New to Article19 we have 201 Dance Company led by dance maker Andrea Walker and their work ‘Smother’, a piece that finished a nationwide tour following rave reviews at the Edinburgh festival fringe last year.
The work is based on a very personal story of a relationship break up experience by Mr Walker. The company tell us this much about the piece;
201’s raw, contemporary hip hop returns in Smother: a story of two men’s broken encounter. Returning after a sold out Edinburgh Fringe 2015 and acclaimed international tour, Smother touches on themes of addiction, obsession and commitment. Choreographer Andrea Walker directs a cast of seven dancers in a fast-paced, intimate performance, exploring the relationship of two young men.
With Smother, our aim is to present emotionally driven dance-theatre, that presents a gay experience through an urban dance aesthetic in an unapologetic way. It is still rare to see homosexuality explored through hip hop, and we’re excited to be bringing this production to theatre audiences and youth groups that might not normally engage with issues around sexual identity.
Although the work is no longer on tour, for the moment, you can catch the company’s new piece ‘Skin’ at the Festival Fringe in Edinburgh from August 2nd at the Pleasance venue.
Check their website for full details. ‘Smother’ is performed by Amy Lucas, Ash Lloyd, Andrea Walker, Dinesh Nirgunananthan, Luca Fracasso, Saran Kohli and Michaela Cisarikova.
Filmed at Dance Lab, Newcastle upon Tyne, May 26 2017