Welcome back to our Offbeat Spotlight series. Over the next few days we're highlighting all the strange and wonderful things that the Offbeat Festival has to offer. The Offbeat Festival runs from the 9th-15th of September, and is a collaboration between The Old Fire Station, Oxford Playhouse, New Theatre and Gloucester Green Market. In addition to a multitude of shows, there are also workshops, and exhibition, late night events including a poetry slam, comedy scratch night, and listening party, and more.
Here, we catch up with the performers behind Offbeat's Dance Night, a 45 minute show consisting of three individual performances. Due to the invidual themes and approaches of each piece and performer, we've interviewed them separately. Read on for more.
Anthology of Touches
Anthology of Touches is a dance duet exploring memories of touch and connection. We caught up with one of the performers, Effie Mcguire-Ward, to find out more.
Daily Information: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How would you describe your piece to someone unfamiliar with it?
Effie Mcguire-Ward: Anthology of Touches is a dance duet which includes text, both recorded and spoken live. Physically, we explore moments of touch with each other, and also how we touch the air and space around us when we are separate from one another. We pose questions which we hope will prompt viewers to consider and perhaps catalogue their own memories where touch is the prominent reason the memory exists…but don’t worry, there’s no pressure to answer out loud!
DI: What was the inspiration behind this particular work?
EMG: Touch is such a feature of being with other dancers in a studio, and also has been such a huge topic in recent years with our relationship to touching others becoming really extreme during lockdowns. Given these contexts and our own relationship with touch, we wanted to be attentive and consider touch through a sense of everyday encounter and what moments of everyday touch we are more inclined to remember and be able to pinpoint.
DI: What have your previous performances looked like? Would you say this is more of a departure or a continuation from your previous creative work?
EMW: This is the first time we have collaborated as co-creators together. Our paths have repeatedly crossed in various dance studios over the years but our coming together for Anthology of Touches was a bit of a happy accident. Keyna Paul of Hull Dance, who knew Luke from his work performing for Flexer and Sandiland, and Effie from her work performing for JoinedUp Dance, suggested we look at coming together for a residency in Hull…and we decided to give it a go.
DI: Who is this ‘perfect for fans of’? If you had to compare the vibes of your show to another piece of media, what would it be?
EMW: This is a tricky question! We hope it’s a piece that’s perfect for people who love to dance themselves wherever that may be - dance class, wedding disco or kitchen - but are perhaps unsure about watching dance, we’d urge you to give it a go! Maybe you could compare it to Autumnwatch – focussing on touch instead of wildlife, with ‘Mindful Moment’ movement compilations thrown in.
DI: After Offbeat, what's next for you?
EMW: We’d like to keep developing Anthology of Touches but we’re not in a rush. We are really interested in developing the model where we run movement workshops and creative conversations in the community before presenting the work in any given place – such that the work is shaped by some of the stories and conversational threads of that place and the people we meet there.
DI: Finally, please describe Anthology of Touches in three words.
EMW: Understated, Human, Hugs
Don't Tell Me What Bharatanatyam Is
Don't Tell Me What Bharatanatyam Is is an experimental, solo piece exploring Classic Indian Dance. Dancer and performer Kavya Iyer Ramalingam has practiced this art form for 25 years and looks to question how it can continue to evolve along with her. We caught up with Ramalingam to find out more.
Daily Information: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How would you describe your piece to someone unfamiliar with it?
Kavya Iyer Ramalingam: Think about what you might know about "Indian dances". And then be ready to let go of all of that! Don't Tell Me What Bharatanatyam Is is a light-hearted, yet inspiring solo dance performance fuelled by my ever-evolving relationship with my art form. It will challenge your perceptions of “classical dance” and take you along my introspective journey of learning and unlearning.
DI: What was the inspiration behind this particular work?
