In the baking heat of London in September, any performance would be admirable, but the performances that make up Dancing City, part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival, are noteworthy.
The outdoor spaces of Canary Wharf are transformed from their bleak commercial pavements into dance spaces with the help of the GDIF, to create a truly inclusive festival. At the beginning of I Think We Should Start Over, there is a visual description of the stage and performers from the tech booth for those who are visually impaired, as well as a timer counting down in the back left for those following along with the audio transcript, so that you know where you are up to. The performance by Candoco Dance Company is mesmerising in its simplicity. Dancing to a combination of podcasts, audiobooks, and music, the performers’ disability or ability takes a backseat, their movement and flow becoming the primary focus and flow.
The festival continues to make use of the space provided by Canary Wharf. On the water’s edge is Bouncing Narratives, a piece performed on a trampoline stretched atop a shipping container. The audience watch from underneath the performers, with passers by gawking as they are stared at, antagonised. It is a curious way to stage theatre in a large space; the shipping container feels dwarfed in the square that it calls home, and yet it somehow, inexplicably, works.
Amongst the twelve shows across the two days, it feels important to highlight Deva: a combination of “Kathak, music, fashion and spoken word” that was commissioned exclusively for the GDIF 2023. Telling stories of what it is like to lose the languages—in this case Gujarati and Punjabi—that you grew up speaking with your parents and grandparents, and finding communities that speak them, the four dancers incorporate their stage and audience until you are part of the dance. Costumes become props and are constantly in motion, and whilst the spoken word repeats itself, occasionally feeling a bit much, the effect is bordering on awe inspiring.
Dancing City is just one part of a much larger festival, and yet it feels like a mini festival in itself. There is so much to see, to do: with the focus on accessibility and inclusion that is at the heart of the creation of the entire festival, it has something that can truly be seen and appreciated by everyone.
Words by Jess Boot-Cowie
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