Charles Linehan Company at Greenwich Dance

One of the final companies to perform in this years Dance Umbrella programme was the Charles Linehan Company at Greenwich Dance, with Inventions for Radio 1964 and The Clearing. The Borough Hall is the same setting that inspired choreographer, Rosemary Lee to make the fabulous Common Dance in 2009 Dance Umbrella.

The soundtrack for Inventions for Radio 1964 is made up of voices recounting their often unnerving dreams of water and drowning “I began to feel very frightened” or finding a dead body in the mud “down and down and down so deep”. The lighting rig is low and tilted so it’s not much higher than the dancers heads reinforcing the feeling of being trapped with no escape, they move in small pools of light.

Charles Linehan Inventions for Radio 1964

The second dance, The Clearing is accompanied by live music. Movement is fluid and intense, danced by two men and two women. The dance is charged with emotion conjuring up the ecstasy and agony of human interaction, relationships forming, pain and confusion of separation and finding new paths to follow.

Linehan 3 Charles Linehan 11

Linehan 5 Linehan 8

The Clearing 

The lighting has been carefully considered and plays an integral role in both works. In The Clearing the lighting rig is raised high, the space opens and the viewer becomes aware of the architecture of this beautiful art deco room. The huge high windows are lit from the outside gradually pouring light into the room, as lights flood the space you become aware of the intricate pattern of the floor boards.

Charles Linehan 8 Linehan 10

The evening felt intimate, strong and highly charged.

 

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