James Cousins Company, We Are As Gods, Battersea Arts Centre
James Cousins Company, We Are As Gods. Photo: Camilla Greenwell
One of the most daringly creative figures in contemporary dance, James Cousins, returns with a vengeance, leading his company to colonise the entire Battersea Arts Centre, rooftops included, in a new, immersive and multi-disciplinary work, We Are As Gods.
James Cousins didn't stop working during lockdown, streaming a series of short works reconfigured for the screen from original stage performances. Now, though, the sheer exhilaration of being back on stage translates into a celebration of life and dance in a boisterous work that culminates in a nightly post-show party. All shows bar one (a socially distanced performance on Wednesday 6 October) will be relaxed.
We Are As Gods, a title drawn from environmentalist Stewart Brand’s quote ‘We are as gods and might as well get good at it’, brings together 70 performers, blending professional dancers from the James Cousins Company, third-year students from the London Contemporary Dance School, dancers from the Elders Group at a local charity and young people from the local area.
They will perform in the labyrinthine rooms, rooftops and secret stairways of the Battersea Arts Centre, creating orgiastic group dances or intimate duets, reprising three of James Cousins's most acclaimed productions, Rosalind, Epilogues and Without Stars. It'll be up to each show's 300-strong audience to design their own night by finding the performers, staying with with each tableau or moving on in search of new excitement amid pulses of light that pierce darkness, and bursts of sound.
Resonating throughout the building will be a soundtrack created by two of Cousins’s frequent collaborators, poet Sabrina Mahfouz and music producer and composer Torben Lars Sylvest working with sound designer Pär Carlsson. The music draws on influences from classical to grime, and Mahfouz’s spoken text is voiced by the actor Racheal Ofori (Bach and Sons, Portrait)
As they circulate through the building, viewers can also enjoy stunning views of London, and buy vegan food from Chikenish. And for a special end to the evening there will by an after-show party, hosted by underground artist, DJ and rapper GAIKA.
An evening full of delights, then… and a great way to celebrate the return to live performance and partying.
James Cousins didn't stop working during lockdown, streaming a series of short works reconfigured for the screen from original stage performances. Now, though, the sheer exhilaration of being back on stage translates into a celebration of life and dance in a boisterous work that culminates in a nightly post-show party. All shows bar one (a socially distanced performance on Wednesday 6 October) will be relaxed.
We Are As Gods, a title drawn from environmentalist Stewart Brand’s quote ‘We are as gods and might as well get good at it’, brings together 70 performers, blending professional dancers from the James Cousins Company, third-year students from the London Contemporary Dance School, dancers from the Elders Group at a local charity and young people from the local area.
They will perform in the labyrinthine rooms, rooftops and secret stairways of the Battersea Arts Centre, creating orgiastic group dances or intimate duets, reprising three of James Cousins's most acclaimed productions, Rosalind, Epilogues and Without Stars. It'll be up to each show's 300-strong audience to design their own night by finding the performers, staying with with each tableau or moving on in search of new excitement amid pulses of light that pierce darkness, and bursts of sound.
Resonating throughout the building will be a soundtrack created by two of Cousins’s frequent collaborators, poet Sabrina Mahfouz and music producer and composer Torben Lars Sylvest working with sound designer Pär Carlsson. The music draws on influences from classical to grime, and Mahfouz’s spoken text is voiced by the actor Racheal Ofori (Bach and Sons, Portrait)
As they circulate through the building, viewers can also enjoy stunning views of London, and buy vegan food from Chikenish. And for a special end to the evening there will by an after-show party, hosted by underground artist, DJ and rapper GAIKA.
An evening full of delights, then… and a great way to celebrate the return to live performance and partying.
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| What | James Cousins Company, We Are As Gods, Battersea Arts Centre |
| Where | Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London, SW11 5TN | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Clapham Junction (overground) |
| When |
06 Oct 21 – 10 Oct 21, 19:30. Sun at 17:30. Show followed by after party until 23:00 (21:00 on Sun) |
| Price | £20 suggested (pay what you can) |
| Website | Click here to book |