INTERVIEW: ella&co on #nofilter

Next week I have the pleasure of reviewing ella&co's #nofilter, a dance work that promises a comedic journey through Instagram, avocado on toast and boomerang obsessions. Both irreverent and thought-provoking, #nofilter examines millennial life in the era of social media and pop culture. In the run up to the performance at at Blue Elephant Theatre, I interview Ella Fleetwood, creator, mover and Founder of ella&co, about her choreographic process and her own thoughts on millennial life.

Maya Pindar: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind #nofilter?

Ella Fleetwood: I was very keen to make a dance work that felt relevant and timely. Being a young person today is a rather complex affair, and I wanted to explore all of the intense pressures and bizarre nuances. I work with young people a lot, and it became clear that social media is a huge part of millennial life. Social media is affecting how young people view themselves and each other- which in turn is dramatically impacting their mental health. I wanted to make a dance work that was representative and reflective of this generation. Pop culture and millennial life is so rich in regards to inspiration- from Buzzfeed articles and SIMS to kale and Kardashians.

PC: Louise Osborne

Ensuring the work was non-judgemental and accessible was a key aim. I used comedy to achieve this, allowing young people to connect without feeling lectured. I have also developed dance and wellbeing workshops which partner with #nofilter- the workshops allow young people to explore the topics from the work, along with their own mental health.

MP: What does being a millennial mean to you?

EF: Being a millennial is quite a complex identity which I am still trying to figure out to be honest! But I think for me it means the freedom to be who I want to be. I am proud to be a part of a generation which is the most accepting, accessible and switched on yet. I think we still have a very long way to go, and it is only in partnership with other generations that things can change, but this energy and drive is an exciting and encouraging force to be a part of. 

PC: Louise Osborne

MP: Can you tell us about your choreographic process for #nofilter?

EF: The process began with lots of talking and exploring millennial life. Sharing what’s trending, and then trying it out in a live performance setting. Relevance was a key aim of the process. To ensure #nofilter was fully reflective, I launched an online survey to engage a wider variety of young people to engage with the topics. This proved invaluable material in the studio- as each person has a different connection and engagement with millennial life, dependent on factors like background, race, class and age. These factors also determine the social media algorithms which manipulate the online content we engage with. So engaging as many people as possible became an important part of the process!

PC: Louise Osborne

The choreographic process involved a lot of laughing and testing out some of the bizarre, yet normalised, content we engage with online- from ‘how to get rid of your cankles in three easy steps’ to the Kiki dance challenge.

#nofilter is structured to emulate the experience of swiping through your phone. So no section lasts longer than a few minutes, and some only a few seconds. This fast pace is a key element of the show. Editing was a huge part of the choreographic process- being ruthless and cutting lots of the sections was a hard but very necessary part of the process. 

MP: What have you enjoyed the most about creating this work?

EF: I have really enjoyed laughing every day in the studio. We had so much fun making the work as millennial life, social media and pop culture are such rich, varied and surprising sources.

PC: Lidia Crisafulli

PC:  Lidia Crisafulli

MP: How important do you think the arts, or dance more specifically, are right now?

EF: I think the arts and dance have a huge amount of importance right now. We need to remind ourselves that our work has power and influence. And therefore we have power, and with power comes responsibility. Is our work and practice daring? Diverse? Inclusive? Accessible? Representative? Relevant? I think these ideas need to be on our agenda, never before have they been so important. We should also never underestimate our potential to inspire others and make change.

MP: As an emerging choreographer, what’s the best piece of advice you can share with other like-minded dance artists?

EF: As an emerging choreographer I am super aware of the fact that I am still treading out my path and figuring it all out- so certainly don’t feel like I have many answers yet! I think the best piece of advice I could give is not to compare yourself to anyone else. We are all unique artists and our journeys should reflect that. Social media has created an addictive comparison culture, but I think it’s important as artists we reject this. Follow our own journeys and support each other along the way. Plus laugh often- sometimes dance can take itself a bit too seriously!

Catch ella&co at Blue Elephant Theatre on Wednesday 21 November and find out more about ella&co here.


Maya Pindar

REVIEW: Birmingham Royal Ballet's La Fille Mal Gardée will make you smile until your face aches

Fri 2 Nov
Sadler's Wells
Birmingham Royal Ballet - La Fille Mal Gardée

If you're seeking a breezy, light-hearted, rom-com of a ballet, then you've come to the right place. With its whimsical dancing chickens, perfectly behaved, white Shetland pony and rustic country setting, Frederick Ashton's story of young love between Lise (country girl) and Colas (hunky farmhand) is perfect family entertainment.

