The fixed score, made up of distinct components, comes together into a 30-minute choreography which playfully folds the performer and their performance into cultural history. Rather than asking the performers to talk about their lives, friend is a form of portraiture that allows the audience to see their dear one completely anew, invoking the strange potentialities of contemporary dance to tenderly invite the friends to see and be seen in a novel way. It involves iconic post-modern American dance performance Trio A, two versions of I Will Always Love You, karaoke, and a small but effective smoke machine. It is craftful, ridiculous, and very very friendly.

 

In the workshop, we will build a version of friend that can suit us as individuals and as a group on the day. We will work with moving, speaking, resting and singing, though we can each choose how we do these different activities, including choosing which bits to do. Please come in clothes you feel good about moving in, including the possibility of lying on the floor if you think you might have the urge.

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About Artist

Gillie Kleiman works with and in dance and choreography, creating performances, texts, events and pedagogical encounters.

 

Gillie’s work has a persistent interest in both the figure and the activity of the non-professional, and many of the projects have involved participation of non-professional collaborators or of the audience. In 2020, Gillie initiated a new cycle of thinking and working about fat and fatness.

 

Gillie has degrees in dance and performance, including a PhD in Dance Studies. Alongside her artistic practice, she is Head of Higher Education at Dance City, an adviser to Jerwood Arts, a Trustee of People Dancing, a Director of Newcastle Creates, and external examiner at the Danish National School of Performing Arts. She is a member of UVW-DCW and is an accredited trade union representative.

 

Gillie lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne.

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www.gilliekleiman.com

Credits

Image: By Kit Haigh, of a workshop related to Recreation (2017)

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