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LEARNING THE ROPES

UMBILICAL BUILDS ON AN EXISTING CHOREOGRAPHIC FOUNDATION, DEVELOPED AND TESTED THROUGH ITS PREVIOUS ITERATIONS. THE ROPES ESTABLISH A COMMON STRUCTURE IN WHICH EVERY MOVEMENT AFFECTS THE GROUP, WHILE LEAVING ROOM FOR NEW INTERPRETATIONS. RATHER THAN STARTING FROM SCRATCH, EACH ITERATION TRANSFORMS THIS FOUNDATION THROUGH THE EXPERIENCES AND MOVEMENT PRACTICES OF LOCAL PERFORMERS, ALLOWING THE WORK TO DEVELOP A DIFFERENT IDENTITY IN EACH PLACE. THE ARCHITECTURE, HISTORY AND EVERYDAY USE OF EACH SITE ALSO SHAPE THE WORK. A NARROW PASSAGE, AN OPEN COURTYARD OR A BUILDING MARKED BY ITS FORMER PURPOSE CHANGES HOW PERFORMERS MOVE, HOW THE ROPES ORGANISE SPACE AND HOW AUDIENCES EXPERIENCE THE INSTALLATION. THESE CONDITIONS BECOME PART OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS, ALLOWING EACH ITERATION TO RESPOND TO ITS SURROUNDINGS RATHER THAN SIMPLY OCCUPY THEM.

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A SITE-SPECIFIC APPROACH

UMBILICAL FOLLOWS A SITE-SPECIFIC APPROACH, ADAPTING ITS CHOREOGRAPHY TO THE CULTURAL CONTEXT AND ARTISTIC PRACTICES OF EACH LOCATION. RATHER THAN REPRODUCING A FIXED PERFORMANCE, EACH ITERATION DEVELOPS THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL ARTISTS, WHOSE EXPERIENCES AND INTERPRETATIONS INFLUENCE THE WORK.

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OBJECTIVES

UMBILICAL AIMS TO EXPLORE THE ORIGINS OF CONFLICT AND ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY, ENCOURAGING REFLECTION ON THE TENSIONS BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS AND COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY. THROUGH INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION, THE PROJECT SEEKS TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL ARTISTS AND COMMUNITIES, ADAPTING EACH ITERATION THROUGH CULTURAL EXCHANGE WHILE SUPPORTING DIALOGUE ON COEXISTENCE AND AWARENESS OF HUMANITARIAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES. EACH MOVEMENT FORCES OTHERS TO ADJUST, WHILE AN INTERVENTION FROM THE AUDIENCE CAN ALTER THE BALANCE AGAIN. THE INSTALLATION INVITES PARTICIPANTS TO RECOGNISE THE CONSEQUENCES OF INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS WITHIN A SHARED ENVIRONMENT, QUESTIONING WHERE PERSONAL FREEDOM ENDS, WHERE COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY BEGINS AND HOW THE TWO MIGHT COEXIST.