Articulture were thrilled last week to see the first fruit of their small-scale commissions this year, with the premiere of Chloe Loftus’s dance piece at the Wye Valley River Festival.
Working in collaboration with Desperate Men, curators of the Festival, Articulture selected Chloe Loftus Dance on the basis of a strong and inspiring proposal based on the festival’s trial narrative of ‘Ratty’ that unfolds over the month long event, drawing on the area’s environmental and cultural issues and input from local communities along the river.
Played out on the banks of the River Wye, and using the nature of the river itself – its fluidity, motion and power – two characters represented opposing sides: the positive and the negatives of the river, the innocent and the guilty. Bound and trapped by bungee cords they struggle to part, their efforts played out across the landscape, the bungees expanding, shrinking, pulling and flowing like the river. Through exploration over time it then transforms to become a beautiful bond, a contact duet where the tie between them enables them to reach new physical fluidity, a sense of the inseparable.
The performance formed part of a day long networking event ‘Exploring Partnerships for Outdoor Arts’ attended by 35 outdoor arts practitioners.
Following this piece, Articulture, in partnership with The National Eisteddfod, look forward to Citrus Arts new commission ‘Ceirw’ (Deer) at their next Eisteddfod networking event for artists, directors and producers on Wed 6 August.
All photos by keith morris ©keith morris 2014 www.artswebwales.com keith@artx.co.uk 07710 285968/01970 611106