Samara Downs is a charming Lise. She does well to keep up with Ashton's sweeping choreography; sending the villagers' heads flying (literally) with high leg extensions and sinewy threading arms. Down's mischievous and tender characterisation comes naturally, especially in the "When I'm Married" mime. Her utter mortification on realising Colas has been secretly watching her, as she dreams of having three children, is completely relatable. Above all, it's refreshing to see a ballet with a resourceful and triumphant woman. Unlike Giselle, Juliet, Odette and Marguerite- who all end up dead- La Fille presents a beguiling heroine.

Tzu-Chao Chou is excellent in his role of Alain (country bumpkin), who is Lise's overbearing Mother's preferred suitor for the young girl. With his toothy smile and a strange attachment to his red umbrella, Chou brings the perfect combination of gusto and delight to the role. In fact, Chou's virtuosity is matched perfectly by Yasuo Atsuji's in his role as Colas, with his athletic jumps and entrechats. Kit Holder's panto-esque portrayal of Simone, Lise's widowed mother, who spends most of Act I with her hair in paper curlers, is spot on.

If the maypole dances, dramatic storm scenes, floaty romantic tu-tus and gigantic diamond rings don't convince you, then look no further than the Royal Ballet Sinfonia's arrangement of John Lanchbery's original score. Under conductor Paul Murhpy, the Sinfonia guide the dancers through every blissful and amusing moment. La Fille truly is a ballet to make you smile until your face aches.


Maya Pindar

REVIEW: Jasmin Vardimon's Medusa: a re-conceptualisation for the era of green politics and #metoo

Mon 22 Oct

Sadler's Wells

Jasmin Vardimon - Medusa

With rippling snake arms that whip out from her back, dancer Jasmin Orr emerges from the darkness amongst huge, sweeping clouds of plastic. Vardimon's Medusa starts out shadowy and ethereal. The billowing plumes give birth to Vardimon's cast, who writhe underneath, shaking the plastic as if unleashing a storm. The dancers move with an animal physicality, flanked by industrial chimneys, which seem somewhat reminiscent of Greek columns.

Vardimon's Medusa is a varied conceptual exploration of Ovid's story of Medusa, the serpent headed gorgon. It makes reference to the jellyfish, or as it is known in twenty-eight other European languages "medusa", and explores the integral and ruinous consequences of climate change and the current socio-political climate in the West. Given the recent warnings issued by IPCC this October, Vardimon's commentary on global warming and the devastating effect of plastic in our oceans is especially telling. Medusa also comments on the #metoo movement and gender inequality. As Vardimon admitted in a post-show Q&A, there's a lot packed into Medusa.

The international eight-strong troupe are utterly captivating. In particular, Joshua Smith gives a bold and compelling performance. Clad in a business suit, Joshua is seen bellowing at his 'shadow' (fellow dancer Patricia Hastewell Puig) who scurries on the floor by his feet, giving aggressive monologues about the 'place' of a woman, and (literally) spurting rubbish as he swans about on stage with a waste bin on his head. Smith's performance was both physical and caricature in places. 

Vardimon creates mesmerising images on stage, such as the plastic, doll-like creatures the women become, as they stand wide-eyed and wrapped in plastic. However, her depiction of the rape, for me, didn't quite hit the mark. It isn't hard to find a brutal rape scene nestled into almost every popular story or TV show- think Game of Thrones. These cruel episodes tend to eventually become the female protagonist's cornerstone, and ultimately the bedrock of her identity. In Vardimon's rape scene, dancer Silke Muys' body is grabbed, squeezed and groped by the cast, as she screams and thrashes in the dark. Vardimon should be lauded for pointing towards the forgotten reason for Medusa's monstrous transformation (the rape by Poseidon). Yet, despite noting the complicity of women in their own oppression (another woman leads the groping), the scene itself seems to perpetuate the stereotype of female victimhood. Perhaps the entire scene could have been differently conceived.

Nevertheless, Vardimon's examination of social politics and climate change is especially welcomed and certainly hits the spot with references to Trump's obsession with "fake news". Inspired set and costume design also provide a textured and multi-layered experience, adding to Medusa's other-worldly dreamscape.

Maya Pindar

INTERVIEW: Andre Kamienski on his new double bill 'An Evening, A Beginning'

In conversation with The Insanity in Dancing about his upcoming double bill, Andre Kamienski talks about his commitment to feminism, his intrigue with conspiracy theories, and his desire to reveal the intimacies and emotional baggage with which our bedrooms are all too familiar. KAMIENSKI.'s two new works, BED and X is M00n explore two aspects of creation– emotional and analytical - delivering both pleasure and challenge for audience members. KAMIENSKI.'s double bill entitled An Evening, A Beginning premiers at Blue Elephant Theatre on 19-21 July: "witness the beginning as we take you on a journey, starting in a bedroom and going all the way to the M00n".

