I’m at Sadler’s Wells for Hofesh Shechter’s Political Mother: The Choreographers Cut. There’s a party atmosphere, half the stalls seats have been removed and the standing area is filling up, the noise is rising, laughter, chat, hugs. I’m in the dress circle looking down, I recognize some dancers who I worked with recently in the audience: “Hey it’s Sally!” I’m reminded of the Hofesh Shechter Company performance at The Roundhouse of In Your Rooms. I was one of the standers, as anyone who knows me will atest to I am pretty damn short. I stood on tip toe, I shuffled around but could only see the raised up musicians. It was Hofesh who said to me “Go upstairs find a seat you, must see to draw”. I did as I was told and from those drawings created a painting. Here is a small selection of the drawings I made during the performance of Political Mother: The Choreographer’s Cut.
Political Mother: The Choreographers Cut
I love this dance. I drew during early rehearsals in Brighton, I watched a performance in Brighton then at Sadler’s Wells a year ago. Each time I’ve been bowled over by the movement, the powerful music and my emotions which rose up within me and clasped me by the throat. The cast of dancers has grown from to 12 to 16, the incredible band of snare drums, electric guitars and percussion has expanded to include a string section, now numbers 24.
These small drawings will be used along with the others I’ve made as research for a large oil painting, maybe some etchings too.