Increasingly, choreographers see themselves as initiators, as creators of open-ended scenarios rather than merely setters of steps. The latest work of Robert Clark is a case in point. Clark, who has danced for Charlotte Vincent, Sasha Waltz and others, was moved to make his latest work, Mass, by the increasing sense of disconnection that he sensed around him. The piece is performed by a cast of 10 and, on the opening night, a participating audience of about 40.
It’s all quite weird. We’re led to a changing area and given knee-length hooded gowns. We can see through the hoods, dimly, but they render us completely anonymous. Then we’re led to a large unlit area divided and made maze-like by net screens. A minimalist score by Jules Maxwell pings and growls as we wander through the near-darkness, spectral and unidentifiable in our gowns. It’s a melancholy, ghostly experience.
At intervals, cast members, also gowned and hooded, shine discreet lights. These faint flashes, we have been told, are invitations to physically engage in some way. Everyone’s a bit wary to begin with, but quite soon the instinct to connect prevails. Figures move into each other’s orbits, swaying and weaving. Duos become trios and quartets. Clusters form, delicately interlocked, teeming like bees. Unbidden, as if by some shared atavistic memory, everyone observes the same protocol. Close contact is fine, but invisible boundaries of intimacy and psychic privacy are scrupulously respected.
Not knowing whether the bodies folded around you are male or female both depersonalises and focuses the experience. You are not giving or taking affection, sympathy or concern. There’s no emotional or sentimental exchange. You’re just human and part of the swarm.
Afterwards, Clark, who has been watching the whole thing from some Olympian parapet, tells me that several audience participants walked out during the piece. Not because bottoms were pinched or thongs twanged, but because the whole experience was just too intense. Inevitably, given that Clark is a choreographer, many of those attending come from a dance background, and are comfortable with this kind of shared physicality. For others, clearly, it’s too much.
