Abstract
Dancing the Invisible Programme note Concept and direction: Jennifer Jackson Choreography developed in collaboration by the dancers Lighting: David Hockham Costume Design: Malcolm McInnes Music: Bach Cello Suite no 2 in D minor Played by Cellist Emily Burridge Dancers: Susie Crow, Ann Dickie, Jennifer Jackson, Deborah Jones, Simon Rice On working with Bach’s Cello Suite no 2 in D minor: Bach walked hundreds of miles in his life between the cities where he was employed and widely known as a virtuoso organist, harpsichordist and technical expert rather than a composer. When Casals discovered the Cello Suites in a second-hand bookshop in Barcelona in 1890 and began the work of bringing them to the public, they had been silent for over a hundred years. Although their provenance is not precisely known the D minor is associated with the sudden death of Bach’s first wife, Maria Barbara and Eric Siblin (2010) speculates that Bach found an outlet for his grief in the composition. In researching of how to live the ageing body through our various dance practices – notions of loss, of less, of managing the physical realities are provocations for movement, change and expansion within boundaries. Shifting perspectives on action, moving from one ‘place’ to another and the encounters en route reflect both the interplay of movement and still points in the body of the dancer and a choreographic practice. The ‘cello with its almost human form is another body and Bach’s music is a space with boundaries where many different journeys might occur. I aimed with this work to use a collaborative choreographic practice to research an harmonious structure for the multiple ‘dance’ voices of the performers to be with each other and themselves. Jennifer Jackson Music note: Musicians and music lovers seize upon Bach's Solo Suites for the 'cello with admiration and delight, finding in them magnitude and depth, richness and concentration. The interpretation of the suites is diverse and in studying them 'cellists find their own pathway through the notes that weave and expound emotions that appeal across the boundaries of time. The six suites for the cello were mostly composed between 1717 - 1723, and the second suite in D minor suite comprises: Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Menuets 1 & 2 and Gigue. There is an enigma that surrounds the Bach suites - the original score has never been found. The great 'cellist Pablo Casals brought them to the attention of the public at large through recording them in Abbey Road studios in 1918. Emily Burridge www.emilyburridge.com