common ground
common ground is a reflection on land and sea, on borders, and on the right to go and to return. A consideration on how we restrict and resist ourselves and one another, this poetic piece invites the audience to consider the importance of trust despite uncertainty. Amidst relentless struggle emerges a robust reminder to collectively keep moving forwards no matter what.
This piece was originally created for Sadler’s Wells Young Associates Showcase in December 2017 and was redeveloped for its premiere at Resolution 2019 on the 15th of February 2019.
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Choreography Wilhelmina Ojanen, created in collaboration with the performers
Performers Coral Montejano Cantoral, Flavien Cornilleau, Alex Miklósy and Miia Mäkilä
Composer Andrew Marriott
Vocals Veera Kauhanen
Music Original music by Andrew Marriott
Photography Stephen Wright
Trailer Mariko Sero
Review
Wilhelmina Ojanen’s common ground has a more familiar “contemporary dance” feel, drawing on natural movement, task-based ideas and improvisation techniques. Essentially a compositional study of group dynamics, the choreography sets four dancers adrift across the stage and allows different interactions to form: here a sense of impediment, one dancer blocked and grounded by the others; there of assistance, the performers gently guiding each other forward, or using their bodies as bridges; elsewhere of clinging together, hands grasping hands as the dancers are flung into unstable spirals. It’s a slow build, but in the end achieves an eerie poetry.