Memories of Skin
Bonnie Bird Theatre, 2020
Image of a dancer facing away from us. They have long curly hair and a bare arm. There is a projection of a face over their body.
Image of four dancers in motion. One is on the floor, one has their arms out, each is layered over the image of the other. Projection of hands over the top.
Image of a dancer on their hands a knees on the floor. Their head is bent down, one hand reaching forward. They wear clothing in the same colour as their skin. The floor is black.
Image of four dancers layered over each other. They are wearing clothes with images of skin and body parts printed on them. There are projections of body parts over the top. One dancer is on the floor and one is standing, legs apart and hands out and open.
Memories of Skin is a performance about touch and connection. It explores how touch can be remembered and re-visited during a pandemic in the absence of the possibility of close physical contact and stems from a desire to touch and be touched. Four performers explore memory, empathy and imagination to recreate touch-like sensations, to remember the value of touch and to connect to one another, yet in an imagined way. Audience members are called to inhabit the same imaginative space as the performers while experiencing imagined, gentle touch.
Photographs: Dominic Farlam
CREDITS
Choreography: Greta Gauhe
Costume Designer: Sophie Ruth Donaldson
Composer: Andy Trewren
Film: Emily Romain