Work In Progress V2.0

As promised, Work In Progress V2.0 brought brand new works from three companies to Milton Keynes and to a keen audience of dance fans. My Johansson, Emily Brown and Hannah Pickett and Coegi all presented works to a live audience and a panel of four dance professionals.

fREak choreographed by My Johansson featured two dancers who performed without a traditional soundtrack, creating an accompanying sound scape using their bodies and the room around them. In a performance that featured improvisation and an exploration of response through repetition, percussive beats of hands, arms, feet and other body parts created an alternative score. At times, the piece focused the audience's attention to miniscule detail in an almost filmic capacity, as if watching a close up camera shot.

ALL THIS TALK, choreographed and performed by Emily Brown and Hannah Pickett, was a light hearted piece, conversational in nature, and drew inspiration through language and grammar. A series of action and response exchanges established the piece as a back and forth between the two inhabitants of the space, with a soundtrack that created imagery as deeply as the movement itself. Light hearted in nature and quality, the panel discussed the grammar and punctuation within the piece and how concepts such as a commar or a full stop might translate into movement.

The final piece Rural Living was performed by trio Coegi. Choreographed by Grace Nicol, the piece explored the memories of perfomer Theo Samsworth's childhood and adolescence, growing up in Herfordshire, with third member, composer and musician Wilf performing live. Wigs, apples and a great deal of running, guided us through this piece of nostalgia, and looked to present a sense of collaboration, blurring the lines between choreographer, composer and performer. More abstract in parts than others, Rural Living presented the comic and bizarre alongside the dark and disturbing, and thoroughly entertained.

The final performance came courstesy of the audience and panel who fed back live to the companies, with opinions offered by dancers, dance makers and non dance specialists alike. After an hour of discussion, written feedback was handed over and has been delivered back to the three companies, along with photos of the event which you can see in our gallery. If you'd like to present work at our next event, or are interested in attending, sign up to our newsletter on the homepage to receive up to date information about events and activities first!