Our Phoenix and Jazzart Dance Theatre dancers are currently over 6,000 miles apart but, under the guidance of choreographer Dane Hurst, they are creating Requiem together. Whilst they are still working in separate studios – and countries! – in this latest installment of our blog series we catch up with four dancers from each company to gain a personal insight into their experience of creating this international, cross-cultural work.

PART THREE: DANCING ACROSS THE DIVIDE

Q: BEFORE YOU EVEN ENTERED THE REHEARSAL ROOM WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING FROM REQUIEM AND THE RESPONSE PIECE? HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH DANE EXPLORING THE THEMES OF THE WORK? CAN YOU GIVE US A LITTLE INSIGHT INTO THOSE THEMES?  

YASMINA PATEL (Phoenix): Before working on Requiem, I knew I wanted to build strong relationships with my peers in the space. I expected the piece would require me to give my whole self to it and I wanted to make sure that we first created a safe space together, and this we did through conversations and learning to build trust. In a piece like Requiem that takes you on a full journey, you have to be able to release the mind and body and allow yourself to surrender to the work, and it’s been a lot easier to do this when the relationships we’ve built together have a strong foundation.

The response piece, After Tears, surprised me. Going from Requiem which has a similar physicality throughout, the response piece is the complete opposite, and that makes it exciting to delve into something completely different but also very connected as well.

Working with Dane has honestly been amazing. He has a very gentle, caring soul and has really taken care to create a safe space where we can not only let ourselves surrender to the work but also creating a place where we feel empowered to share ourselves into the creation. In Requiem a lot of the themes are focused around grief and loss, as well as the relationships that we have throughout our lives with others and ourselves. It can be quite heavy to face some of these themes, but Dane has always kept an open conversation flowing in the space so that we always are able to share how we feel and nothing becomes too heavy. Dane is also open with us in sharing his experiences and this has created a very trustful and respectful relationship together.

RIAN JANSEN (Jazzart): I had no expectations before walking into the rehearsal room; I came in with an open mind to receive as much information about Mozart’s Requiem as it was my first-time hearing it. We met the Phoenix dancers online and had many expectations working with an international company to create Requiem. It’s an exciting feeling to be moving with new bodies in the space to tell this one story through our amazing art form.

Q: COULD YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE PROCESS OF WORKING AS PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL, CROSS-CULTURAL PRODUCTION? WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY THIS?  

AARON CHAPLIN (Phoenix): Working on this international, cross-cultural production has been a great experience. This being the third collaboration with Opera North, it really feels like we’re pushing the boat out and working towards something gargantuan which is very exciting. 16 dancers on stage with the addition of 36 singers is going to be quite the spectacle and I can’t wait for it all to come together.

A highlight for me has been creating movement and sharing it with the dancers over in South Africa. Seeing what new and interesting things they’ve made, or how they’ve taken on our movement, and also putting what they’ve made onto our bodies. It’s rather thrilling. There have been a fair few opportunities created by this commission, one being the eight dancers joining us from South Africa which is really going to add a new dynamic to the studio and the stage, and also the chance for us to perform with them in a theatre over there. We can’t wait.

VUYELWA PHOTA (Jazzart): I think the most fascinating thing has been getting to explore the way different bodies move, not just between one individual and another, but also between different places in the world. We had to replicate the choreography that was initially created in South Africa and solidified in the UK, and which then came back to the SA team to work through. It was so fascinating to learn the nuances in the Phoenix dancers’ movements and see how that can inform the way that I move, while not taking away from the style that makes South African dancers South African dancers. It’s been a really eye-opening experience because it reminds you that art is universal and that we can embrace each other’s differences while celebrating our similarities. The common ground that we find is being passionate about what we do. Now we are getting the opportunity to travel and to experience the UK for its art, the way of living, and just the vibrations that exist there. I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how it changes my mindset and reaction and response to the work, and overall way of working to giving rise to something that we can be proud of.

