ZERO
Humanhood are a dance company based in Birmingham / Barcelona. ZERO, their first full length piece, was the culmination of one and a half years of research and collaboration that I contributed to for several months in 2016. Humanhood’s work reveals a “curiosity for physics and human consciousness; observing and questioning the reality we live in. Humanhood is a platform for exchange, interaction & human creative interconnection.”
Humanhood worked with several musicians to generate a library of material for use in the musical composition. Working with this initial material I remixed and composed original music, expanding the sonic palate with studio manipulation and structuring the piece into a cohesive composition. The music was produced in a form of surround sound called ambisonics. Presented over multiple loudspeakers that encircle the audience and the performers, the sound travels around the entire performance space lending an aural dynamism that reflects the movements and physicality of the choreography.
ZERO was supported using public funding by Arts Council England and commissioned by mac Birmingham. Supported by ACE Dance and Music and DanceXchange. Created in collaboration with Birmingham University School of Physics and Astrophysics.
ZERO premiered at mac Birmingham on 01 October 2016 then toured the UK and internationally including Daegu International Dance Festival (S.Korea), M1Festival (Singapore), OpenLook International Dance Festival (Russia). A 15min extract of ZERO won 1st Prize at Madrid Choreography Competition & the Tanja Liedtke Prize at Hannover International Choreography Competition. A commission by The Movement, a partnership between Sadler’s Wells, The Lowry & Birmingham Hippodrome, allowed this extract to be re-worked for the large scale stages of Sadler’s Wells & The Lowry at Dance:Sampled 2018.
ZERO
Humanhood are a dance company based in Birmingham / Barcelona. ZERO, their first full length piece, was the culmination of one and a half years of research and collaboration that I contributed to for several months in 2016. Humanhood’s work reveals a “curiosity for physics and human consciousness; observing and questioning the reality we live in. Humanhood is a platform for exchange, interaction & human creative interconnection.”
Humanhood worked with several musicians to generate a library of material for use in the musical composition. Working with this initial material I remixed and composed original music, expanding the sonic palate with studio manipulation and structuring the piece into a cohesive composition. The music was produced in a form of surround sound called ambisonics. Presented over multiple loudspeakers that encircle the audience and the performers, the sound travels around the entire performance space lending an aural dynamism that reflects the movements and physicality of the choreography.
ZERO was supported using public funding by Arts Council England and commissioned by mac Birmingham. Supported by ACE Dance and Music and DanceXchange. Created in collaboration with Birmingham University School of Physics and Astrophysics.
ZERO premiered at mac Birmingham on 01 October 2016 then toured the UK and internationally including Daegu International Dance Festival (S.Korea), M1Festival (Singapore), OpenLook International Dance Festival (Russia). A 15min extract of ZERO won 1st Prize at Madrid Choreography Competition & the Tanja Liedtke Prize at Hannover International Choreography Competition. A commission by The Movement, a partnership between Sadler’s Wells, The Lowry & Birmingham Hippodrome, allowed this extract to be re-worked for the large scale stages of Sadler’s Wells & The Lowry at Dance:Sampled 2018.
Artistic Direction, Choreography and Performance: Rudi Cole and Júlia Robert Parés
Sound Design & Composition: Iain Armstrong
Lighting Design: Horne Horneman
Costume Design: Mark Howard
Musicians: Gyda Valtysdottir, Alex Forster, Xhosa Cole, Azizi Cole and Shahzad Ismaily
Dramaturgy: Lou Cope
“Highly choreographed and deeply researched, it interpreted an unidentified universe starting from point zero. The perfect kinesthetic responsiveness to Armstrong’s music along with Horneman’s brilliant lighting design were two necessary ingredients for shaping a unique and impressive piece.”
“Rudi Cole and Julia Robert blow us away with their forceful, whirlwind of a duet ZERO (extract). Travelling across the stage like the speed of light in mesmerising synchronicity”
“Humanhood brings us into a place that is other-worldly. – Throughout the piece, the lighting and sound has an impeccable effect. – It felt like a sound bath washing over us through whispers, bringing me into a rainforest that was trying to tell me unearthly things. – … the immersive virtuosity of Zero by Humanhood”
“The moments of stillness, where the eye finally gets to rest, are deeply satisfying. Our minds switch to focus on their sound score, also containing global influences. – In the trance created by the dance exists a restlessness and a meditation. Their humanness swims in a sea of abstraction.”
“The crowning achievement of the evening is ZERO (extract) by Humanhood. – The energy is thrilling, and the perfect synchronicity of the performance has the effect of doubling and mirroring that thrill.”
Zero – Music Showreel
Artistic Direction, Choreography and Performance: Rudi Cole and Júlia Robert Parés
Sound Design & Composition: Iain Armstrong
Lighting Design: Horne Horneman
Costume Design: Mark Howard
Musicians: Gyda Valtysdottir, Alex Forster, Xhosa Cole, Azizi Cole and Shahzad Ismaily
Dramaturgy: Lou Cope
“Highly choreographed and deeply researched, it interpreted an unidentified universe starting from point zero. The perfect kinesthetic responsiveness to Armstrong’s music along with Horneman’s brilliant lighting design were two necessary ingredients for shaping a unique and impressive piece.”
“Rudi Cole and Julia Robert blow us away with their forceful, whirlwind of a duet ZERO (extract). Travelling across the stage like the speed of light in mesmerising synchronicity”
“Humanhood brings us into a place that is other-worldly. – Throughout the piece, the lighting and sound has an impeccable effect. – It felt like a sound bath washing over us through whispers, bringing me into a rainforest that was trying to tell me unearthly things. – … the immersive virtuosity of Zero by Humanhood”
“The moments of stillness, where the eye finally gets to rest, are deeply satisfying. Our minds switch to focus on their sound score, also containing global influences. – In the trance created by the dance exists a restlessness and a meditation. Their humanness swims in a sea of abstraction.”
“The crowning achievement of the evening is ZERO (extract) by Humanhood. – The energy is thrilling, and the perfect synchronicity of the performance has the effect of doubling and mirroring that thrill.”
Zero – Music Showreel
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