'8 Minutes'- Alexander Whitley

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‘8 Minutes’ by Alexander Whitley presents the fascinating collaboration between science and dance, examining the fundamental ideas of what we know about the sun: its scientific nature, its symbolic relevance, and its significance to our daily lives. This brilliant performance was made in collaboration with scientists from STFC RAL Space and on the 12th March, I had the pleasure of watching it at The Curve Theatre, Leicester.

Firstly, I was delighted to find that this dance piece demonstrated the very obvious influences from its scientific partner, unlike many companies who simply dance for dance sake to music that happens to fit their stimulus. Undoubtedly there will always be elements of this in dance pieces, and this occurred predominantly through the solo sections of Whitley’s choreography, particularly with one female soloist. Unfortunately, it appeared like this piece was trying more to show off her flexibility rather than display an element of the sun. That being said, as an audience member, the influence of each section was very clear in the ensemble work; the molecules of the sun, the prayer rituals, and how life varies with the changes of the sun

 The were several stand out sections in this work that deserve recognition. A clever rigid and fragmented physicality coupled with the subtly flickering lighting of Jackie Shemesh presented the dancers as if on fast forward. Whitley expertly used this to fast forward the appearance of every day life and how it is influenced by the sun, i.e. waking up and sleeping. I found the concept ingenious and I was very impressed by the commitment to this idea.

Another personal highlight came from the principle female, who did not touch the floor for the duration of the section, moving through lifts and being highlighted and supported by other dancers. It was breath taking to watch the risky, acrobatic lifts flow seamlessly into one another, and this created a hypnotic effect which was stunning.

Award winning video artist Tal Rosner’s designs combined celestial magic with a real tour of space, perfectly accompanying the dancers. This, combined with the otherworldly score of Daniel Wohl, provided the perfect foundation and supplied a little more context as the piece moved forward, which was greatly appreciated. Wohl also chose to utilise spoken word by Alan Watts from ‘The Universe of Everything’. Although I loved this addition, I rather wish that this would have been used to accompany dance and movement, rather than it simply being an accompaniment to a blank stage. The issue of an empty stage occurred several times within the performance, sometimes creating a pause that became a little uncomfortable and disconnecting each movement section from the rest. This was likely done intentionally to separate concepts, however I would have much preferred it to maintain the flow and energy of movement, as I felt the emptiness caused a significant lull.

Altogether, Whitley and his creative team have done a brilliant job with this collaboration. It was evident that not only the creatives, but also the 7 dancers had a full understanding of the concept and had conducted thorough research into the topic, producing a stunning display of talent and story-telling. Eventually, I walked out of the performance feeling excited at the prospect of science, particularly the sun. It’s not just the sun that’s hot… its Whitley’s choreography.

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