IMAGINATIVE, inspiring and never less than absolutely beautiful, Neon Dance are among the country’s most exciting dance companies performing today.
This week, choreographer and director Adrienne Hart and resident composer and producer Sebastian Reynolds are back with a new show, Prehension Blooms, which features not only stunning dancers... but robots.
The show is the former Wolvercote duo’s first outing in the city for more than two years, when they performed at Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History as part of the city’s Dancin’ Oxford Festival. The pandemic looming on the horizon was then unimaginable, but scuppered any chance of further public shows.
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“I never imagined having to wait over two years to present work in front of live audiences again,” says Sebastian, who provides the cinematic electronic soundtrack to the show tomorrow at OVADA in Osney Lane – part of the IF Oxford Science and Ideas Festival.
The piece is a heartfelt one for the multi-instrumentalist who has played with local bands Sexy Breakfast, Keyboard Choir, Flights of Helios and The Epstein, and more recently alongside German chamber musicians Alex Stolze and Anne Muller as Solo Collective and as part of Thai-Anglo fusion project Mahajanaka Dance Drama.
“Prehension Blooms is partly inspired by my time away from the stage and partly by my experience of working with rural communities in Japan,” says Adrienne.
“I was creating work for two art festivals in Japan back in 2018 and 2019 in areas that have suffered from depopulation. Speaking with the mostly elderly residents in Echigo-Tsumari in the north of Japan, and Setouchi, by the Inland Sea, made me question what it is to be lonely.
“I wanted to unpick the origins of loneliness and create a work that helps bring people together in unexpected ways. It turns out the word loneliness didn’t exist in the English language before the 1800s. Instead the now obsolete word ‘oneliness’ was used, which simply meant the state of being one. I wondered how I could channel oneliness into a performance experience.”
With the audience seated in the performance area, Prehension Blooms is both a high concept art installation and emotive, innovative contemporary dance.
It features world renowned dance artists Fukiko Takase and Travis Clausen-Knight, who have between them performed for Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Wayne McGregor and Rambert Dance Company.
“This is my third time collaborating with Neon Dance on a full length stage show,” says Sebastian, who now lives in Swindon. “The previous two were the Mahajanaka Dance Drama that I conceived and co-produced, and Adrienne’s Puzzle Creature, which we presented at the museum.
“It was so exciting to get to work in the studio with Adrienne and the dancers Travis and Fukiko. I always love improvising and responding to the dancers’ movements and energy.
“It’s ace to be presenting Prehension Blooms in Oxford, where I have such a long history of playing with all the bands that I’ve been in over the years.”
He says the music will appeal to fans of his previous bands.
“I guess the score has the most in common with some of the darker, more atmospheric elements of the Oxford acts that I’ve been part of, such as Keyboard Choir or Flights of Helios. The score features guest contributions from Chris Beard of Flights of Helios and cellist Anne Muller, who I work with in Solo Collective.”
Prehension Blooms is part of an ongoing research project with Bristol Robotics Lab. “We’ve created a number of robot creatures that we’ve nicknamed rake monsters,” he says.
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"The robots roam in sand and interact with the performers. It’s been a fascinating journey delving into the world of robotics, but also a frustrating one at times, with what feels like the simplest of moves for human bodies resulting in complete robot meltdown.”
The technology has inspired a groundbreaking concept. He says: “The idea of robots and humans co-existing has sparked the creation of a new work that I’m super proud of and one that I believe will continue to evolve over a number of years. We’re returning to Japan’s Setouchi Art Triennale with an installation version of Prehension Blooms and there we will try tele-operation for the first time – enabling anyone in the world to connect with our audience via one of the hōki-mon robots.”
He smiles: “I would say to anyone concerned about the robots taking over: don’t worry. From my experience, we’re a long way off!”
- Prehension Blooms by Neon Dance will be performed at OVADA as part of IF Oxford Science and Ideas Festival in partnership with Dancin’ Oxford Festival tomorrow, October 12.
- The show starts at 7pm. Tickets are £8 to £12.
- See if-oxford.com
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