Out of line : the story of British new dance

172 Pages·1992·6.921 MB·English

by  Judith Mackrell

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OUT OF LINE
THE STORY OF
BRITISH NEW DANCE
Judith Mackrell
DANCE BOOKS
Cecil Court London
First published in 1992 by
Dance Books Ltd
15 Cecil Court
London WC2N 4EZ
©Judith Mackrell 1992
Design: Sanjoy Roy
Printed and bound in the UK by
H. Charlesworth & Co. Ltd
Huddersfield
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
HWRO? CLASSIC 7^2 AC'
- 1 MAY 2001
LOCAL SH TYPE V<r
Contents
What is New Dance? 1
History of the Movement
Signs of change 4
The first companies 15
Tire birth of New Dance 25
Expansion phase 1: 1976—80 37
Expansion phase 2: the 1980s 46
Characteristics and Concerns of New Dance 55
Choreographers and Works 69
Into the 90s 133
Appendix 141
Glossary 145
Bibliography 151
Index 152
Illustrations
Programme of Meredith Monk’s performance at The Place
Theatre, 1972. 9
Vessel (1971) choreographed by Meredith Monk. 11
London Contemporary Dance Theatre programme, featuring
Richard Alston’s early work Tiger Balm (1972). 13
Moving Being programme for Sun (1972). 17
Programme for an early Strider performance, 1972. 19
Strider at the Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, with an
exhibtion of drawings by Jasper Johns. 21
Cover of New Dance magazine (No. 5, 1978). 29
Programme for the second ADMA festival (1978). 41
Steve Paxton teaching a class at Dartington, 1980. 43
Partners in improvisation — Kirstie Simson and Julyen Hamilton. 45
My Sex Our Dance (1986) choreographed and danced by Lloyd
Newson and Nigel Charnock. 51
New Puritans (1984) choreographed by Michael Clark. 53
Naples (1978, revived 1982), choreographed by Fergus Early. 63
Programme of events in Ballet of the Night (1977). 65
Programme for Sue MacLennan’s Interruptions (1981).
Undine and the Still (1985) choreographed by Gaby Agis. 81
Between Public Places (1984) choreographed and performed by
Gaby Agis and Ashley Page. 83
Animal Parts (1984) choreographed and danced by Laurie Booth. 85
Kirstie Simson and Julyen Hamilton in Musk:Red (1983). 87
Square Leg (1976, revived 1981), choreographed by Janet Smith. 91
I2XU (1983) choreographed by Michael Clark. 95
Counter Revolution (1981), choreographed by David Gordon, for
Extemporary Dance Theatre. 97
Field Study (1984), choreographed by David Gordon for
Extemporary Dance Theatre. 99
Audible Scenery (1986) choreographed by Steve Paxton. 101
Doublework (1978, revised 1982) showing the 1982 version for
Second Stride. 103
Canta (1981), choreographed by Ian Spink for Second Stride. 105
Programme for Siobhan Davies and Dancers, 1981. 107
Plain Song (1981), choreographed by Siobhan Davies. 109
New Tactics (1983), choreographed by Ian Spmk and Tim Albery
for Second Stride. 113
Further and Further into Night (1984), choreographed by Ian Spink
for Second Stride. 115
Parts I—IV (1983) choreographed by Michael Clark. 117
Our caca phoney H. our caca phoney H. (1985) choreographed by
Michael Clark. 121
Deep End (1987), choreographed by DV8. 125
DV8’s manifesto. 127
The Big Dance Number (1987), choreographed by Lea Anderson
of The Cholmondeleys. 129
Scared Shirtless (1987), choreographed and performed by Yolande
Snaith. 131
Author's Note
This book is a history of new British dance from the late 1960s
onwards: the story of how dancers and choreographers began to
make work independently of the large established dance compa¬
nies, and of the kind of work they made. At the centre of this
story is, of course, the rise of the New Dance movement, which
was crucial in the development of independent dance. But it
must be remembered that there has been a lot of new and inde¬
pendent work which is not actually a part of that movement — in
terms either of its style or of its ideas. So throughout the book I
have tried to keep a clear distinction between New Dance as a
movement, new dance as a very general term, and New Dance
the magazine through which many of the ideas associated with
New Dance were pubhcised.
In describing the work of choreographers and companies dur¬
ing this period I have tried to use a variety of sources and opin¬
ions and I have always made it obvious where these come from;
where no source is cited, quotations are from unpublished inter¬
views with myself. When a description or a judgement is not
attributed to anyone else, it is mine, and it is of course a personal
one.
My thanks to Jan Murray, Joan White, Chris de Marigny, and
the New Dance collective; above all to the people about whom
this book is written — the people who made the independent
dance scene happen.