I have blogged elsewhere about the Michael Clark dance company. Therefore, it was an unexpected pleasure to stumble across them in Tate Modern as they and selected members of the public rehearse for a performance next year in the Turbine Hall.
Leaning over a concrete balcony you get a birds eye view of the dancers sculpting potential moves in what must be the world's biggest rehearsal room. They are dwarfed by the industrial architecture, a space not designed for human beings but for machinery. It is a challenging environment with no respect for the scale of human dimensions. This fascism threatens to overpower the Lilliputian proportions of the dancers as they imagine fresh marks and gestures with their bodies. Yet, before the creative project, the ugliness of fascism is exposed. Beauty defeats the imbecilic. The dancer warming up with splits and stretches shrinks the uncompromising features of the building and we respond to something recognisably vulnerable and helpless, those features that make us human and loveable. "A victory for the person," I overheard a woman comment to her partner. I agree.
"A group of untrained dancers have learnt a piece of choreography to be performed en-masse in the Turbine Hall over the August bank holiday weekend. Come and see this unique display of live art which provides an extraordinary opportunity to witness the artistic process behind Clarke's choreography"
ReplyDeleteNot next year, but this bank holiday!
Free public showings in the Turbine Hall:
Friday 27 and Saturday 28 August 21.30
Sunday 29 and Monday 30 August 17.30See more