- It is your second year as Guest Artistic Director of the National Youth Dance Company, how have you found the experience of working with the young people in NYDC?
Working with the young dancers at NYDC has been fun, joyful, challenging at times, inspiring, nurturing, full of love full and discovery.
Credit to Guillaume Kayacan
2. What were you keen to explore in this year’s production Quartier Paradis?
I was keen to explore how power dynamics affect the society that we live in. I was interested in knowing how young people would feel about this subject, if they would relate or even have some empathy for the stories of others.
3. Quartier Paradis explores the relationship between movement, voice and music – with the concept of parallel universes. Do you see movement, voice and music as being separate or completely entwined?
To me, movement, voice and music are entwined. Our voice is our first instrument, and our voice also creates breath, a movement that is happening inside of our bodies, therefore those elements are all working together to create an expression of ourselves.
4. Tyranny is a very interesting theme to touch on, especially given the world’s current state and some of the awful events going on in the world – how are you broaching it with sensitivity whilst also forcing your audience to acknowledge some of the hard truths?
In the studio with the dancers I approached it with truth and empathy and for that sensitivity. To me, avoiding certain subjects means that we are not sensitive to the events of others like us, being aware of what we are capable of as humans is important to being able to guide our lives with love, understanding, openness and care for other lives. The audience will be invited to feel all the emotions that we have gone through during rehearsals, it is more about sharing the feeling of these events, stories and people rather than sharing a narrative that is known to all.
5. How did you create the story and world of Quartier Paradis with the young people of NYDC?
I shared stories, themes, films, images, music and readings for the young people to find inspiration and understand the heart of the subject. Then they were encouraged to create their own stories inside the story I wanted to create, so this means that we have a lot of layers inside the work.
6. Quartier Paradis is part of Well Seasoned – Sadler’s Wells programme which is celebrating Black dancemakers and showcasing their work – have you found similar initiatives across the country or is it something that is sorely lacking?
There have been similar initiatives and I believe they just need to continue and not only become initiatives but instead normalised.
7. 32 dancers is a great wealth of talent to have on stage – how much of Quartier Paradis is ensemble work and are there any standout solos to keep an eye out for?
Quartier Paradis is about a community of beings and inside this community there are standout characters/leaders, who take power. There are interactions of love, allegiances, so you see those stories/imageries popping out in the middle of this community.