Ruff and tumble!
‘‘AN insight into how our younger generation are trying to survive in a world that is not built for them” is now choreographer Botis Seva describes BLKDOG, his latest production for contemporary dance collective Far From The Norm.
Blending hip hop and street dance styles with free form moves, the work looks at coping mechanisms, ideas of acceptance and ageing, and earned Botis the 2019
Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
“There is light and shade, rather than just the dark side of the ‘story’,” Botis explains of BLKDOG, which was inspired by author Sally Brampton’s memoir Shoot The Damn Dog, which in turn references former PM Winston Churchill’s name for depression: the black dog. “We delve into the childhood references of the characters to understand how much of what we have to cope with now as adults has been engrained in us from birth.
Started at a Dagenham youth club by Botis and friends 10 years ago, Far Form The Norm has created work for Channel 4 and BBC2, and toured internationally, appearing in major theatres and at leading festivals. Despite their increasingly mainstream profile, the company’s roots remain firmly grounded in urban hip hop, rap and grime music.
Discussing his dance style, Londoner Botis – who was originally a rapper – says: “I would describe it as free form hip hop as I use the core foundations physically, but I experiment with other theatrical devices, genres and artistic inspirations. For me, hip hop on stage is about crafting and finding new ways to use the form and the culture. The idea is always to keep the energy of improvisation and use this as a tool to make the work. “I work a lot from visual imagery, paintings and movies,” he continues. “I try to animate the visuals I see with movement, exploring how I can extract movement qualities from my body or that of my dancers.
“I use personal experiences, life encounters and tap into my childhood memories to find new references and ideas to bring into the studio. These references instantly change when they are transferred to my body or my dancer’s bodies. It becomes an abstracted idea that takes a new form, which is an interesting process in itself.”
From The Norm: BLKDOG visits Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, on Tuesday, February 11.