Water Bodies is a collaborative digital-dance performance with social change at its heart. Coming together are 4-artists concerned with the devastating causes of industrialised waste and plastics on our oceans today and our planet’s well being.
Using this as the fundamental premise to create new work, the piece is a reminder of both the ocean’s beauty and its fragility, coupled with an opportunity to envision a new and hopeful future.
Collaborating is award-winning digital artist, Martin Coyne and filmmaker Jordi Robert, together with UK-based performer and flamenco dancer Ester Tal and myself. Water Bodies combines dance, theatre, film, digital effects and live camera feed to re-connect the audience to everything ocean.
Up until now the projects development has been made possible through two major residencies and in-kind support. Pavilion Dance, Bournemouth and Trinity Laban, London have both provided space as a middle ground for ideas and different frames of reference to come together. Each artist brings to the forum their own unique approach and speciality with an aspiration to experiment and create new work.
The projects first-stage development began in July 2018 with a second stage completed in June 2019. Our second-stage of development has been achieved with the help of some Crowdfunding from a number of generous supporters. These donations have made easier the collaborative and developmental process, and contributed towards the cost of documentation, which will assist with bringing the project into its final stage of production.
Many sources have inspired the work so far, from the captivity of a killer whale at Seaworld to the magic realism of a poetic creature on the verge of extinction. Beyond the work is optimism for an urgent shift with our current state of affairs, which must be put into effect from the highest level in order to make a real difference.
Photography by Jordi Robert
