Neil Callaghan's London Cultural Diary
Performance artist Neil Callaghan talks dance in Europe and the UK, immersive dance, and shares his London cultural diary with Ruth Mattock.
Neil Callaghan & Simone Kenyon. Photo: Maria Sideri
Performance artist Neil Callaghan curates an exciting, Europe-focused evening of dance at the Sadler’s Wells Wild Card event this week, bringing Danish Mette Ingvartsen and American-in-Berlin Jeremy Wade to the Lilian Baylis stage.
Callaghan is described as a dance and theatre artist, with forays into visual arts, and he gently declines being pinned down to a form. ‘The difference is more for the audience to frame their expectations. While you’re making the work it doesn’t matter, it’s something that comes after.’
Callaghan’s focus on European artists is about filling a gap. ‘It’s really only the crème de la crème that comes to the UK. I feel there’s a whole generation of people who are making work in mainland Europe who are established, not emerging, who make brilliant work, but that wouldn’t show in the UK.’ The artists between legend and emerging talent never make it over.
Is there something fundamentally different about dance in Europe? ‘In the UK, dance is often related to entertainment; in Europe it’s also related to art and isn’t so much about having a good time, or at least not purely that.’ Remembering the comments of a French producer on seeing a British display of work, ‘It was all very young grads doing very athletic work. In France a dancer might work with same choreographer for 20 years – in England that’s quite rare. That said, there are more and more exciting things bubbling up in London.’
Each piece in the Wild Card deals with the titular theme of Transforming Matter, with Callaghan and Kenyon focusing on the body as matter. So what is the difference between this and traditional choreography? ‘Maybe it’s just a difference of attention,’ he muses, ‘body as changing constellations of cells, and treating the dancer as a body that can potentially do things other than dance.’
Much of the seating in the Lilian Baylis will have been removed for Friday’s show: ‘There’s something about being moved around makes you more conscious, more caught up.’ But all the same, ‘I’m not a fan of the kind of ‘immersive’ performance that assumes because I’m being pushed around a space, I’m having a good time. Sitting in the dark and watching can be just as transformative.’
As he’s a Londoner, we asked Neil to share a glimpse of his London cultural life…
Old favourite?
The Southbank Centre as a place to hang out. It feels like a very public building, with a great diversity of people who use it. It’s very open, as art buildings should be.
New discovery?
Raven Row Gallery. I’d heard of it but never been, until I saw the Yvonne Rainer exhibition there. In terms of exciting things bubbling up in London that was definitely one of them, I enjoyed the crossover between dance and visual arts.
Best-loved walk?
Along the Southbank from Waterloo to London Bridge. I grew up in Southhampton, and we would come into Waterloo to visit London. I still find it a very satisfying walk to do.
Best meal?
Tayyab’s does a great Indian curry, very tasty.
Most memorable aesthetic experience?
My girlfriend was running the London marathon a while ago, and I was trying to spot her face from sidelines. There was an endless stream of people! It reminded me of the sulphur streams in Iceland – you keep expecting a stop or a break but none came. There was something very interesting about that.
Hidden gem?
The rivers in London. I did a walk with some friends recently along the Wandle out to where it meets the Thames, it was great. Maybe people don’t know about them or maybe people have forgotten about them.
Who or what is your current cultural crush?
I’ve been looking at a lot of Islamic art designs on the Internet. The geometric designs are simplistic in one way, but really complex in others.
What kind of dance do you go and see?
Stuff that I think is going to surprise me, stuff that I haven’t seen before. I’m excited by being surprised.
Neil Callaghan’s Wild Card event, Transforming Matter, will show at Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis Studio on Friday 7 November. You can also see Neil and dance partner Simone Kenyon at the Hayward Gallery, performing as part of the MirrorCity project.
Callaghan is described as a dance and theatre artist, with forays into visual arts, and he gently declines being pinned down to a form. ‘The difference is more for the audience to frame their expectations. While you’re making the work it doesn’t matter, it’s something that comes after.’
Callaghan’s focus on European artists is about filling a gap. ‘It’s really only the crème de la crème that comes to the UK. I feel there’s a whole generation of people who are making work in mainland Europe who are established, not emerging, who make brilliant work, but that wouldn’t show in the UK.’ The artists between legend and emerging talent never make it over.
Is there something fundamentally different about dance in Europe? ‘In the UK, dance is often related to entertainment; in Europe it’s also related to art and isn’t so much about having a good time, or at least not purely that.’ Remembering the comments of a French producer on seeing a British display of work, ‘It was all very young grads doing very athletic work. In France a dancer might work with same choreographer for 20 years – in England that’s quite rare. That said, there are more and more exciting things bubbling up in London.’
Each piece in the Wild Card deals with the titular theme of Transforming Matter, with Callaghan and Kenyon focusing on the body as matter. So what is the difference between this and traditional choreography? ‘Maybe it’s just a difference of attention,’ he muses, ‘body as changing constellations of cells, and treating the dancer as a body that can potentially do things other than dance.’
Much of the seating in the Lilian Baylis will have been removed for Friday’s show: ‘There’s something about being moved around makes you more conscious, more caught up.’ But all the same, ‘I’m not a fan of the kind of ‘immersive’ performance that assumes because I’m being pushed around a space, I’m having a good time. Sitting in the dark and watching can be just as transformative.’
As he’s a Londoner, we asked Neil to share a glimpse of his London cultural life…
Old favourite?
The Southbank Centre as a place to hang out. It feels like a very public building, with a great diversity of people who use it. It’s very open, as art buildings should be.
New discovery?
Raven Row Gallery. I’d heard of it but never been, until I saw the Yvonne Rainer exhibition there. In terms of exciting things bubbling up in London that was definitely one of them, I enjoyed the crossover between dance and visual arts.
Best-loved walk?
Along the Southbank from Waterloo to London Bridge. I grew up in Southhampton, and we would come into Waterloo to visit London. I still find it a very satisfying walk to do.
Best meal?
Tayyab’s does a great Indian curry, very tasty.
Most memorable aesthetic experience?
My girlfriend was running the London marathon a while ago, and I was trying to spot her face from sidelines. There was an endless stream of people! It reminded me of the sulphur streams in Iceland – you keep expecting a stop or a break but none came. There was something very interesting about that.
Hidden gem?
The rivers in London. I did a walk with some friends recently along the Wandle out to where it meets the Thames, it was great. Maybe people don’t know about them or maybe people have forgotten about them.
Who or what is your current cultural crush?
I’ve been looking at a lot of Islamic art designs on the Internet. The geometric designs are simplistic in one way, but really complex in others.
What kind of dance do you go and see?
Stuff that I think is going to surprise me, stuff that I haven’t seen before. I’m excited by being surprised.
Neil Callaghan’s Wild Card event, Transforming Matter, will show at Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis Studio on Friday 7 November. You can also see Neil and dance partner Simone Kenyon at the Hayward Gallery, performing as part of the MirrorCity project.
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