Created as a collaboration between choreographer Ben Wright and musician/writer Stuart Warwick, Point of Echoes is a haunting tale of love, death and monsters, set on a lighthouse somewhere off the coast of England. It’s the first commission from the Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI), a project designed to boost the amount of contemporary dance on offer in rural communities.
We spoke to Ben to find out more.
You’re returning to the UK with Point of Echoes, what can you tell us about it?
It’s our most theatrical work to date and it is also the smallest we have produced in terms of the actual performing space. We like to think of it as a narrative installation. It is set in 1978 on an isolated lighthouse called Echo Point. Two men, Eric Valentine and Bernard Humphries have been stationed there for a working period when the uncanny occurs.
The work has been commissioned by the Rural Touring Dance Initiative and marks the first time that I have collaborated with Brighton Singer Songwriter and Writer Stuart Warwick. When we were developing creative thinking together we were initially considering a more conventional relationship which saw Stuart writing music for a movement work that I would choreograph but as he had a curious idea for a story up his sleeve coupled with the fact that my recent choreographic practice has merged fully into directing, it seemed an exciting opportunity to jump out of the box and collide a range of disciplines together to captivate audiences. Point Of Echoes is a creepy little tale about grief and illusion that is performed up close and personal. It feels like a particularly kinetic episode of the Twilight Zone and is very much a hybrid: part play, part dance surrounded by an evocative sound design to locate the audience to a remote rocky outcrop battered by the elements.
What did you learn from your time in Sweden?
Well a myriad of things. During my time at Skanes Dansteater I have had the enormous privilege to create some sizable work at Malmo Opera, which has enabled me to combine singers, dancers and orchestra. My production The Feeling of Going has just been filmed for Scandinavian television broadcast and a DVD release, this has been a career-defining event and I am hoping that it will get a slot on UK screens somehow. My work in Opera and Theatre really feeds into much of my practice these days and it has been amazing to have been given agency to facilitate the work of other artists and also to have had my own creative work realized to such a degree. I return to Skanes Dansteater in June 2018 to create my last large scale work for the ensemble, which will premiere in Oct, again at Malmo Opera. This time the work will have an entirely inclusive cast of professional and non-professional performers and will be staged to the music of Ravel.
Why do you think it’s so important quality dance productions like this are performed in rural locations?
I think that size shouldn’t dictate quality. Bgroup have prided ourselves working on the small scale touring circuit, and developing a proximate relationship with audiences has engendered a mutual thrill for viewer and performer, and perhaps given us a type of signature. Rural locations deserve the best and there is something wonderful about being invited into communities and having an opportunity to share work in this way. I understand that contemporary dance hasn’t had a particularly strong historical presence in village halls; maybe it feels rarefied or oddly exotic? This brilliant initiative by the Rural Touring Dance Initiative seeks to remedy that. We are very audience centric with our mission at bgroup and what you’ll get from our company has a decided quality and is certainly a collision of dance and theatre. I think it’s energizing for me to play at the edges of categorization – there’s enough that’ll be recognizable to a more theatre going crowd with the added included bonus of a more ‘other worldly’ presence of dancing bodies as a means to convey the story.
It will also be performed in more traditional theatres; will audiences at the village halls see the same production?
Absolutely – this has been primarily designed for Village Halls. Perhaps it’s more acute to say traditional theatres will see the same production as village halls! We tour with all our technical and scenic equipment so will take over theatre studio spaces in much the same way as we do a village hall.
Have you had to choreograph Point of Echoes differently knowing the kinds of locations it would be performed in?
The set comprises of a 4.4 meter raised circular stage on which all the action takes place. I developed the performance area with my long-term collaborator set designer Will Holt to give us a constant footprint that we ‘land’ into the various venues. I think the term compact choreography would be an appropriate way of describing the movement work in the piece, or maybe small but perfectly formed!
What would you say to anyone who’s never seen a show like this before but might be tempted to come along to their local village hall?
If you like being immersed in ghostly yarns and are interested in imaginative story telling then this show is for you.  We’ve been told the work is quite filmic so film lovers pause Netflix and get down to your local village hall.
You’re about to take up a new role as co-artistic director of Candoco Dance Company, what are you most looking forward to about that?
I guess I am simply looking forward to the overall challenge and the learning that will come along as a result of this new appointment. I will be leading the company as part of a duo with my amazing colleague Charlotte Darbyshire as the artistic co directors. They are a superlative ensemble of dancers and the inclusive approach that the company has pioneered is as relevant today as it has ever been. Candoco Dance Company change and re-imagine perceptions of ability, their work is historically celebratory and also political. We will be asking a lot of questions in the coming months, learning the ropes with a bid to continue to present and facilitate bold inclusive work of the highest caliber. I feel intense gratitude to have been afforded this opportunity and as we are sharing the role both Charlotte and myself will be continue to create our own work alongside this exciting shared position.
