After
an audition in January 2012 I was invited to join the final stages of
Jacky Lansley's research project Guest Suites. As the project was to
be presented at The Clore Studio in mid-February the rehearsal period
that followed was, for me, an intense one. It was partly
re-constructing material from video; from dancer Ayano Honda; from
Jacky herself, and partly mentally and physically exploring the
musical landscape of Bach's Cello suites, played by Audrey Riley. It
was also finding a dialogue and common language with the other
dancers in the piece, none of whom I had worked with before.
It
was a challenge, but during the process Jacky guided us through,
explaining how she had researched the music and the movements between
2009 and now, and also how she had worked on previous pieces. Because
of this my body felt at home in the vocabulary, and it fused with the
music in such a way that that every time one piece was run, I found a
new layer in the music and the movements could rest in that layer, to
then next time find yet another layer and so on... Many people have a
strong relationship with these suites, and because of this project
mine is that I now listen to individual suites, remember the
movements and the feeling from the performances and rehearsals, and
then dive deeper into them to search for new details, which I hope
will continue for a long time.
Yet
another challenge and/or aspect to Guest Suites, was the three
different venues we performed at. First was The Clore Studio at the
ROH, where the stage was a conventional square with the audience as a
"front". The space was opened up by us dancers always being
"on stage", and at the same time watching our co-dancers
and Audrey. This meant that for 70 minutes you performed in some of
the pieces physically, but mentally in all of them, as your energy
was a part of Guest Suites at all times, not only when dancing. In
York Minster the audience surrounded the space. For me, this brought
yet another layer into the pieces as the audience members seemed to
direct all their energy towards us, to those sat opposite them and to
the room. At the Barbican Theatre in Plymouth, Jacky had invited nine
dancers to join us in some of the pieces. We had been warned that
nine more dancers on stage could present a spatial challenge, but as
a young and fairly inexperienced dancer I thought it would be an even
greater challenge to, in one day, meet and integrate with nine new
bodies, ideas and ways of expression. However, as Jacky had worked
with the guest dancers on ideas in the same way she had worked with
us, expanding the company for one performance turned out to feel like
a natural step in the process. The work fed of it, and what I had
thought of as a challenge became a very exciting experience.
The
project also meant that I was given the chance to meet performers
from different stages in life, an opportunity which I think any young
dancer should jump on if given. The rehearsals, travels and
post-performance time was open for discussion, not only about the
work, but about dance as an art and as an identity. The main thing
that has stayed with me is the idea that you are never "too old"
to perform. There is a natural development in how you go at it, but
as long as the longing to say or explore something is there, one is
never done. This was reassuring and to a certain extent very
liberating. I can try and fail and try again, search for as long as I
want, take what is offered to me and not having to settle in my ways
ever, unless I want to. There is no rush. For this and for 10
wonderful weeks of curiosity, openness and aha-experiences I can only
say: Thank you.
Sanna Eriksson- Ryg, performer in Guest Suites by Jacky Lansley, 2012
