A flyer for RAW by Retina Dance Company
A work commissioned by gDA to form the culmination of the organisation’s 10th year. Created during a two-week residency with 16 professional dancers and gDA’s newly formed Breakin’ Waves group for young men led by Artistic Director Fillip van Huffel, composer/musician Jules Maxwell and film maker Roswitha Chesher.
An exerpt of the film by Roswitha Chesher
Retina Dance Company used to be based in the Borough Hall in Greenwich. About 10 years ago, we created the creative dance project RAW in and around Greenwich. RAW remains a vivid memory in my mind. The project brought together a diverse group of dancers, each with unique backgrounds and dance styles. The project consisted of workshops with professional dancers, the creation of a piece of choreography for young men from Greenwich, a short dance film, and a performance.
We collaborated on creating a collective choreography, incorporating everyone’s ideas and movement qualities. I recall the energy and excitement during rehearsals as we explored new dance steps, experimented with movement, and tapped into our memories and emotions. We encouraged one another to push boundaries and leave our personal mark on the choreography.
During the performance, we showcased my solo dance piece “Me:Mo” that I created in London, Antwerp, and Copenhagen, followed by the film and dance piece featuring the young men, as well as a larger piece with the professional dancers.
I have fond memories of RAW, the workshops, working with the young men, and performing in the Borough Hall.
Today, Retina Dance Company is based in Antwerp, Belgium. We still create similar projects like RAW but the Greenwich project was the first and will always remain special in my mind.
Filip Van Huffel, Artistic Director Retina Dance Company
‘Break-in Waves’, it was my first creative experience with Greenwich Dance when Brendan Keaney asked me to come in and work with Retina Dance and a group of young male dancers. Could I make some short films please, to be projected as part of Retina’s performance at the end of their 2 weeks residency? I’d love to! It was however December, a bit cold and a bit dark! We had 3 short evenings and had a fun time working together. We filmed in various locations including Greenwich Foot Tunnel & Market and The Borough Hall. As always a privilege that the dancers trusted both Filip to help create and guide the movement and myself to create the films. Thank you Brendon and Greenwich Dance!
Roswita Chesher, Filmmaker
