. The aesthetic was mechanical, but also fluid, with the juxtaposition of silver foil hangings and blue flickering lights creating an aquatic depth. The music reinforced this, with the exceptionally heavy bass rattling the foil like mercury.
David Rosenberg and Glen Neath: FICTION
Battersea Arts Centre
11/03/2015 @ 19:30
Battersea Arts Centre
11/03/2015 @ 19:30