In the summer of 2019 eight dancers with and without disabilities from Contact Dance Company worked with director and choreographer Jo Fong to create a new dance work for touring titled ‘Being Seen’.
The dancers were Becky Keir, Anna Belyavin, Chloe Shepherd, Rachel Liggitt,
Andrew Kelly, Mervyn Bradley, Amal Neffi and Kevin Shepherd
Creating the work with Jo Fong was an intensive, joyful and rewarding experience for the company. We are very proud of the piece that was created and performed.
‘Being Seen’ was exactly that, a call for performers to be seen as their selves, powerful, vulnerable, poetic, playful, graceful and human
Below is a 9 minute edited version of ‘Being Seen’ filmed live by JTV Production at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury, July 2019.
Contact Dance Company received very positive feedback from it’s premier at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury
‘I enjoyed the close proximity of the dancers and the sounds of the wheels. I liked seeing the dancers, the objects and the interactions between them. I enjoyed the connection between people and the real closeness that was conveyed’
‘It felt so personal, so raw, as if we were all part of it’.
‘Intricate, graceful, joyful and absolute pleasure to watch’.
Jo Fong’s work reflects the need in these times for people to come together. Her practice has been informed by notions of inclusivity, participation and is about being present, this moment, communication, listening, face to face encounters and the idea of forming community. This work will be more important then ever as part of the healing process after the collective trauma of the Covid-19 crisis.
Being Seen is available for touring throughout 2020, please contact the company for more details.
Shropshire inclusive Dance 