Umbra
Russell Maliphant Dance Company & Three Score Dance
Umbra was created in 2023 for Three Score Dance, inspired by Russell Maliphant’s work Vortex and created by Edd Arnold and Charlie Brittain.
Landscapes rise and fall as the choreography and light work together. The dancers draw us in to their world, twisting and turning as they paint pictures and spill shadows across the space.
Meeting at first via zoom, followed by 6 weekends in person, the dancers were led into a process in the same way Maliphant might work with his own dancers, though in a much shorter time period.
During this time the dancers were immersed in the depth of Maliphant’s physical practice, pushing themselves into new and exciting discoveries. Lighting designer Ryan Stafford was part of the process from an early stage, allowing the choreography and lighting to be created simultaneously, something that is essential in RMDC productions.
“Umbra opens in total darkness where chinks of emerging light reveal hands stretching out to grasp an unexplained entity. Ultimately the light reveals a writhing group of bodies who slowly peel off leaving one dancer to take the stage. When others re-join they are rolling through the space every now and then being pulled to their feet by fellow performers. It’s exceptionally moving and lighting, shadows are performers in their own right, hiding and revealing in turns.”
- Kairen Kemp, Brighton and Hove News
Read more- https://www.threescoredance.co.uk/