About
The dark stretches before us. There are people waiting. We would like to show you something, but we are not sure how. We are going to tell you what it is like, doing and faking, and doing and not doing. The dark stretches before us, but here we are, faced with the question, how do we go on?
If We Go On places the investigation of language at the centre of the work, and through miniature dances, stuttering songs and militant manifestos embraces uncertainty, hesitancy and not knowing.
An exceptional ensemble of multi-tasking performers and musicians morph words into movement, shunt gesture into sound and sometimes burst into song to conjure up the performance of their lives. If We Go On is a relentless succession of splintered transactions, where words lose their meaning, music falls apart and dance leads itself up a blind and exhausting alley. Anarchic, nostalgic and full of dark intelligent humour, If We Go On asks: If you had one last dance in you, what shape would it take?
Made in 2009, If We Go On was originally funded by Grants for the Arts through the Arts Council of England, co-commissioned by Sheffield Theatres, Newbury Corn Exchange, Peak Performances @ Montclair State University and Hull City Council and supported by The Junction and Danceworks UK.
Credits
Directed and Designed by
Charlotte Vincent
Artistic Director & Chief Executive (She/Her)
Charlotte formed Vincent Dance Theatre (VDT) in 1994 and has directed all the company’s collaborative work to date, on stage and on film. Vincent has also designed the work since 2005 and performed with the company until 2002. Vincent’s distinctive, contemporary choreography ‘stages ideas’ and embeds her own and her collaborators’ lived experience within the work, raising awareness of personal and political issues, breaking down the barriers between professional and non-professional performers and in VDT’s film installation and engagement spaces, between audience and participant.
Vincent is recognised as a sector leader in movement based socially engaged creative practice and creative health, particularly around her work with care-experienced young people and women at risk, championing gender equality and advocating for best practice to support parents and carers working in the performing arts. Her pioneering work on film ensired VDT were ‘covid ready and able to work through Covid and consequently allows Vincent’s work to be purposefully ‘applied’ in non-arts settings as well within conventional arts venues and settings.
Charlotte is an experienced speaker, lecturer and Mentor, working with early and mid-career artists to develop their creative practice and production work. Vincent has also worked as a director, dramaturg, and facilitator for other artists and companies, most notably Two Destination Language (Near Gone, winner Total Theatre Awards for Innovation and Experimentation 2014), Keira Martin (Here Comes Trouble Sadlers Wells Wild Card and Good Blood) and facilitating early R&D for Sue MacLaine’s Can I Start Again Please (2013).
In the past, Vincent has performed and collaborated with Professor Liz Aggiss as V&A Artefacts, curated an inaugural 4-week festival of experimental performance practice, Juncture at Yorkshire Dance in Leeds and co-hosted The Table, a forum to nurture dialogue across disciplines between established female artists with Dr Claire Macdonald. Charlotte sat on the Artists Advisory Group at Yorkshire Dance for several years and Steering Group for Dance UK’s National Choreographic Conference in 2013. Most recently she has been a driving force behind the development of the London Road Network in Brighton, a collaborative group of organisations and individuals working towards deeper interaction between arts orgs and grassroots organisations in one of Brighton’s more deprived areas.
Vincent is Safeguarding Lead for VDT, trained in Trauma Informed Practice, Mental Health First Aid, therapeutic parenting, and First Aid. She completed a Clore Leadership Short Course (2010), the Clore Programme for CEO/Artistic Directors (2011) and Clore Brave Conversations Programme (2013). Vincent is also trained in FA Football Coaching.
Vincent has written chapters and been written about in several Routledge Publications (resources) and PhD’s, and her work Art of Attachment lies at the heart of Dr Cath Lambert‘s imminent publication Troubling Adoption.
In 2023, Dr Vincent gained a PhD in Performing Arts from Canterbury Christ Church University, reflecting on VDT’s socially engaged practice, supervised by Professor Angela Pickard, Director of the Sidney de Haan Centre for Arts and Health.
Dr Charlotte Vincent lives in Brighton with her son, who loves mountain biking, fishing and gaming.