Q: WERE YOU FAMILIAR WITH MOZART’S REQUIEM BEFORE THIS? AS A DANCER, WHAT WILL PERFORMING WITH THE CHORUS OF OPERA NORTH AND THE FOUR SOLOISTS ON STAGE BRING TO YOUR PERFORMANCE AND THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF THE TWO WORKS?  

HANNAH MCGLASHON (Phoenix): My previous experience of Mozart’s Requiem was fairly limited before being involved in the Phoenix Dance Theatre and Opera North collaboration. ‘Lacrimosa’ is the only movement from the work that I had heard prior to this creative experience. However, having now spent four months in a studio working with the music, I am noticing how often excerpts of the score are used in TV and film which, on reflection, is maybe unsurprising given how atmospheric the music is.

Mozart’s Requiem is epic so, as a dancer, to be able to move and be moved by this musical composition is a euphoric experience. As a company of dancers we are preempting the grandeur of the Opera North Chorus and four soloists sharing the stage with us, although I’m sure this will still blow our minds once we start our shared rehearsals. The music has driven most of the emotion we feel during different sections of the piece, almost fueling our bodies and allowing closure to those emotive narratives each individual performer goes through. So, once presented live with 36 voices breathing life into Mozart’s orchestration, then hopefully the audience will be completely hypnotised by our physicalisation of his work.

I am excited to hear Opera North’s orchestration of the response piece, After Tears: After a Requiem, as we have mainly been working with a draft version created with synthetic instruments so this piece will truly come to life in front of an audience’s eyes.

PHIKOLWETHU LUKE (Jazzart): I’ve heard Mozart’s Requiem before a couple of times over my dancing career and I think it is a beautiful piece of music. It speaks in terms of the magnitude of how big life can be. It gives you a nostalgic feeling sometimes. Dancing with the chorus and the four soloists will bring another dynamic, showing that the work isn’t just for a certain group of people, but that it’s bigger than us. Considering how the piece is going, I think it’s more than just the music – the movements bring a bigger element and add another element to how we bring Mozart’s Requiem to life. The choreography shows how the different movements of the classical music can be interpreted.

Q: AS WE ENTER THE NEXT PHASE OF THE REHEARSAL PROCESS BRINGING BOTH PHOENIX AND JAZZART TOGETHER, WHAT YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? HOW DO YOU ENVISAGE THAT THIS WILL FURTHER SHAPE THE TWO WORKS?  

DYLAN SPRINGER (Phoenix): Here at Phoenix we have created such a warm and welcoming environment. Speaking for the company, we are excited to welcome the Jazzart dancers into our building. I am really looking forward to combining our styles of dance together. It’s been great to watch videos of the dancers in South Africa; you can really see that they are staying true to themselves in the work and finding their own ways of creating the movement. I’m looking forward to having their presence in the studio and being inspired by their ways of moving. The rehearsal process of both Requiem and After Tears has really allowed us to dive into our own emotional experiences. When the dancers arrive, it’s going to be amazing to have eight more narratives in the space. This will be especially present in After Tears as this work involves all 16 dancers in the space. I envisage it will be very powerful. I look forward to bonding with the dancers and creating a relationship that allows us to feel comfortable when performing together.

SAVANNAH PETRUS (Jazzart): This is a huge opportunity to not only go abroad but for international dance companies to collaborate and experience something new. I look forward to working with new bodies that move differently but are telling the same story. I think our creation on Mozart’s Requiem could be the start of a new journey for Jazzart and Phoenix.

Read the other blogs in the series and discover more behind-the-scenes content, interviews and insights into Requiem here.

IMAGE
Top l-r: Vuyelwa Phota, Yasmina Patel, Phikolwethu Luke, Dylan Springer.
Bottom, l-r: Aaron Chalpin, Savannah Petrus, Hannah McGlashon, Rian Jansen.
Phoenix headshots by Point of View Photography. Jazzart headshots by Robyn Walker.