Wayne 5 world
Putting the bump and grind into Glasgow‘s New Moves dance festival is an innovative company with its heart in clubland. Ellie Carr speaks to its creator Wayne McGregor and (right) discovers what New Moves has in
store in its ninth year.
ancer attd choreographer Wayne McC‘tregor sits in an lidinburgh bar drinking a peach smoothie. With his finely—chiselled features. closely- cropped scalp and stttd through the top of his car. he looks for all the world like a next generation Michael Clark. (‘omparisons to the great rock ‘n‘ roll dance rebel end here. London-based .\lc(}regor is no ballet-brat going ottt on a lintb to expose his bum — or his mum -— on stage. and going ottt in a drug-induced ha/e when the ride gets rottgh. He‘s a down-to—earth. laid-back guy with a street-sussed edge. and a mission to break down what he barriers between contemporary dance and the rest of the world. l’or his latest project. McGregor and his two-year-old company Random will be dropping itt on Glasgow‘s international dance festival. .\‘ew .\loves Across Europe 19% --y a bright star iii the dance world. Now in its ninth year. Nikki \lilican‘s festival has consistently delivered cutting edge European and (‘anadian dance to Glasgow's doorstep. ‘discovering' since become big dance names. Physical Theatre. in the process. Like all festivals unknown quantities in an often inaccessible art form. New Moves struggles to get more than jttst the bttms of its dedicated followers on seats. Wrapped in an enticing new publicin package and pasted up around (ilasgow on rock gig-style posters. this year‘s entourage of seventeen companies from the cutting edge of dance have more chance than ever of drumming tip new audiences. But Mc(‘tregor‘s act -- buried deep in the pages of the festival‘s programme —— is better armed than most to spread the word on New Moves. Working with the guys behind (ilasgow‘s pumping. sweaty. techno clttb night Slam at The Arches. .\lc(iregor is to stage a one-off event. slap-bang in the middle of the dancefloor and surrounded by Friday night euphoria. The performers will include Random company members. local dancers and ordinary clubbers. ‘recruited‘ from the dance floor on a previous outing to Slam. The event. to happen midway through the clttb night. is intended not as a stand-back-and-watch-the-entertainment bttt to heighten the existing atmosphere. McGregor is a great fan of this type of event. not just because it builds bridges between the
sees as the
what have like DVS
show-casing
slot.
‘Our audiences that have come from a club background have been shocked at what relevance contemporary dance can have to their lives.’
theatrical dance world and punters who like a good dance. bttt because as a choreographer. he identifies strottgly with the clttb scene.
‘I don‘t go into clubs necessarily and pick up movements there.‘ he explains. ‘but I‘m interested to see when I go ottt that there‘s such a clear relationship between the ways in which I move and work and what I see in clubs.‘ That fast-paced. frenetic aesthetic that builds and builds; all those jerky. jabbing limbs — it would be hard not to make the McGregor-club connection. '1 think it‘s a general reaction within our generation — a need. a necessity to move in that way.‘ he says. ‘There‘s so much itt our lives that‘s restrictive — I think the opportunity to be released itt movement is a really pertinent one. In terms of pedestrian
movement we‘re getting much less physical. yet on the dance
floor the capacity for movement is huge attd extending. There must be cultural influences directing that.‘
up to a frenzy. .‘vchregor reckons the time is right for contemporary dance to break free of its high-art strait-jacket.
'l‘m still concerned about audiences for contemporary dance.‘ be "There‘s something about the language and publicity we employ that is prohibitive. It‘s a real shame because there‘s such a relevance. I‘ve found that our audiences that have come from a club background — because they‘ve seen me and I do these clttb things. or they‘ve seen the company in a different context — they‘ve been shocked at what relevance contemporary dance can have to their lives.‘
Somewhat surprisingly. the Slam crew seem
equally convinced. They‘ve been asked to host events of this kind before. but have always declined on the grounds that floor shows are not something people expect from a Slam night. .\lc(‘tregor. however. gets the big Slam thumbs- up. ‘I know they lRandoml are pretty wild.‘ says club runner Dave (‘larke. "and ottr night is pretty wild. ljttst got a feeling about it and thought we could really do something with it. We‘re open to things which are a bit tnore theatrical — and Random just sound like they‘re ahead of the pack.‘ Random l)ance ('ompanv takes the floor at Slam, The Arches, (ilasgow on Friday / March. courtesy of New .l/ot'es Across Ifarope and Dance Productions.
says.
