A Dance Interval Epiphany

As I write ✍️, it is the first interval at Sadlers Wells on Saturday 16th September. We just finished watching the first act of The Alvin Ailey dance Roy’s Joys.

Photo shows. *Interval activities, most get an ice cream, some read a book, I start to write a blog post*

Roy’s Joys was a delight to watch. It was a piece with sinuous body movements encapsulated by gently flowing light jersey and crisp florescent organza tops.

Watching that performance has inspired new painting works. I’m considering the materiality of paint skins more and how to mimic the lightness of the organza costumes with their self contained iridescent beauty. The image below shows a translucent skin I started creating with ink and very thin skin. You can see the brush through it.

Making clearer skins using ink and different powder bases.

I started placing these clearer skins on top of previously prepared under pieces. But the next series I do will incorporate more of this mesmerising iridescence and allow the lightness and airy features of the skins to be pronounced more.

*Contrasting surfaces, chalky against shiny echoing planetary dust clouds and shimmering starlight in harmonious hues and forms.*

To sum up, my three dance theatre interval inspirations were, continue to develop the translucent paint skins, write more posts while out and about, continue to connect with the materiality and fabric of the paint and my obsession with galaxy formations and movement. The dance of the galaxies, might be the name of the next series of paintings.

Revelations

BTW, the Alvin Ailey dance company is famous for their Revelations piece. We saw that last night too, but I didn’t feel as excited about it when I saw it for the first time at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester. This time, it felt like Sadlers Wells stage was surprisingly smaller. But it might be the angle of my seat or the restrained London audience. I’d love to see them in New York one day. That might give another experience altogether.