Episode 5 of Surface Tension charts the process of creation, rehearsal and touring of Staging Schiele (2019). Presenter Sanjoy Roy chats to Shobana, composer Orlando Gough, costume designers COTTWEILER, visual artist Ben Cullen Williams and dancers Dane Hurst, Estela Merlos and Catarina Carvalho about their respective collaborations on the piece.

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Presenter Sanjoy Roy introduces the latest production which the company have just toured, Staging Schiele and talks to Shobana about the origins of the piece and how her interest in the life, work and death of Egon Schiele was sparked. Conversation covers the rehearsal process, what parts of Schiele’s life and paintings were reflected in the choreography and themes of the male artist and the female nude.

Shobana describes the sections of the piece: Mirror / Doppleganger / In the Studio (later called Radical Nude / Censor / Relationships (Schiele with his mother, wife and muse).

We jump back to May 2019, when Shobana and company were in the research and development phase for the piece. We talk to company dancer Dane Hurst, who took on the Schiele role, about the research period and using imagery to inspire movement.

Fast forward to September 2019, when Sanjoy caught up with Shobana whilst she was making changes to the storyline. Then we hear from composer Orlando Gough, where he talks about the notion of anxiety and how to incorporate it within the music. The music is almost all sung, whispered and shouted by one male voice, which we assume to be Schiele.

Next we chat to menswear designers COTTWEILER: Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty who talk about getting a feel for Shobana’s take on Staging Schiele, research processes and meeting the dancers before starting to design the costumes. They take into consideration how possible fabrics react to the lighting, stage and set in a very detailed way.

Ben Cullen Williams, visual artist, describes his approach to designing the set, a location for the piece. He designed the steel frame structure to be collapsable and flatpack so it could fit in a van. The set provided a structure for the piece but also the psychological state of Schiele which the dancers existed in. The lighting was designed to give a sense of disturbance, unease and anxiety with constant flickering and twitching in and around the set.

November 2019, in the foyer of Queen Elizabeth Hall after the London Premiere of Staging Schiele Sanjoy interviews Orlando Gough about the ‘most intense dance piece I’ve ever seen’.

Dancers Catarina Carvalho, Dane Hurst and Estela Merlos talk about performing across the duration of the tour, injuries, how they supported each other and how the tone of the piece matured and changed.

Finally we talk to Shobana after the performance, about the audience reaction and energy in the auditorium, the challenges of putting on a show, the creative team achieved, and the ’synergy of vision amongst the creative collaborators’ on Staging Schiele.

Episode 4 of Surface Tension investigates the impact of science and science fiction on Shobana’s work. Presenter Sanjoy Roy asks what are the connections between science and dance, and sci-fi and Shobana’s choreography? Phantasmaton (2002), In Flagrante (2014), Trespass (2015) and Contagion (2018) feature in this episode.

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Episode 3 of Surface Tension focusses on three site-specific works: Counterpoint (performed in the courtyard at Somerset House), TooMortal (presented in various churches) and Outlander (a monastery in Venice).

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In this episode, presenter Sanjoy Roy opens by asking Shobana about the practical and artistic questions of making site-specific work for different spaces outside of theatres. We speak to Jenny Waldman who commissioned Counterpoint in 2010 to be performed in and amongst the fountains in the courtyard of Somerset House. 20 female dancers were specifically chosen to dance in the 55 fountains of this vast and classical space.

TooMortal was commissioned by Dance Umbrella and the Venice Biennale to be performed in churches. Shobana and Father Allan Scott, former Rector of St Mary’s Old Church in London, describe the incredible difficulty in finding a church in Venice that would allow dance to take place. Too strange? Not suitable? Women dancing in the pews? In the end St George’s Anglican Church in Venice agreed to take piece… We talk to Betsy Gregory, former Artistic Director for Dance Umbrella, about the excitement around programming for non-theatre spaces and putting dance in unusual locations.

In the third section, we move on to Outlander from 2016, made for a monastery in Venice, which used to house the painting ‘Wedding at Cana’ by Paolo Veronese. Sander Loonen joins the discussion via skype to talk about his role as production manager and the staging for this very bespoke piece.

Shobana recounts that the initial inspiration came from Veronese’s exuberant masterpiece which features a contemporary, multicultural wedding feast. Performed by three company dancers, it is a closely observed series of solos that shift between reflection and speed. The work contrasts Shobana’s choreography with the classical beauty of Venice. Each dancer becomes a character who brings their own mixture of strangeness and familiarity to Veronese’s celebrations on a specially designed catwalk lit by Sander Loonen and with a baroque inspired soundscape by Scanner.

2019 marked the 30^th anniversary of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. To celebrate we produced a series of podcasts exploring Shobana’s work, her pioneering vision and her contribution to the UK’s cultural landscape.

Join Guardian Dance critic Sanjoy Roy as he interviews Shobana, company dancers and collaborators to examine the themes and inspiration behind her adventurous work. We delve into the archives to find out how Shobana’s choreography did (or didn’t) fit into the dance scene 30 years ago, her research and creative processes, dance styles and the alternative path she has taken from the outset of her career.

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Episode 1. Configurations

‘System, meet system.’ When Shobana Jeyasingh met Michael Nyman.

Sanjoy Roy speaks to choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh and composer Michael Nyman to get their take on how the Configurations collaboration came about. Each share memories about the process, research and how they combined contrasting elements of Western contemporary music and Indian classical music.

Shobana tells how the relationship between choreographer and composer was all about communicating patterns of rhythm, in this instance, with no shared musical history and details the challenges of representing Bharatha Natyam dance via a string quartet.

After first hearing Michael’s score Shobana recounts her initial impressions, running around the sound world trying to find information that dancers needed. We hear how the piece finally came together with choreography and music and how it evolved into quartet, via a trio. Shobana talks through the balancing act between the visuals and the richness of the music.

Presented by Sanjoy Roy
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald

Shobana and composer Orlando Gough talk about the process of creating Staging Schiele.

Staging Schiele captures the artist’s own self-conscious framing of himself and his work. Both intimate and formal, it throws light on his brief meteoric rise to fame.

In this short film, composer Orlando Gough talks about his approach to creating the original score for the production.

Staging Schiele trailer autumn 2019

Felicity Finch joins Shobana and the company of eight female dancers, as they explore the challenge of how to portray the Spanish flu virus and its devastating effects through contemporary dance.

Contagion was a part of 14-18 NOW, a five-year programme of arts experiences connecting people with World War One.

Listen on BBC website 

Originally broadcast 6 November 2018 (rebroadcast November 2020)

A quick interview with company dancer Estela Merlos about why Contagion is such a special piece.