THE artistic universe
of Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte is the inspiration for a
new show which starts at the Southbank Centre tomorrow for a five-day
run.
Clouds is an hour long
contemporary dance show which features lots of props as well as
swirling clouds, miniature horses and enchanting music.
Devised especially for
younger audiences it is being brought to the stage by award-winning
dance company Aracaladanza.
It is the first time
the Spanish dance group has performed at the Southbank Centre and
company founder Enrique Cabrera says he is very much looking forward
to it.
"We are really
excited about jumping onto the stage and dancing for the audience,"
he says cheerfully.
"We have never
been to this venue before so it's going to be very exciting for us.
"We cannot wait
for the curtain to rise!"
When it does, he says
the audience will be in for a surreal and dreamlike treat where
butlers and ballerinas dance in a riot of colour, where clouds turn
into sheep and shadows make beautiful patterns to create a world of
colour and surprises.
The show has been
choreographed by Enrique who says his fascination with Magritte has
been used as a starting point for the piece.
"I have always
been fascinated by the symbols and elements he uses in his work and I
have tried to incorporate these in the show - bowler hats, apples,
men in black coats, ladders, doors, umbrellas, tables and clouds –
they are some very London trademarks, aren’t they!
"However, these
elements do have their own identity in the piece. Clouds is magical,
surreal, dreamlike, fragile and dynamic. It is a dance work where
dancers and objects melt and turn out to perform as just one body."
And because of the
dream like nature of the show Enrique says there is also no
traditional narrative or story running through it.
"Clouds is a
dream, so it works like a dream," he says. "In a dream you
find images that do not seem to have any kind of relationship between
them but which push you from one to the next.
"Sometimes you can
find a narrative thread between them sometimes do not. It's like
floating in the air and being moved by just one finger.
"There are no
wicked characters or a beautiful princess in peril. It's not a
fairytale. It's just like a big and non stop dream in which everyone
can build one's own story.
"It will be pure
dream, happiness and fun."
And it is this ethos
that runs through the majority of Aracaladanza's work.
"We love to
creating shows that are fun and that appeal to the child within every
adult and to allude to the possibility of being surprised, amused and
moved, feelings that we as adults often hide," says Enrique.
"We suggest
stories through images so everyone can have a unique interpretation
of what they see. That is why I believe children especially
constitute a perfect audience because they don't pre-judge. They are
free to feel, believe, enjoy and dislike on the spot and have very
little or no restrictions to let adults know exactly how they feel."
For the music, which
Enrique says is an integral part of the show, the company has worked
with Spanish composer Marian Lozano and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.
"Music plays a
very important part in the performance," says Enrique. "Because
the show is purely dancing there are no words so the music helps to
create atmospheres and climates.
"But it also helps
with the illusion of the dancers. There are only six on stage but the
choreography, the many costume changes and the music together with
their comings and goings in and out of the stage give the impression
there are about double that amount."
The show is also part
of the Southbank Centre's Festival of Love, something Enrique says is
a neat fit.
"Where on earth
would you imagine it would be a better place to do this show?"
he says. "Nowhere! A festival celebrating love is just perfect.
When you are in love you walk in clouds, don't you?"
Clouds is on at the
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre from Saturday, July 26 until
Wednesday July 30. Tickets cost £18 for adults and £9 for children.
Visit
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
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