The electric pairing of the former soloist of The Royal Ballet, British Jonathan Burrows, and Italian composer, Matteo Fargion, has produced a series of performances that have become the most internationally talked about British dance act of the past five years.
The work they’ll be showcasing at Trafó is a gentle exploration into how the relationship between music and dance is perceived, and the fragile but permeable boundaries between these two worlds. It’s a formal but humorous meditation upon the nature of communication, the relationship between the two performers and their interaction with an audience.
In Both Sitting Duet, they start with the basics. Working without instruments and almost without technique, the men become immersed in what are basically a series of brisk hand-jives, barely rising from their chairs as they perform. The point of the duet, though, is that they’re able to magic their restricted vocabulary into sophisticated dance and music, twisting simple gestures into a variety of shapes and rhythms with mesmerizing, dazzling results.
Speaking Dance expands into full-bodied movement and vocals.
Details of Both Sitting Duet and Speaking Dance