CHRIS CRICKMAY

2014/15, Light-Dark-Light-Heavy.

Devised by Chris Crickmay and Ellen Kilsgaard and performed by Ellen Kilsgaard, with sound by Sharon Stewart. Shown at Dartington Winter Dancing festival, and in Copenhagen. 40 mins. (see Publications)

A solo performance for a dancer carrying a portable light. The work explored a range of moods and movements generated by different qualities of light, space and physicality.

“Light, as it meets the eye, and gravity, as it registers in the body, are among our most pervasive sensations in daily life. While at one level, weight and light are purely physical characteristics, they also, of course, carry huge cultural and emotional significance. To sense one’s own weight is to feel one’s very presence in the world. Our everyday language testifies to the importance of weight and light. Witness the way these and related terms provide such a diverse range of metaphors, as when we tell someone to ‘lighten up’, or describe another’s behaviour as ‘heavy handed’. We look at things ‘in the light of evidence’, or we grope ‘in the dark’ to solve a problem. And the physical world of natural phenomena: Northern Lights, moon light, twilight, sunrise... somehow mirror our inner states of being" (Crickmay, 2015, see Publications)