Assembly is a collection of works choreographed by Place Prize semi-finalist Joe Moran which for the past few weeks has brought contemporary dance to audiences in art centres, galleries and hospitals.
In the first national tour of his work, Joe Moran, with his company Dance Art Foundation, presents a collection of dance works. Noted for his bold, unconventional choreography, the collection consists of Decommission, a compelling solo performed by Moran himself; Arrangement, an all-male ensemble piece that considers men and contemporary masculinity, challenging the objectification of men in contemporary dance; and Obverse, a trio commissioned for The Place Prize for dance that examines formalism in choreography, accompanied by an original sound-score created by BAFTA award-winning sound artist Kaffe Matthews.
Speaking about Arrangement, Choreographer Joe Moran said “I find intense, dynamic, athletic, and explosive dance thrilling; however, all-male dance is often limited to this one mode. Physical intimacy is framed as aggressive or competitive to assuage anxiety about how men should behave. For me, this does not open up possibilities about who, what and how we may be – a distinct skill of dance – but rather conforms to wildly outdated stereotypes: misogynistic, heteronormative, homophobic. I am interested to foreground the rich differences between men and our contrasting and rounded experience; our capacity for reflection and tenderness, our negotiation of failure, humour and lightness, as well as skill, power and prowess.”
The tour culminates in a performance of Arrangement at Greenwich Dance’s historic Borough Hall in London. Speaking about the tour, Joe Moran said “Assembly is my first national tour and most ambitious project to date. It brings together the full range of Dance Art Foundation’s work – taking new ideas in dance out into the world in fresh and imaginative ways; specifically, it aligns our touring more closely to our national strategic dance-in-health programme, Breathing Space and our popular Critical Dialogues project. For us, Assembly offers an exciting new model for dance touring in the UK, opening up new possibilities for dance and the context in which it can be encountered”.
See www.danceartfoundation.com for more details about the company, and follow on Twitter @DanceArtFnd.
You can see Arrangement on 15th November at Greenwich Dance Agency, Borough Hall, Royal Hill, London SE10 8RE at 8pm. Book through www.greenwichdance.org.uk.
