ORBIS

‘Orbis’ is an outdoor duet that explores the relationship between humankind and Earth’s permanent natural satellite: the Moon. Performed as a contemporary ritual; revisiting the mystical place the Moon holds in the history of human culture.

I composed the music for Humanhood’s Orbis in the spring of 2017. This is my second collaboration with the company following ZERO which premiered in Birmingham 2016. Orbis is a 16 minute outdoor dance duet performed on a circular set. It is accompanied by an original music composition presented in ambisonics, a surround sound format using 6 loudspeakers arranged around the performers and the audience. The music combines dense, organic textural sequences with complex polyrhythms created from found sounds, instrumental samples and electronic material. The multichannel sound design immerses the audience and the performers in a fluid and dynamic soundscape. One inspiration for the piece was Luke Jerram’s Museum Of The Moon and Orbis has been performed beneath Jerram’s moon at several tour venues.

Orbis was commissioned by Without Walls Consortium, Brighton Festival, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Déda  and supported by DanceXchange, SaNau and La Caldera.

Humanhood have toured Orbis extensively in the UK including Brighton Festival, Greenwich & Docklands International Festival London and Birmingham Weekender. The work was also performed internationally at Tàrrega Festival in Catalonia, Tercera Setmana in Valencia and Cirk!Aalst in Belgium