Common ground is celebrated in a brand-new piece of contemporary dance visiting Aberdeen, as Andrew Youngson finds out
The sun may have been blazing when I interviewed internationally renowned community dance leaders Royston Maldoom and Tamara McLorg, but, as ever in our fair country, the weather could change in a second.
Not that either artist would have minded a sudden flurry of snow or bolt of lightening. In fact, this characteristic dynamism of our weather up north has been the thematic inspiration behind the pair’s latest collaboration – Four Seasons.
Working in partnership with the Commonwealth Games’ Get Scotland Dancing programme, Citymoves Dance Agency and the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, Royston and Tamara have recruited a team of four dance artists, and assistants for each, to devise a new contemporary dance piece created around, and performed to, Vivaldi’s famous suite of concertos.
Reaching out to the communities of Aberdeen, Peterhead and Banchory, a troupe of nearly 40 young dancers – most of whom are brand-new to the world of contemporary dance – have been brought into the fold. They will perform the fruits of their three-week collaboration at ACT Aberdeen this weekend as a special prelude to the Aberdeen festival’s 2014 programme.
As with all of Royston and Tamara’s work, there is a strong focus on community building, of nurturing talent and widening horizons, irrespective of people’s background or experience of the art form.
“What I think is so exciting is that you are seeing people who are learning as they are doing it,” Royston said of projects like the Four Seasons where young people are thrust into a new dance experience.
Professionals, he said, can mask a plethora of minor mistakes with a veneer of professionalism, but that’s a skill which new dancers haven’t had time to develop. And so watching young people perform can be like watching someone climb a mountain and willing them to succeed.
“You can’t just sit back and relax. You are in there every step of the way. When you get to the end, there’s a fantastic feeling that you have climbed the mountain with them.”
Tamara said: “There’s a real honesty, and it always touches me. And when audiences come out of this kind of performance, the majority are touched by it, too, if they allow themselves to be open to that.”
From their earliest days of working together 40 years ago, when both held residential dance posts in Fife and Stirling councils, Royston and Tamara have developed a strain of community dance which has taken them across the globe. From Ethiopia to Peru, to Spain, South Africa and more, they have demonstrated how dance is a truly international language, spoken by everyone, irrespective of their upbringing or culture. As they have found, dance is incredibly powerful as a vehicle for change – on individual and social levels.
“The thing I have always loved about contemporary dance is that it is completely international and non-racist,” said Royston.
“It’s non-discriminatory. It helps us to have grown up in the world where discrimination on the basis of colour, ethnicity, social class just aren’t issues.”
The differences, of course, come when comparing what we have in Scotland, compared to the poverty Royston and Tamara have seen first hand in the third world. But that isn’t what they dwell on when it comes to their work, instead focusing on the positives and similarities between the world’s youngsters.
“Fundamentally, young people have the same hopes, problems and fears. It’s only the ‘top dressing’ that’s different. And, of course, differences can be celebrated, but what we work on is finding the commonality,” said Royston.
“Teenagers really are the same across the world,” said Tamara, smiling.
Four Seasons isn’t just about the young dancers, however. Just as important to the pair is the learning journey for the local choreographers they have selected and mentored in the project – namely Gemma Williams, Amy Park, Lucy Wilson and Rhiana Laws.
“Although the performance is lovely, hopefully there will be a legacy left behind, not only for the choreographers, but the dance assistants, too,” said Tamara.
“When we started, we had nobody, so we fumbled in the dark. But with our help, we can take these people to that level much quicker than it took us.”
Royston said: “What we are talking about is sustainability.
“We want to help dance artists to develop and have something to take away with them.”
Four Seasons will be performed at ACT Aberdeen on Sunday, July 20, at 5pm and 7.30pm. Tickets for both performances are available from www.aberdeenperformingarts.com or by calling 01224 641122. The event will act as a prelude to the Aberdeen International Youth Festival 2014, which runs in venues across the region from Friday, July 25, to Saturday, August 2. For further information about Four Seasons, and the full programme of events, visit www.aiyf.org