Spin Out: behind the scenes with WILD

Spin Out: behind the scenes with WILD

We are so excited that SPIN OUT Festival is returning this summer for more performances around our wonderful town.

SPIN OUT is our annual season of open-air performances from the most exciting performers of theatre, circus, music, and dance. All of the shows are completely free to the public, offering both residents and visitors the chance to engage with and enjoy thrilling innovative outdoor performances.

Brought to you from Motionhouse, WILD is the third performance of Spin Out; a daring dance-circus production that explores our disconnect with the natural environment.

WILD will be on at 2pm and 4:45pm on Saturday 23 July, at Montague Place.

What is it to be wild?

WILD, the daring dance-circus production from Motionhouse, explores our disconnect with the natural environment. In our modern lives, is the wild still shaping our behaviour?

WILD creates an urban forest in the everyday of the city. Using the powerful physicality distinctive to Motionhouse, performers use dynamic choreography, acrobatic movement and hand-to-hand partnering to move through a forest of tall poles, which forms the striking set for WILD. From the top of the pole, life in the canopy looks down onto the forest floor – a dangerous world of unknown meetings.

We caught up with Junior Cunningham, Rehearsal Director of Motionhouse, to see what it’s all about:

How are you feeling about the upcoming performance at Worthing’s Spin Out Festival?

We are very excited to be performing at Worthing’s Spin Out Festival. We had a fantastic reaction to our latest theatre production Nobody at Worthing Theatres and we’re excited to return and share our outdoor work WILD with audiences too.

Tell us a bit about the show. Where did the idea come from?

WILD explores our disconnect with the natural environment and asks if, in our increasingly urban lives, the wild is still shaping our behaviour?

Our Artistic Director Kevin Finnan was very interested in the relationship between humans and the natural world. He wanted to look at how so much of who we are as humans has come from us being wild creatures and ask the question: as our connection with nature disappears in the modern world, is this changing us as a species? He also wanted to explore the idea of how we value wildness, and if it’s possible to do this if we’ve lost touch with it.

This is why the action takes place in a forest of tall poles which the dancers move through when performing using our signature dance-circus style.

What did the development of this piece look like?

Kevin works collaboratively with the dancers to create the choreography and movement vocabulary as he develops each new work. He sets creative tasks and allocates time for the dancers to explore ideas on the set, in order to tease out the possibilities that this offers in terms of being an ‘apparatus’ for the movement to take place on. This process for WILD began at the end of 2018 when the dancers worked on a period of Research and Development on the prototype set for WILD before creating the show on the set in 2019, keeping a strong storyline to the show alongside the circus tricks that we are known for.

What’s your favourite part of the performance?

I don’t really have a favourite part, but I love one particular moment which always make the audience laugh without fail. You’ll have to come and see the show to find out which one it is! There are loads of other things to enjoy too – some fantastic choreography, daring acrobatics and some really moving moments.

Anything else you want to share or feel is significant?

We do hope loads of people will come out to watch WILD. It’s suitable for all ages, so bring the whole family.

SPIN OUT is an entirely free festival, but it’s always worth booking tickets to secure your place in the audience. You don’t want to miss out! Click the name of the performance to book your tickets.

While SPIN OUT is free for you to enjoy, you can support us in other ways, from becoming a member to one-off donations. Click here to see how you can support your local arts charity, and keep the quality art and culture alive.

Worthing Theatres and Museum is a registered charity, and we are committed to providing you with quality art and culture. For information on how you can support us as your local arts charity, such as donating or buying a membership, please click here.

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