Zoie Golding and her company ZoieLogic Dance Theatre ‘get guys dancing’ whilst challenging perceptions of dance: who it is for and where and how it is shown. Zoie will be working with Greenwich Dance on the making of a special commission created in lockdown as part of our Up My Street ONLINE series due for release on our website in June.
So what has lockdown been like for you so far? What have been the highs and lows?
Highs were initially the slowing down…taking a moment to appreciate all we have achieved in the last year. We often move on to the next project or event quickly and it has been nice to spend some time reflecting. 2020 is our 20th Birthday year and we have been able to think of new ways to celebrate, share and remember the stories and journeys we have been a part of.
It has been amazing that we are able to stay in contact with each other and keeping loads of things going, but this definitely doesn’t compare to seeing people in person…..and Zoom/virtual meetings are time-consuming and are very good at zapping energy!
As an artist used to being with people and occupying space with movement/capturing that movement – how are you keeping creative?
We are still working weekly with our youth companies. We are working with them to create online versions of the piece they were meant to perform live this month and holding one to one sessions with members when they request them.
Creativity without being in the space together is hard, but letting each other know we are all in the same situation right now is important to our mental health as much as our creativity.
Collaboration and interaction is at the core of what we do, so trying to find creative and interesting ways to do this online is not easy, it does encourage a different way of thinking and is a challenge we are navigating together.
Tell us a little about your vision for the piece you are creating?
We hope to create an interactive dance experience for the Up My Street viewers, inspired by our live show SLEUTH. We will be introducing viewers to detective Eric Miller and asking members of the Greenwich community to make the choices about which clues he follows.
SLEUTH is a dance show inspired by film noir and classic detective scenes, and we will be recreating some of this drama and style in this new version, designed especially for online viewing.
What are you most excited about regarding this project?
We have a play day this week to see what is possible whilst in isolation, which will involve a dancer in Manchester, Digital Director in Southampton and Artistic Director on the Isle of Wight, all collaborating digitally. We would usually be in the room all at the same time, so it is exciting to see what these limitations might create.
Will there be any challenges?
The fact we are not together could also prove to be a big challenge….who knows…watch this space!
Have you got any tips for audiences at home as to how to keep energised, creative and physical whilst they await the release of Up My Street ONLINE?
I’m not sure if I have lost the plot or gone back to the days when I would play outside and technology didn’t exist :), but I have been going outside with a tennis ball and pretending I am in an arcade, my mission is to throw the ball and tap each brick. If I miss one I fail and have to go back to the start. To throw in even more fun, I have been listening to different speeds of music on my headphones and try to keep up with the beat.
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