Rambert: See Rambert perform in Brighton this March, with three dances that reflect the times we live in
The evening will feature Goat, a darkly funny dance theatre creation that dissects the pleasure and pain of performing in our imperfect world. Choreographed by rising star Ben Duke, it is infused with the music and spirit of Nina Simone, featuring some of her best loved songs performed live by an on stage band.
“In the village where I was brought up there was a tradition on New Year’s Eve of writing on a piece of paper two things you wanted to rid yourself of – it could be something bad that had happened to you, or something bad that you had done. The pieces of paper were placed inside a can which was tied to the tail of a goat. The goat was supposed to disappear over the horizon and take our sins with it. Usually it ran for five seconds or so then stopped to eat some grass. Some years it came running back towards us,” explains Ben Duke.
The high speeds of Symbiosis echo the urban pulse created in our cities every day. This celebration of the Rambert dancers’ skills is by internationally
acclaimed dance-maker Andonis Foniadakis, with a new score by BAFTA and Ivor Novello Award-nominated composer Ilan Eshkeri.
Andonis Foniadakis says: “Symbiosis is inspired by the dynamic patterns of behaviour and energy created in cities each and every day in our effort to exist in this technological era.”
There are different types of energy, different types of intensity
Completing the programme is a special guest appearance from Julie Cunningham & Company with To Be Me, an expressive work exploring gender and identity. The work is inspired by the mythical character Tiresias, who the gods turn from man to woman for seven years. It is set to Kate Tempest’s rhythmic, hip-hop influenced reworking of the Greek myth from her poetry collection Hold Your Own.
“I first saw Kate perform at Glastonbury Festival in 2015,” comments Julie Cunningham. “I was really amazed by the rhythm and intensity of her work. When I was thinking of creating the work, I wanted to see how I could use the rhythm of the voice and breath of the spoken word. I was interested in the story of Tiresias as someone who experienced life as both man and woman. More than thinking about gender in binary terms I wondered how we could inhabit multiple qualities of gender from a spectrum of possibilities that do not draw a line in the middle.”
Theatre Royal Brighton
Wednesday 21 – Saturday 24 March
0844 871 7650*
atgtickets.com/brighton*
*Booking fees apply. Calls cost up to 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge
