FEAR was the third of four projects – LANGUAGE, POWER, FEAR, EMOTION – each offering a series of free workshops leading to an incredible sell-out performance.
FEAR was directed by SDS Co-Artistic Dirctor Annie Pui Ling Lok, Juan Ayala, Anne-Gaëlle Thiriot and Anna Alvarez, and performed by 50 people with ties to the Elephant and Castle area and members of the SDS team. For many the production was their first experience of performing in front of an audience.
With the theme of FEAR, we explored the fear of the unknown, the fear of our space or comfort being threatened, and how fear can control us. Together we explored how we can challenge fear through support and trust in one another.
FEAR was performed on 22 June 2024.
Programme text
Fear is an instinct. Fear is a valid response. Has instinct been overridden by commodity, protocols and noise? Fear is a force for manipulation and control. Fear generates conformity, confusion, ignorance and mistrust.
Images in the show are controversial and shift in meaning: rave or riot, care or cult, community or commuters? We play with the thresholds between conformity and community, control and ambiguity. We play with repetition. Is history repeating itself or are we slowly shifting? We pose ourselves many questions and we find a myriad of answers. We fear certainty and rigidity.
Fear is the theme of this year’s show, but this project is, at its heart, about creating spaces to meet strangers and try things we haven’t tried before. Live performance always means embracing uncertainty, diving into the unknown, and trusting that something will happen. We love it, it is thrilling, and we fear it every time.
We wholeheartedly dedicate this project to all fellow humans who in the face of anger, hate and violence still find courage to trust.
“The performers are the work, the fear and its transformation … On the day of the show it felt like a ritual for renewal … The most vivid image I have now is the memory of the mesmerising eyes of my dance partner; open, still, a mirror to my eyes.”
Paula Catalina Riofrio, Wolf-cries and rave: a reflection on fear in dance art journal
“With the FEAR process participants were asked questions on what they were afraid of. Whereas with POWER we were showing what this means to us and how we can use power and dance together. Though these are two different themes, they are connected. POWER helps to be able to share your FEAR.”
Work experience student Chloe-Louise, Power to Share your Fear for the SDS Blog
Credits
Direction
Annie Pui Ling Lok, Juan Ayala
and Anne-Gaëlle Thiriot
Guest Artist
Anna Alvarez
Sound Design
Nikki Crowley
Technician
Mike Picknett
Performers
Caroline Perret, Sarah Kent, Ben Hunter, Oluwaseun Usman, Xindi Cao, Aisha Kacie, Nadia Romero, Maisie Maris, Kate Emden, Morgane Lapeyre, Samantha James, Cosima Eliza, Maya Giulivi, Caroline Spang, Laura D’Italia, Tamara C, Eka Zharinova, Leila Khan, Anna Chamberlain, K, Bruce Currie, Maria Murray, Paula Riofrio, Laura Grant, Christiana Stewart, Nana Yaa Oforiwaa Osei-Bonsu, Martha Kent, Henrietta Hall, Suzanne Tarlin, Martha Harlan, Iris Kilian, Emma Narita, Isabella R. Chacon, María Eugenia Cultur@RTE, Maria Llanderas, Yanire Suaterna Peña, Cheryl McChesney, Dorcas Megan, Olly Otley, Maried Isabella Pinzon Suaterna, Patricia Lewis, Archie McCourt, Waters, Nathan Hamilton, Ruth Heylin, Dani Mirza McGarvey and Luca Arcangelo.
Thank you
A huge thank you to Patricia Lewis and Gemma Grass-Orkin at Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organization for their support with recruitment, and to all the participants who have joined us for workshops over the last two weeks: Elizabeth, Melissa, Teddy, Akira, Victoria, Sabrina, Saba, Chiara and Charne.