Welsh Independent Dance
Surrender Yourself To Me
2005, 35 mins
…a breathtakingly exciting and accomplished piece and certainly one of the best dance works I’ve seen from a welsh company.’ The Western Mail
In April and May 2005, Charlotte Vincent directed a new work Surrender Yourself To Me for Welsh Independent Dance, a collective of dance practitioners living in or affiliated with Wales.
Set in the aftermath of a dance hall gathering, six performers slowly expose their internal desires and personal flaws in a new production that strips away social etiquette to reveal what’s hidden underneath.
With a landscape of chairs that is constantly shifting, and with someone always on the edge of the action, Surrender Yourself To Me is a collision course of emotions, a physical exploration of how people share intimate contact and then find themselves very, very alone.
With thanks to Taliesin Arts Centre, Arts Council of Wales, Chapter & Project 2000.
Photos
Director's Notes
Surrender Yourself To Me was made over 3 weeks in Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, following a week of technical training with the six performers, which introduced them to some of the methods used when making work with Vincent Dance Theatre. Partnering skills, improvisation, emotional connectivity and a strong sense of centering were the foundations for this work. The dancers worked hard to challenge their own movement habits, to open their awareness and support of each other whilst capitalising on their individual strengths. This was a physically gruelling process and their commitment and warmth throughout was greatly appreciated. What we presented seemed like the beginning of new collaborations between established and younger performers, of new links between people of differing ages, backgrounds and experiences, a celebration of all that is diverse and exciting about the independent sector of Welsh dance. Thanks to the dancers for going on this brief but intense journey with me.
Charlotte Vincent
May 2005
Who's Who
- Directed by
- Lighting Design by
- Devised and Performed by
- Jem Treays
- Douglas Comley
- Eleanor Mcdonald
- Suzanne Firth
- Jo Shapland
- Iain Payne