New dance makers are the lifeblood of the profession. If they don’t step up and make work then the wide world of dance is going to get pretty thin creatively over the coming years.
One such dance maker is Johnny Autin, formerly of 2Faced Dance Company among others, and his new work ‘Taksim Square’ is a piece named for the area in Istanbul, Turkey, the scene of mass protests in 2013 at Gezi Park, brutally put down by government security forces.
The company tell us this much about the work;
“Taksim Square reloaded is a poignant and energetic piece of dance theatre inspired by this year’s popular protests in Turkey against ErdoÄŸan’s government and the violent clashes with the riot police in Ankara and Istanbul. The performance is aimed to be politically informative and can be applied to any demonstration that took place during the arab spring since the end of 2010.
Drawing on personal testimonies, key images and statements the work takes its audience on a brutal journey, reminding us of the harsh realities that people are facing in other parts of the world. Johnny uses symbolic movements, patterns and a full-out body language to build up an intense portrait of repression and tell his story.”
For our feature we bring you an interview with dancer and creator Johnny Autin and extensive coverage of the piece itself. At the moment there are no scheduled performances of the piece for the future but check the company website for further details.
‘Taksim Square’ is performed by Johnny Autin.
Filmed at the New Diorama Theatre in London on November 16th, 2014. Part of the Cloud Dance Friends performance.