1. KAMIENSKI. is known for its combination of performing and visual arts. What intrigues you about multidisciplinary dance?

I believe dance is a visual form. I have always had my doubts about collaborating with musicians, for example, so often one overtakes the other and becomes neglected, or a background to the primary. When dance combines with visual forms, it complements the other and makes it a whole. In my head, dance runs like a series of images, which are always intertwined with light, set, design, and projection. It’s never just about the body. I always ask myself: “why would you just create an image, when you can make a universe?”

2. Can you tell us a bit about KAMIENSKI.’s commitment to feminism and equality?

When I graduated in 2015, I started noticing how different my experience was compared to my closest friends who graduated with me, and who were female. From little things like the ratio of being invited to auditions when you’re a man compared to when you’re a woman, to bigger scale things, like expectations of levels of fitness and technique. I wanted to have conversations with these friends, I wanted to listen, to understand, to question these things. 

KAMIENSKI. dancers in rehearsal (PC: Noel Shelley)

Then, looking at some repertoire by other companies, especially in classical ballet, I noticed that partnering always followed the same format, where the female is always the one who is lifted, supported and partnered. So I wondered whether there are companies that break from that format - and what I found is that the most popular ones, with great amount of funding and following, were breaking the tradition by always making a full male cast, sometimes even putting some of their male dancers in drag. I was inspired to create a company where the partnering work doesn’t follow the traditional pairing format, and where the company is a full female cast. 

I am committed to being an ally for women in dance and in life. I voice my concerns on the matter to other men in the industry, and learn how to not become a part of the problem. Women have raised me, trained me, made me the person and artist I am today - to know that there is so much inequality out there and ignore it would be a very wrong thing to do. 

3. Tell us a little about your choreographic process for BED and X is M00n.

It has definitely been a challenging process as the two works are so different. X is M00n is full of many changes, counts, connections, and the idea is that there’s ten smaller pieces within one. BED on the other hand is a work where I cry in every rehearsal no matter how hard I try to keep it in, it’s so personal it kind of hurts every time. 

Choreographer Andre Kamienski in rehearsal (PC: Noel Shelley)

But apart from the typical “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS HAPPENING” moments from time to time, I have had an incredible choreographic journey. That is all thanks to the wonderful talent I have worked with and their full commitment to the project. None of it would have happened if it weren’t for the dancers’ invested energy in this journey. 

4. What motivated to you draw upon ideas of partnership, connection and intimacy in BED? 

I was always afraid of making work that was personal. But when I looked at Tracey Emin’s My Bed, and how brave she was to put herself out there in such a raw way, I knew there was always something in my head that in a way needed to get out. 

So then I thought of a bed, or a bedroom, and how much actually happens there - our beds are very familiar with our laughs, our tears, our intimacy... I think our rooms know us inside out. So, from there I thought: “how can I expose all this? How do I transfer all this emotional baggage from my room into choreography?” and the story kind of wrote itself, and the two dancers in the work have done a beautiful job in finding their vulnerability in exposure. I’m aiming for a work with no lies. 

5. What have you enjoyed the most about creating the double bill? 

I think the most enjoyable thing in every creative process is working with people who trust you - no matter how crazy the image in your head is, they commit to giving it 100%. Every second spent in the studio with the company dancers has been the most beautiful experience, which I will never forget. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by them and being offered their commitment to my creation. I know that without Karianne, Harriet, Amy, Tuva, Gabriella and Abigail the show wouldn’t exist. Every second spent with them is a blessing. 

KAMIENSKI. rehearsals (PC: Noel Shelley)

Also, working with my collaborator, Afra, who is a visual artist, is always a joy as she gets my thinking and transfers it into reality in such an effortless way. 

6. What can we expect from the combination of physics and movement in X is M00n?

What inspired X is M00n is my late night studies about conspiracy theories, moon landing, and whether it all links together. 

Then I realised physics has a lot of movement in it - from the force of gravity, through the passage of energy like in Newton’s cradle... there’s so much we are not paying attention to. There will definitely be more than plenty to explore! Be ready to witness a rather unusual journey. 

7. Lastly, what one word of advice would you give other young male dance artists in the industry?

Look around, be observant and listen. People have incredible stories to tell - get inspired. 

KAMIENSKI.'s double bill, An Evening, A Beginning, will be showing at the Blue Elephant Theatre from 19-21 July. Find out more here.