∞ [INFINITE]
Humanhood’s Infinite is my fourth collaboration with the company as composer following ZERO (2016), Orbis (2017) and Sphera (2020). The score is a powerful combination of cosmic soundscapes, sacred earth rituals, shamanic experiences, the sounds of nature and guided meditation.
∞ {Infinite} is Julia Robert and Rudi Cole’s first Dance Theatre Meditation in which they guide the audience through a mystical journey. The outside world of the magical dance on stage will merge with your internal awareness. The premise is movement and consciousness, becoming aware of the infinite power that flows to and through us, giving life to all beings.
The score features the amazing vocals of Deya Dova and a flute based excerpt from Dorisburg’s track Votiv along with tribal drumming, synthesizers, shamanic chants, other vocal material and manipulated instrumental sounds. This, combined with Tom Visser’s intricate lighting design and an incredible company of young dancers makes for a striking and captivating theatrical experience.
∞ Infinite was co-produced by Mercat de les Flors, co-commissioned by Birmingham 2022 Festival, Sadler’s Wells, London and The Lowry. Supported by Arts Council England, Department of Culture of Generalitat de Catalunya ICEC, DanceXchange, Birmingham Hippodrome, Dance City, Elclimamola, El Graner and L’Animal a l’Esquena. It premiered at Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona on 21st April 2022 followed by UK and international touring including Venice Biennale 2022, Masdanza International Contemporary Dance Festival, Canary Islands 2023. UK venues include The Lowry, Northern Stage, Birmingham Hippodrome (BIDF & Birmingham 2022 Festivals). Further touring in 2025 included Sadler’s Wells East, London and Theatre Nacional de Catalunya, Barcelona.
An 8 minute film version of the work, comissioned by the BBC, was available in the UK on iPlayer from summer 2022 and you can stream the full length performance on the Humanhood website.
∞ [INFINITE]
Humanhood’s Infinite is my fourth collaboration with the company as composer following ZERO (2016), Orbis (2017) and Sphera (2020). The score is a powerful combination of cosmic soundscapes, sacred earth rituals, shamanic experiences, the sounds of nature and guided meditation.
∞ {Infinite} is Julia Robert and Rudi Cole’s first Dance Theatre Meditation in which they guide the audience through a mystical journey. The outside world of the magical dance on stage will merge with your internal awareness. The premise is movement and consciousness, becoming aware of the infinite power that flows to and through us, giving life to all beings.
The score features the amazing vocals of Deya Dova and a flute based excerpt from Dorisburg’s track Votiv along with tribal drumming, synthesizers, shamanic chants, other vocal material and manipulated instrumental sounds. This, combined with Tom Visser’s intricate lighting design and an incredible company of young dancers makes for a striking and captivating theatrical experience.
∞ Infinite was co-produced by Mercat de les Flors, co-commissioned by Birmingham 2022 Festival, Sadler’s Wells, London and The Lowry. Supported by Arts Council England, Department of Culture of Generalitat de Catalunya ICEC, DanceXchange, Birmingham Hippodrome, Dance City, Elclimamola, El Graner and L’Animal a l’Esquena. It premiered at Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona on 21st April 2022 followed by UK and international touring including Venice Biennale 2022, Masdanza International Contemporary Dance Festival, Canary Islands 2023. UK venues include The Lowry, Northern Stage, Birmingham Hippodrome (BIDF & Birmingham 2022 Festivals). Further touring in 2025 included Sadler’s Wells East, London and Theatre Nacional de Catalunya, Barcelona.
An 8 minute film version of the work, comissioned by the BBC, was available in the UK on iPlayer from summer 2022 and you can stream the full length performance on the Humanhood website.
Concept, Direction and Choreography: Julia Robert and Rudi Cole (HUMANHOOD)
Lighting: Tom Visser
Music Composition: Iain Armstrong
Music includes: Vocals by Deya Dova and Votiv by Dorisburg
Costumes: Julia Robert and Rudi Cole (HUMANHOOD)
with selected pieces from Lurdes Bergada and Sygman Cucala’s collection
Set Design: Julia Robert and Rudi Cole (HUMANHOOD)
Performance: Rudi Cole, Tzu-Yi Tseng, Mai Yun-Chi, Peter Butler,
Piers Sanders, Romee van de Meent, Soulyun Park, Teige Bisnought
Meditation guiding voice: Julia Robert
Photography: Tom Visser, Jesus Polo
Music, composed by Iain Armstrong, had an initial pulsing, industrial feel and then developed into a spacious and varied style, with one section full of fascinating rhythm, all well suited to the theme.
Iain Armstrong has done an incredible job composing primordial sounding music that you can feel pulsing through your body, drawing you into the meditative state that Robert and Cole were striving for
The music is just as atmospheric as the lighting – cinematic at times – as it moves between euphoric synths, bass-heavy chuggers, mystical chanting and white noise. … It’s mysterious, transfixing and utterly absorbing.
