We are blessed in the North East to have some wonderful dance companies and incredibly talented choreographers, think Ballet Lorent, Company of Others, Surface Area, Fertile Ground, Southpaw, Eliot Smith, Dora Frankel and Ziza Patrick, to name a few. Lizzie Klotz is an established Gateshead-based dance artist, choreographer, facilitator and producer who has worked with some of the aforementioned whilst also making her own work for theatres, outdoor spaces, galleries and film, in local, national and international contexts.
Often created in collaboration with diverse artists and communities, Lizzie’s work is underpinned by inclusive processes that offer accessible and meaningful experiences for participants and audiences alike, where people feel seen, valued and connected to their own power. Previous work includes ‘Dancing with my Dad’ which saw Lizzie invite her retired policeman father to partner her in an exploration of an intergenerational familial relationship. David Klotz has not stopped dancing since then, testimony to Lizzie’s gentle powers of persuasion whereby anyone can be a dancer and indeed enjoy their cultural right to express themselves through the universal language of movement.
Abundance
Lizzie’s most recent project, ‘Abundance’ grew from a relationship with Dance City’s over-55 performance company, Boundless. Building on three years’ work with this age group and producing several iterations ‘Abundance’ has matured to become a full-length dance work featuring an intergenerational cast of six performers: three volunteer performers in their 60s and 70s and three professional performers in their 20s and 30s. The dancers are accompanied by live music from Newcastle-based composer and performer, Jayne Dent aka Me Lost Me, and move across a space festooned with brightly coloured king-size and double duvets. It sounds soothingly delicious and it certainly is – a gentle, soft, warm-hearted, playful romp that reminds us to slow down, rest and reconnect.
“It starts with a pause.
There is a spacious conversation.
People move, howl, rest, leap, reverberate, and hold one another.
Moments arise and fall away.
Hypnotic electronic music fills the stage.
There is a horizon of dancing bodies.
Many colourful duvets are worn, sculpted, hidden under, and danced within.
There are moments of slowness.
They hope you feel it?
That you feel abundant right now.
BREATHE IT IN.
BREATHE IT OUT.”
The piece is, however, much more than it seems. Beneath the layers of comforting duvets, Abundance explores the idea of sufficiency, countering the notion that we must acquire more to achieve (self)worth. We are reminded instead of social connection, authenticity, pleasure, and community.
Abundance has already played to audiences at Dance City, Queen’s Hall in Hexham, Alnwick Playhouse and at Yorkshire Dance as part of Ageless Festival. However, the performance sits within a wider programme including clay workshops, community feasts and participatory events, all of which explore collective abundance. If you missed the performances there’s still a chance to enjoy the experience of this ‘duvet massive’ at the NewBridge Project where Lizzie has created an installation in the gallery space with the help of designer Bethany Wells.
The environment invites you to participate on your own terms. Duvets are there to be used; to move, gather, lean into, dance with or rest within. Written prompts offer suggestions for moving with intention; mirroring the way a dancer might respond to a choreographic score in rehearsals and performance. The soundscape composed by Jayne for the live performance can be enjoyed via headphones or accessed via a QR code. This immersive interactive exhibition remains open to the public until 15 August.
There are also ‘open rehearsals’ with two of the region’s leading dance artists,
– Chloë Sayers on 6 August and Ziza Patrick on 13 August
For more information about the installation and gallery opening times check out NewBridge Project.
Friends of Bylines Network
There has never been a greater need for grassroots journalism that investigates the stories that really matter, holds power to account and champions the voices of everyday citizens. We are proudly powered by volunteers but what we do isn’t free.
STAND WITH US for independent, citizen-led journalism that makes democracy stronger, and you will even get some exclusive benefits.
