Throughout Autumn 2019, our performance company EncoreEast were led by guest Dance Artist Christopher Owen. Over ten weekly sessions, the company worked with Christopher exploring movement and created Body Talk – which you can watch below!
EncoreEast members, Anna and Jeanette, have shared their experience of working with Christopher on this project:
“Each of us has our own body language made special by the experience of our lives lived over many years. Choreographer Chris Owen quickly recognised this unique quality in EncoreEast and through words and improvisation we created Body Talk. As we followed his direction, we became less self-aware, more honest and trusting, and more deeply connected with our own bodies and with one another.
Body Talk speaks of an authenticity brought about through both attention and inattention. The film was made and edited by Eleanor Mortimer who is a documentary film maker. In Body Talk she intuitively places this authenticity at the centre of the work and follows an aesthetic sense to allow time, breath, sensitivity of movement and interaction to structure the narrative that is EncoreEast.
Body Talk was made in the Autumn before the Covid-19 pandemic. It is a poignant reminder of the comfort of being close to each other, of how much physical contact was a part of everyday life. The process developed our understanding of improvisation, coincidentally preparing us for the work we did with Stuart Waters on the Protein 21 project re-imagining Dear Body. We enjoyed and valued working with Chris Owen; it was a liberating, revealing process. We are incredibly proud of the film.”
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Christopher said “we find ourselves forced deeper into the digital realm, with no idea of the long term affects this may have on our physical realities and the meaningful connections we often take for granted. It’s therefore important this short dance film celebrates the spirit of the human body, highlighting the importance of curiosity and play, and how these qualities can enrich our experiences and relationships with other human beings. I hope it leaves people feeling hopeful.”
Christopher Owen – choreography and concept, filmed by Eleanor Mortimer
You can watch Body Talk below.
