THE FEEL OF PLAY

In January 2012, development began for Echo Echo's third and final production in the Into Contact programme - The Feel of Play. Using the rules, patterns, and drills from team sports training exercises, Artistic Director of Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company, Steve Batts has created a dance production that will constantly evolve and change. Feel the energy, focus and excitement of the game but rather than aiming at scoring, winning or beating an opposing team, the dancers concentrate on the beauty, the pleasure and the poetry of play. There is no goal or end result - it is what the dancers do within the created structures and frame that matters. The performance explores the emotional release of success, the pain of failure, the humour of accidents and the mystery of near perfect communication in shared intent and co-ordinated action. Set to live music, Echo Echo took this production out of the studio and theatres and performed it in various locations between 17th - 21st April 2012. In this film which features performances from all five locations, Steve and the company talk about how the piece was developed and how it changes in every space where it's performed. http://www.echoechodance.com/