With the nation dancing itself
NEW MOVES FEATURE
New Moves - The Contenders :
Josef lladi French/Hungarian silent movie-star lookalike and one of France’s biggest talents. Nadj opens New Moves 1996 with a wordless version of Georg Buchner’s unfinished 19th century masterpiece ll’oyzcck that combines fighting skills. butoh. acrobatic stunts and pantomime. Should appeal to theatre and dance audiences alike.
Betontanc One of three companies appearing at New Moves to have emerged ottt of the war-torn former Yugoslav Republic. Slovenian company Betontanc (concrete dance) retum after a strong UK debut at New Moves 1991, with what looks like being a raw. direct. honest double-bill examining both personal and political aspects of the human psyche.
Stichting van de Toekomst Last seen at New Moves in 1990 with stunning solo Gold. Dutch dancer and choreographer Truus Bronkhurst teams up with director Marten Jongewaard and six dancers for the British premiere of ll’ondeq‘ul World. a typically provocative piece about love and eroticism. Contains nudity in case you're interested/bothered.
Muzeum More from the Slovenian contingent. as this Ljubljana-basal company present Cricket In The Fist. the first part of an ambitious five-tier choreographic project exploring music. movement. fine art, architecture and drama. Highly expressionist dance from the new generation of Slovene artists.
En-Knap Slovenian choreographer lztok Kovac — known for his playfttl. free-spirit style - returns to New Moves with his company lin-Knap and the British premiere of a new piece structured round tive dancers and an original score by a Serbian composer.
Holy Body Tattoo Physical dynamos Noam Gagnon and Dana Gingras from Canada make a welcome return to New Moves with a substantial outreach programme and a sneak preview of a brand new piece still under construction.
Provisional Danza The Spanish new dance scene comes up trumps again at this year‘s festival. with three companies from Latin sltores. Provisional Danza hail from Madrid and make their tirst visit to Britain with a work hot from the Spanish festival circuit. Only A Hurricane Could.
Compania Teresa Nieto More from the cutting edge of the Spanish dance scene with Tangiers-born choreographer Teresa Nieto‘s latest piece [a Miradu (The Look) using four dancers in a personal story of passion and intimacy.
Voortman/de Jonge Wacky Dutch partners in dance Maria Voortman attd Roberto de Jonge — notorious for their subversive use of ballet pointe shoes - return to the stage after six years choreographing on others with a narrative-driven new piece A Silent Smile set to a musical mix soundtrack of Pendrecki. Ligeti and Eno.
Group N A rare inclusion in the Glasgow-based festival‘s programme for a Scottish dance company. and one Group N have worked hard for. Seen as a promising sneak preview last year during Tramway‘s Dark Lights season. Unbroken View — lirtended Frame was devised for the company by respected English choreographer Rosemary Butcher and receives its premiere at New Moves.
Compania Vincente Saez Following huge success with last year's haunting Ruptu, Vincente $an is back on the New Moves stage for the British premiere of Regina Mater. where he lends quiet expression to weighty issues of death and spirituality.
Mehmet Sander/Cindy Cummings/Frank McConnell An American. a Turkish and a Scottish choreographer share the now-traditional New Moves platform designed to lay bare the process involved in creating new dance.
X Factor Another coup for the Scottish dance scene. as the excellent Edinburgh-based company X Factor are invited to share their brand-new piece Dead with audiences at this prestigious international dance festival. --
Sce Dance listings (page 66) for details oj‘New Moves shows in this issue. Subsequent shows will be listed over the next two issues". For full programme iii/imitation call New Moves on 0/4/ 22/ 8898. Booking: Ticket/ink 0/4] 227551}
The List 33 Feb- .7 .\lat NW» 13