Truly immersive dance offered at King Edward's Bay
Grief Floats at the seaside once again
Dance is an artform generally associated with dry land, with sprung floors and carefully regulated temperatures to ensure muscle flexibility and suppleness.
Company of Others – aptly named, perhaps – does things a little differently, or at least it does with its very special work, Grief Floats, which is back for a third series of performances this month.
It happens at the beach… and not only on the sand but in the North Sea, with audience members accessing the accompanying sound score via a headset issued ahead of performances (and with audio description available).
This outdoor dance creation might have seemed a risky undertaking when it was premiered back in 2023 but the fact it returned last year suggests it was a risk worth taking.
More than 1,000 people turned up to watch in 2024 and so it’s back again but with a bit of a twist, in that the cast comprises just women and non-binary performers.
Company of Others, based in Walker, Newcastle, was set up by dance artist and choreographer Nadia Iftkhar, a significant figure on the North East dance scene for more than 20 years.
The company makes a point of collaborating with people who have been ‘othered’ by society, co-creating dance theatre experiences which highlight and share their experiences.
Nadia’s online biography offers intriguing insights into her approach to work and to life.
“As a choreographer,” we learn, she “is interested in how we physically unlearn, learn and share our stories.
“As an artistic director she is interested in how her work can create new realities and contribute to social justice movements.
“As a CEO she is interested in how we create organisations that are decolonised, hopeful and more human.”
And as a person, we can deduce, she really doesn’t mind splashing about in cold water.
Like many other creative ventures, Grief Floats came out of lockdown when so much and so many were lost and grief was something experienced often alone and unseen.
Nadia calls her “site-specific” dance performance a ritual of protest and remembrance, and “an annual communal reflection on all we have lost and continue to lose”.
Put in a global context, she sees it as part of a general demand for “a more humane and empathetic world” – notably, this year, focused on those who often bear an unequal share of life’s burdens.
It is “a protest for the care they deserve” and an invitation for a rather unusual shared experience at King Edward’s Bay, Tynemouth, with its dramatic seaside aspect.
More than a performance, says Nadia, it’s a ceremony rooted in tenderness.
“Grief Floats,” noted an appreciative audience member in 2023, “was a precious, moving performance. The tide literally pulled us towards each body’s stories. Site specific performance at its most exquisite.”
This year’s performances take place from August 27 to 31, many of them at sunrise and sunset, very much adding to the sense of occasion.
So… on August 27 at 5.45am and 7.15pm; on August 28 at 7.15pm; on August 29 at 2pm, on August 30 at 5.45pm and 7.30pm; and on August 31 at 3pm.
Audience members are advised to arrive 30 minutes before their chosen 30-minute performance to allow time for picking up a headset and finding a spot from which to watch.
Tickets, which are free, can be accessed here. The weather conditions are in the lap of the gods.