Think of a nightclub, David Lynch-style full of neon, sparkle and loads of smoke,” said dancer Jack Webb of his show, The End. What more do you want from an evening of entertainment?
When you have been dancing since the age of 10, you spend a lot of time around other performers. Jack, now 30 years old, came up with the creative moves in The End while interacting with dancers and improvising with a video camera for many hours. The soundtrack will take you into a nightclub which feels like it would never end – relentless tracks which warp time.
Jack, who is originally from Dundee and now lives in Edinburgh, said: “It all happened by accident really. I had a friend who was going to a local dance group once a week and she suggested I come. This was in the days when it cost 50p a session.”
Shyness at the first session soon turned to courage which turned to fun. At the age of 16, Jack gained a place at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance, taking his dancing to a professional level, and now he has created one of the shows for DanceLive’s festival of contemporary dance in Aberdeen this October.
He has been showing his work regularly at DanceLive for several years and it has become a regular way for presenting his work to the audiences in the north-east. The End has been a work in progress for the last year when Jack became interested in new beginnings and put out a call for dancers to apply to participate. The show was created through the use of improvisation and building ideas and methods in which to best express the idea of end-points and how best to clearly represent them.
Jack said: “The End started life during a period when I had started to seriously consider what I might do if I were to stop dancing and choreographing.
“It was such a dramatic idea and I wasn’t sure who or what I would be; should I change something that is such a big part of my life. Instead of ignoring the idea of ending my life in dance, I thought it would be very interesting to confront the idea of endings and what that could mean, not just on a personal level but on a universal level.
“If we consider the end of various things in the world, where does it leave us? What is left behind and what can we do next? Something potentially very positive could arise as a result.”
This idea of the end as a beginning will help an audience leaving the performance to contemplate their place in the world and how they exist. Jack wants people to feel a sense of urgency to change things for the better.
“The piece is called The End but I want the audience to leave considering the urgency for much-needed new beginnings,” said Jack.
Not all shows will be so thought provoking at DanceLive.
There is a mix of family performances and witty pieces of entertainment as well as shows which engage the community. Ruth Kent is acting director at Citymoves Dance Agency who put together the programme of events and work with the soundfestival and Luminate to bring a range of entertainment to the DanceLive festival.
This year, Ruth wanted to prioritise Scottish choreographers and highlight the home-grown talent from the north-east while offering a wide breadth of work with something for everyone.
Lady Macbeth is a show which challenges the roles of gender and power, Leylines uses a piece of granite as a central tool and there is a huge array of family shows to choose from, including ones with a playtime element for the very youngest audience members where there is no need for them to sit still like in a conventional theatre environment.
Ruth said: “There is really a rich offering of work. We just want people to come along and try something. It’s not frightening. I think sometimes dance is misunderstood but people should give it a try.”
DanceLive will take place around Aberdeen from October 14 to 25. For the full programme see www.dancelivefestival.co.uk