KIR: I’ve grown up being fed certain ideas about what “Indian classical dance” is – in textbooks, in dance classes, by the Internet, by people. After 25 years of my practice, I didn't quite feel comfortable sticking to many of these rigid lines - of the body and of the mind. So I decided to make this work to delve deeper into what Bharatanatyam has evolved into for me: rooted yet contemporary, local yet global, rigid yet fluid. I explore what it means to be stuck in these in-between spaces of redefining 'my dance' for the world we live in today.
DI: What have your previous performances looked like? Would you say this is more of a departure or a continuation from your previous creative work?
KIR: Over the years, my creative practice, while still rooted in Bharatanatyam, has become more critical and responsive to the world we live in. While I continue to experiment with the form, structure and rhythmic nuances of the “traditional” repertoire, I strive to create work that resonates with wider audiences and reflects the needs of the present times.
DI: After Offbeat, what's next for you?
KIR: I would like to put into practice all the amazing things I learnt at the Offbeat workshops about touring and production and take this work to other parts of the country.
DI: Finally, please describe Don't Tell Me What Bharatanatyam Is in three words.
KIR: Expressive. Thought-provoking. Experiential!
Renagade Master
Renagade Master is a bold, gripping protest piece from the Nomad Dance Collective, pushing back against inequality, homophobia and the degradation of our planet. We spoke to performer and member of the collective, Juan Sánchez, to find out more.
Daily Information: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How would you describe your piece to someone unfamiliar with it?
Juan Sánchez: This dance piece is a vibrant celebration of Queerness, deeply intertwined with a critique of privilege and societal politics. It’s a powerful exploration of identity, marginalization, and the urgent issues of our time—such as inequality and environmental degradation. The piece invites the audience to reflect on the power structures that dominate society and sparks conversations about inclusivity, social justice, and the ongoing fight for equality.
DI: What was the inspiration behind this particular work?
JS: The piece draws from the intersections of Queerness, socio-political power dynamics, and environmental issues. It critiques how power is established and maintained, questioning the role of political leaders and superpowers that exploit resources while people suffer from war and inequality. Our aim is to raise awareness and challenge the systems of privilege, calling for a more equal world where justice and compassion replace greed and oppression. The inspiration also comes from personal experiences of identity and the broader fight for marginalized voices to be heard.
DI: What have your previous performances looked like? Would you say this is more of a departure or a continuation from your previous creative work?
JS: Our previous work has always revolved around challenging societal norms and exploring identity, often with a focus on social justice. This piece is a natural continuation but with more urgency and intensity. It builds upon the themes of Queerness and marginalization but delves deeper into critiques of global power and inequality. It's a departure in its sharper focus on the environmental and political crises that affect us all, while still maintaining the emotional and personal storytelling of past projects.
DI: Who is this ‘perfect for fans of’? If you had to compare the vibes of your show to another piece of media, what would it be?
JS This piece is perfect for fans of socially conscious dance, activists, and those who appreciate art that challenges political and social norms. If I had to compare its vibe, it’s a cross between the raw, rebellious energy of The Matrix —with its themes of breaking free from control— and the social justice lens of Paris Is Burning for its exploration of identity and inequality.
DI: After Offbeat, what's next for you?
JS: Following Offbeat, we have been selected to perform in Barcelona as part of a prominent dance festival taking place in cultural centers across the city. We will be presenting seven performances of another piece we created, titled Nomades.
Nomades portrays a journey where different cultures, identities, and personal expressions converge. It is a voyage born from individual paths, where raw, unfiltered, and honest interactions create a dialogue of shared experiences between the performers. This conversation emerges from an emotional vulnerability, with the aim of sharing moments of hardship that have affected the participants. Throughout this journey, they undergo transformations, shedding old layers to attempt to understand and empathize with one another.
At its core, Nomades carries a social critique, exploring emotions physically and using the body as the primary medium. The choreography utilizes spontaneous composition tools to shape each chapter of the performance.
DI: Finally, please describe Renagade Master in three words.
JS: Provocative, rebellious, transformative.
Offbeat: Dance Night is on at the Old Fire Station, on Sat 14th Sep, 8pm. For more info and to book tickets, click here.