The Testing Ground Showcase

A unique opportunity to experience a wide range of new performance work made in and inspired by the wonders of Conway Hall.

An evening of new creations including:

Yumiko Seki – Gekka Shourin Zu
a Butoh influenced solo, inspired by the Japanese 16 century painting ‘Gekka Shourin Zu’ (The Pine Forest Under the Moon). The black & white brush painting depicts the offshore pine forest lit under the moonlight creating a myriad of dark & light shades – some vividly lit by the moonlight, others faintly withdrawn by the morning fog. In the state of flux this subtle yet powerful ghostly presence will slowly transform into a surge of galloping white horses.
This early stage of work-in-progress will challenge and create a visceral sketch through selected choreography. Rigorous investigation guided by a somatic approach and Butoh’s culturally diverse ways of seeing will develop the work in depth revealing hidden stories of the pine forest.
Static and dynamic states will be fully played and seemingly conflicting qualities such as ‘violence in stillness’ will be investigated.

Becka McFadden / Beautiful Confusion Collective – Movement/Architecture
a work in progress that has emerged from a residency, over the past two years, at Hornsey Town Hall in Crouch End.
‘Knowing that the building would eventually be sold to developers and that we would lose access as a result, we have been seeking a way to map the space with our bodies in such a way that it can evoke the architectural features and ambience of the place for a spectator who has never seen it.’

The Conway Collective – Testing Grounds
A sharing of work developed over four weeks of workshops and responding to the many ideas resonating throughout the fabric of Conway Hall, the home of innovative thinking and culture creation throughout the Modern era.
Directed by Luke Dixon and Jane Turner exploring techniques and ideas that draw on games, flocking, science, gender representations, tango, art, and storytelling.

https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/event/testing-ground-dance-theatre-performance-workshops/