We sat down with Stef O’Driscoll and Dan Daw, who have co-directed their production Over and Over (and over again). Taking inspiration from rave culture and the lived experience of disabled dancers, this show is a collaboration between Candoco Dance Company and Dan Daw Creative.
The show is a search for utopia scored by a DJ set-like soundtrack of acid, house, techno, grime and everything in between and is showing at Dance East (4 April) and Sadler’s Wells East (2 July) as well as dates in Oslo and Marseille.
- Over and Over (and over again) is described as a search for utopia through dance. What does utopia mean to you in the context of this show?
SO: For this show, utopia is an imagined rave space. For some it’s a feeling, or a space that gives you what you need to be able to let go. A space where you can act out your desires – with consent, of course.
DD: A space that enables you to be your full self or express parts of you that society tells you to hold in or does not allow in.
2. The show draws inspiration from rave culture. What is it about raving and club culture that feels important to explore on stage?
SO: A rave space is often a space for people to find a release from the everyday pressures of society. With the right people, right vibe, right environment it can foster community, connection and liberation. But unfortunately we live in a world where rave spaces aren’t accessible for everyone so we are exploring what they could be like if they were.
3. How did you approach integrating access from the very beginning of the creative process?
DD: From the very beginning of our creative process we talked a lot about desire and this being a gateway into finding ways the dancers could give each other what they needed. Rest became important in terms of looking at how the dancers could rest within the work and there are moments where it is clear to an audience that the dancers are resting because it’s what they need and we’re not apologetic about that.
- You’ve both worked across different disciplines—dance, theatre, storytelling. How did you merge your creative approaches in this collaboration?
SO: It’s a generous, collaborative partnership built on mutual love and respect for each other’s minds and hearts. We’ve found a natural synergy—though Dan is a dancer, he’s also a theatre maker, approaching his work more like a theatre director than a choreographer, making it deeply driven by emotion. At its core, it’s about us facilitating this company to create and generate dance that tells a story.
- This is the first commission from Candoco’s new artistic directors. What has it been like working with them, and how does this piece align with their vision for the company?
DD: It’s a joy to share the creative process with Candoco’s new Co-Artistic Directors – whose lived experience deeply shapes and supports the approach of the creative process. Over and Over (and over again) aligns with their vision for the company. It deeply celebrates the richness of disability, whilst also not shying away from the sometimes tumultuous navigation of the world as disabled people and allies. Dan Daw Creative Projects and Candoco’s ambitions and methodology when creating work align through our shared passion of creating equitable, liberatory spaces, not only in the rehearsal room but also through the performance space and in the way audiences experience the work.