Iain Armstrong’s wonderful trancey music is sometimes like being in a club deep into the night. At other times, especially the middle where the sounds are similar to Steve Reich’s Music For 18 Musicians, the beats are more tricky, more ethereal. The music is never sad, but neither is it ever joyful. Instead, it’s contemplative and perfectly complements the repetitive choreography of the dancers.
Iain Armstrong’s varied soundtrack provides a clear delineation between segments … The soundtrack for the initial Water segment was my favourite and hovers somewhere between Peter Gabriel’s Ovo album and Depeche Mode’s industrial sounds on Black Celebration, before a segue into Sash’s Mysterious Times.
The musical score from the outset is a huge part of the impact of this production. Everlasting hypnotic, meditative chords, with melodic and percussive interludes, interpreted exquisitely by both movement and lighting.
From that initial birdsong and thunderstorm, the excellent soundscape (by Iain Armstrong) kept up a perpetual rhythm that accelerated and decelerated to provide variety that matched the movement and the lighting.
The piece holds the tenderness and unpredictability of life, offering an experience that is both restorative and expansive, framed by a world of light, silhouette, after-image, and immersive composition. It was a gorgeous reminder of who you are as a part of a connected whole.
Performed impressively by its superb cast, it’s a work that draws you in; a work where you can just sit and admire its power and beauty, or let you mind wander into thoughts about the cosmos and our place in it, that in part lies behind it.
Experiencing INFINITE by Humanhood was like embarking on a profound journey—a mesmerizing blend of movement and meditation that transcended the typical dance performance … The choreography was complemented by atmospheric lighting and a resonant soundscape, enhancing the immersive experience.
The piece does what it intends to by bringing a spiritual experience to dance.
Concept, Direction and Choreography: Julia Robert and Rudi Cole (HUMANHOOD)
Lighting: Tom Visser
Music Composition: Iain Armstrong
Music includes: Vocals by Deya Dova and Votiv by Dorisburg
Costumes: Julia Robert and Rudi Cole (HUMANHOOD)
with selected pieces from Lurdes Bergada and Sygman Cucala’s collection
Set Design: Julia Robert and Rudi Cole (HUMANHOOD)
Performance: Rudi Cole, Tzu-Yi Tseng, Mai Yun-Chi, Peter Butler,
Piers Sanders, Romee van de Meent, Soulyun Park, Teige Bisnought
Meditation guiding voice: Julia Robert
Photography: Tom Visser, Jesus Polo
Music, composed by Iain Armstrong, had an initial pulsing, industrial feel and then developed into a spacious and varied style, with one section full of fascinating rhythm, all well suited to the theme.
Iain Armstrong has done an incredible job composing primordial sounding music that you can feel pulsing through your body, drawing you into the meditative state that Robert and Cole were striving for
The music is just as atmospheric as the lighting – cinematic at times – as it moves between euphoric synths, bass-heavy chuggers, mystical chanting and white noise. … It’s mysterious, transfixing and utterly absorbing.
Iain Armstrong’s wonderful trancey music is sometimes like being in a club deep into the night. At other times, especially the middle where the sounds are similar to Steve Reich’s Music For 18 Musicians, the beats are more tricky, more ethereal. The music is never sad, but neither is it ever joyful. Instead, it’s contemplative and perfectly complements the repetitive choreography of the dancers.
Iain Armstrong’s varied soundtrack provides a clear delineation between segments … The soundtrack for the initial Water segment was my favourite and hovers somewhere between Peter Gabriel’s Ovo album and Depeche Mode’s industrial sounds on Black Celebration, before a segue into Sash’s Mysterious Times.
The musical score from the outset is a huge part of the impact of this production. Everlasting hypnotic, meditative chords, with melodic and percussive interludes, interpreted exquisitely by both movement and lighting.
From that initial birdsong and thunderstorm, the excellent soundscape (by Iain Armstrong) kept up a perpetual rhythm that accelerated and decelerated to provide variety that matched the movement and the lighting.
The piece holds the tenderness and unpredictability of life, offering an experience that is both restorative and expansive, framed by a world of light, silhouette, after-image, and immersive composition. It was a gorgeous reminder of who you are as a part of a connected whole.
Performed impressively by its superb cast, it’s a work that draws you in; a work where you can just sit and admire its power and beauty, or let you mind wander into thoughts about the cosmos and our place in it, that in part lies behind it.
Experiencing INFINITE by Humanhood was like embarking on a profound journey—a mesmerizing blend of movement and meditation that transcended the typical dance performance … The choreography was complemented by atmospheric lighting and a resonant soundscape, enhancing the immersive experience.
The piece does what it intends to by bringing a spiritual experience to dance.
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