Responses 2
My mind is a tangle of muddled thoughts after this weekend but I’m going to try and make some sense out of them…so much is written about what constitutes performance…and the ambition when we began creating work with the Hepworth was to explore this area of debate. It feels like this weekend was spent in the worthwhile pursuit of developing our understanding of it and so much of this pursuit was concentrated on the relationship between the performers, the material and the audience. Nothing of our performances was conventional, all of them asked something of the audience…demanded that people look at performance and it’s parameters afresh and the results of this were more than gratifying.
When I called the first performance we did in the gallery Responses it was a whim…I didn’t think about it too much…turns out both for version 1 and 2 there couldn’t have been better title…I’ve been fascinated all weekend by the response of the audience to our work…and frustrated I couldn’t hear/see all of it never mind capture it…
Here’s some of the highlights though…firstly and most obviously the way audience was drawn to “Cumulonimbus,” and “Lost Happy Endings,” each time we performed…we always ended up with more than we began with…we made people curious enough to see what was happening and once they were there we engaged them…it was so rewarding, especially considering that for many of them it was the first time they had seen us. So often we perform to biased audiences, friends, family, other Yew Tree members, not this time, these people stayed not through a sense of connection but because they liked what they saw.
I had so many people come up and compliment your performances…they called them fascinating, they wanted to know more about us, about what we do. These people included staff at the Hepworth, volunteers, the general public, photographers…even the artists who created Black Cloud thought it was good…but the most glorious moment was when a little girl in a purple coat with bright pink spots watched YTYT members in gallery 5 performing movement inspired by the work of Barbara Hepworth and was in turn inspired to move in the style of the performance…it was the happiest moment…I wish more of you had seen it. It’s moments like that, that genuinely allow you to remember the magic in the world…
The organizers all asked me to thank you for your input this weekend…they valued your contribution to the event and were so impressed with not only your performances but your professional demeanours…I’m going to add my thanks to theirs. That you would give up your entire weekend when so many of you are so busy and so stretched and be as committed and brave and invested as you were is something that I never ever take for granted…I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and that you have the same sense of achievement that I do…well done team
When I called the first performance we did in the gallery Responses it was a whim…I didn’t think about it too much…turns out both for version 1 and 2 there couldn’t have been better title…I’ve been fascinated all weekend by the response of the audience to our work…and frustrated I couldn’t hear/see all of it never mind capture it…
Here’s some of the highlights though…firstly and most obviously the way audience was drawn to “Cumulonimbus,” and “Lost Happy Endings,” each time we performed…we always ended up with more than we began with…we made people curious enough to see what was happening and once they were there we engaged them…it was so rewarding, especially considering that for many of them it was the first time they had seen us. So often we perform to biased audiences, friends, family, other Yew Tree members, not this time, these people stayed not through a sense of connection but because they liked what they saw.
I had so many people come up and compliment your performances…they called them fascinating, they wanted to know more about us, about what we do. These people included staff at the Hepworth, volunteers, the general public, photographers…even the artists who created Black Cloud thought it was good…but the most glorious moment was when a little girl in a purple coat with bright pink spots watched YTYT members in gallery 5 performing movement inspired by the work of Barbara Hepworth and was in turn inspired to move in the style of the performance…it was the happiest moment…I wish more of you had seen it. It’s moments like that, that genuinely allow you to remember the magic in the world…
The organizers all asked me to thank you for your input this weekend…they valued your contribution to the event and were so impressed with not only your performances but your professional demeanours…I’m going to add my thanks to theirs. That you would give up your entire weekend when so many of you are so busy and so stretched and be as committed and brave and invested as you were is something that I never ever take for granted…I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and that you have the same sense of achievement that I do…well done team
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