Collaborators
Claire MacDonald
Aurora Lubos
Artistic Associate
As an independent artist she created solo performances “Knife, Horse and Stairs.”, “Unfinished” and “Zanzibar”, and installation/performances “Still Alive” (2011) and “Food Cycle” (2011), ” Four corners” (2010), ” .No 1″ (2003), and several short animations “winter 2010”. In 2005 she was nominated to The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. In the past she has worked extensively with Dance Theatre of Gdansk and Dada von Bzdülöw. She collaborated with Avi Kaiser, Tatiana Baganowa, Jerzy Mazzoll, Bronek Duży. With other three artist Jacek Staniszewski, Oskar Martin and Patrycja Kujawska she co-founded KLM’S Group and created “Te Takie Te”.
Aurora first came across VDT’s work when Charlotte was invited to Gdansk to workshop choreographic ideas as part of the Baltic University of Dance Winter Explosion festival. For VDT Aurora has performed in Caravan of Lies (1999), made and toured Drop Dead Gorgeous (2001), Let The Mountains Lead You To Love (2003), Punch Drunk (2004), Broken Chords (2005), Fairy Tale (2006), Look At Me Now, Mummy (2007), If We Go On (2009) and Motherland (2012-2014). Aurora lives in Poland.
Janusz Orlik
Artistic Associate
Janusz Orlik is a performer, choreographer and dance practitioner.
After graduating from ballet school in Warsaw, Janusz became a student of Brucknerkonservatorium Linz in Austria. During his studies he became a founding member of x.IDA Dance Co. and performed in productions created by Olga Cobos, Peter Mika, Catherine Guérin, Rebekka Murgi, Nicole Caccivio and Charlotte Vincent. Since 2002, Janusz has been a regular member of Vincent Dance Theatre. Simultaneously, Janusz creates his own choreographic works, including “Exérèse monobloc” (2004), “and thy neighbour as thyself” (2006), “Live on stage” (2008), “The Rite of Spring” (2011), “Insight” (2013) awarded by The Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland for Janusz Orlik and Joanna Leśnierowska for the best choreography granted as part of Polish Dance Platform 2014, “Mute” (2018) and “Koda (a tribute)” (2019). In 2007 he performed in “nothing” by towarzystwo gimnastyczne and in 2009 in “Happy” by Nigel Charnock, in which he was also involved as choreographer’s assistant.
In 2010 Janusz joined Kwaad Bloed Company performing in “Forces”. In 2011 he joined Nigel Charnock + Company to create new work “Ten Men”. In the same year, he collaborated and performed in “Reconstruction” by Joanna Leśnierowska and in 2012 with Gary Clarke performing in “Horsemeat”. In 2013 he began a collaboration with Daniel Landau. In 2014 he performed in “… (Rooms by the sea) from the series Exercises in Looking” by Joanna Leśnierowska, in “Unintended Consequences” by Sjoerd Vreugdenhil, “Back to bone” by Rosalind Crisp and “Collective Jumps” by Isabelle Schad. In 2015 he performed in an excerpt of “Shirtology” by Jérôme Bel. In 2016 he worked as a movement director in “Ojczyzna” (Polish Theatre in Poznań), collaborated and performed in Polish-Brazilian production “Yanka Rudzka Project: Leavining”. In 2018 he collaborated and performed in Polish-Brazilian-Georgian-Armenian production “Yanka Rudzka Project: Polyphonies”.
Janusz is an author of a series of dance and movement workshops “Moved” which in a cyclical form took place throughout 2018 in cooperation with various institutions in Poland. Other works include “High heels” for the ballet ensemble of The Opera House in Kraków, “Alpha” for The Contemporary Dance Scene in Poznań, “Adagio” for the Musical Theatre in Poznań. As well as performing Janusz delivers movement and choreographic workshops in various venues, dance schools and community centres in Poland and abroad. Scholar of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland in 2011 and 2018.
Dramaturgy
Lighting Design by
Videos
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Photos
Two performers dressed in black on a dimly lit stage. The one in front passionately speaks into a microphone, while the other raises papers dramatically.
