Post-show discussion! The performance on 15th April is followed by a post-show talk with the artists, moderated by Katalin Lőrinc, dancer, journalist.
AfterLight is a new work by Russell Maliphant created in 2010. The project began its life as a solo created for Daniel Proietto and commissioned by Sadler’s Wells, London, premiered in October 2009 as part of “In The Spirit of Diaghilev”, celebrating Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes. The solo forms one movement of the complete AfterLight, created in 2010, which has been extended into a piece for three dancers in three movements.
“Many years ago, whilst reading a biography of the famous dancer/choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, (who danced with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes from 1909 till 1912) I had seen some representations of his abstract figurative sketches and paintings, which made a lasting impression on me. They had a great sense of flow, and the energy of movement, drawn with arcs and circles. I later felt I could see this same sense of flow and energy at times, in the forms of something like the martial arts/dance form capoeira, or the arcs of movements picked out in particular lighting states, which featured in my own work.
Working with light has always been central to my work as it enables a visualisation of the flow and energy of movement that is at the foundation of my own choreography. Through Michael Hulls’ lighting, the dancers’ energy and flow is unveiled for an audience.
Sculpture has also interested me for a long time, and here again there is a connection to light - and to Nijinsky. To light, in the way in which the figure is sculpted by light, highlighted at particular aspects and conversely how the figure and its movement sculpts the space that the light creates. And to Nijinsky, in the forms seen in the existing photographs of him where there is always an intuitive sculptural awareness in his positions, as captured by the camera. There are spirals running through his form in many of the photos from Spectre de la Rose, and reclining sculptural poses, like those abstracted by the sculptor Henry Moore.
I became interested in using Nijinsky’s drawings and these photos as an inspiration, or point of departure for creating this new project. It has been a journey of discovery, a study of Nijinsky and his remarkable technique, a crash course for Michael Hulls and myself in new technology, exploring the possibilities opened up in lighting through working with animation for the time alongside Es Devlin and our colleagues from onedotzero.
The advances in technology during the last century are one of the outstanding achievements that we can poetically explore and mediate through movement in the stage setting, so for Michael and myself to do our first piece using animation as the projected light source is a way of using these advances. “
(Russell Maliphant, 2009)
For this creation, Maliphant is joined by his long-time collaborators, Lighting Designer Michael Hulls and Composer Andy Cowton, reuniting the team behind the award winning PUSH. The work has been created in collaboration with renowned designer Es Devlin whose past collaborations range from stage designs for the Pet Shop Boys and Kanye West, to the National Theatre and The Royal Opera.
Choreography: Russell MALIPHANT
Lighting Design: Michael HULLS
Music: Andy COWTON & Erik SATIE
Pianist: Dustin GLEDHILL
Costume Design: Stevie STEWART
Animation: Jan URBANOWSKI and James CHORLEY
Co-creator of original concept & design: Es DEVLIN
Film content: onedotzero industries ltd
Performed by: Daniel PROIETTO, Silvina CORTES, Olga COBOS
Supporter: British Council
