“Scottish Dance Theatre and Scottish Ensemble come together in these bones, this flesh, this skin, a digital work for solo violin and solo dancer by composer Martin Suckling, choreographer Joan Clevillé and cinematographer Genevieve Reeves. What makes it different, is that, even online, the viewer becomes an active participant in the experience in that her or she can select any of the 21 combinations of the three four-minute musical works and three four-minute choreographed films, playing with the audio and visual layers to decide how they experience the work.
It is fascinating to see the different effect that various combinations have although one common to all the visual variations is that each brings a powerful awareness of the dancers’ surroundings, to the extent that they become more important than the body itself. Indeed, the movement itself becomes largely secondary.
You really do start to notice the detail in dancer João Castro’s environment. Reeves’ close-ups of his jeans highlight the texture of the fabric, its folds and creases far more than the film does of his dance. Elsewhere, there are lingering shots of grasses, a stark metal security fence, the sky, even flies caught in the cobweb. Even inanimate objects seem to breathe and become alive.
To see just how much effect music has on how we perceive dance, try watching the same film with different versions of Suckling’s violin solo, played by Jonathan Morton. Watch a few variations and you also start to see subtle variations despite being on what is essentially the same journey.
That the film and music seem so close is hardly a surprise given that the latter was initially improvised to rehearsal footage and then reshaped the results as the film was cut. In one version, the music is slowed down to just 1/8th speed, which brings out the detail of the bow.
Lockdown may have forced the collaborators into a new way of working in these bones, this flesh, this skin but the end result is a new way of experiencing for us too. Fascinating.”