A woman in a black dress stands backstage, holding papers, surrounded by technical equipment and cables, appearing focused and composed.
A woman in a black outfit is sitting at a table in a dark room, holding her hair up. She looks focused and thoughtful, with papers in front of her.
A woman in a black dress stands backstage, holding papers, surrounded by technical equipment and cables. The scene conveys anticipation and readiness.
A woman with blonde hair in a black top leans on a table with papers, looking pensive. Another person is blurred in the background, creating a contemplative mood.
Three people backstage: a woman in front holds her head, focused on papers; two others watch, one looking directly at the viewer. Serious, concentrated mood.
Seven people stand in a line on a dimly lit stage, with papers scattered on the floor and chalk drawings on the black backdrop, creating a sombre mood.
A focused woman with short blonde hair sits at a cluttered wooden table, reviewing papers. The dimly lit room and hanging clothes suggest a backstage setting.
A woman with short blonde hair sits in a dimly lit room, looking thoughtfully to the side. She rests her hand near her face, conveying a contemplative mood.
A woman with short blond hair, dressed in black, stands in profile holding a notebook. Two blurred figures in black are in the background. The scene conveys focus and anticipation.
A man stands in dim light holding a microphone, with a serious expression. Behind him, another person moves dynamically near scattered papers and chalk drawings on a dark stage.
A group of people stand on a dimly lit stage with chalkboard walls. One person in the foreground gestures passionately, creating an intense, dramatic atmosphere.
A man plays a cello on a dimly lit stage, surrounded by scattered papers. Chalk drawings cover the black wall behind, creating an artistic, moody atmosphere.
Man lying on a dark stage, holding a microphone, surrounded by scattered papers. His facial expression is contemplative and introspective.
Two barefoot dancers perform in a dimly lit space with chalk diagrams on a blackboard. One supports the other in a dramatic, leaning pose.
Man playing cello on stage in soft lighting, focused, while another man stands in the background with a poised, dramatic pose. Artistic performance scene.
A woman with short hair and a serious expression stands in dim lighting, reaching her hands forward. The scene conveys a tense and dramatic mood.
A woman sings into a microphone on a dimly lit stage, with two men standing behind her. Chalk diagrams on a blackboard create an artistic backdrop.
A woman stands at a microphone on a dimly lit stage, wearing a black shirt, appearing focused. In the background, another person is barely visible, turned away. The mood is intense and dramatic.
A man in a dark shirt passionately sings into a microphone, holding sheet music. A guitarist plays in the dimly lit background, creating an intimate atmosphere.
A woman in a dimly lit setting stands at a microphone, looking upwards with a hopeful expression, hands clasped. The background is dark, creating an emotional ambiance.
Two performers in dramatic lighting; one passionately sings into a microphone, the other energetically holds up papers, both in black attire on a dark stage.
Press
“A crackling intellectual core... It may be bleak, but it's the real thing.”Luke Jennings, The Observer, 29 November 2009
“Bitter and despairing but frequently hilarious... Wonderfully liberating.”Robert Johnson, The New Jersey Star Ledger, 18 April 2010
“In two full-evening works, British choreographer Charlotte Vincent matched desperation and humour in equal measure.”Wendy Perron, Dance Magazine, 18 April 2010
“Ms. Vincent does an astonishing sleight-of-hand job of simultaneously offering us the bare bones of creation — steps, music, speech, lighting — in all their bareness, and then pulling the wool over our eyes as every artist must do.”Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, 16 April 2010
“This is serious theatre which provides a sharp and poignant antidote to much of today’s mindless showbiz top-flash.”Richard Edmonds, The Stage, 26 October 2009
“This dance begins with an announcement: "No more dancing." The speaker (Patrycja Kujawska), prompted by gestures from her seated neighbour (Aurora Lubos), continues: "No more classical music. No more..."”Sanjoy Roy, The Guardian, 21 October 2009
Marketing material
Some of the production’s original marketing materials are available for download here:
