Springback Academy 2024
Feature
The Heart of the Chatter
You could hear it in the foyers, as we stood queuing for the next performance; in the auditoriums during set changes; around the lunch and dinner tables; on the coach journeys from city to city; and in the throngs walking between venues. People from across the world reconnecting after a year or more apart, renewing the bonds of friendship, and reinvigorating one another with vibrant reflections on the artistry on stage.
Almost as important as the work itself, these snatched moments of togetherness sit at the very heart of the Spring Forward festival. Whether you arrived in Darmstadt hoping to programme a show for your theatre, sell your work, find inspiration for future creations, meet like-minded people, or simply enjoy a wide variety of contemporary dance, one thing united us all: our need to connect. Not just with another human being – that can happen anywhere – but with people who, via our shared love of dance, are part of the same ‘tribe’.
Because it’s through these connections that we learn and grow. Regardless of whether you loved or loathed the work on display, we all underwent a change during our time in Darmstadt, Mainz and Wiesbaden. Nobody left thinking and feeling exactly the same as when they arrived and for me, that’s the beauty of what Aerowaves achieves each year. Of the 20+ performances available to watch, most of them entertained me but only a handful made me stop and think.
Microworlds, with its childlike wonder, made us reconsider the tiny, everyday objects in nature that go unnoticed during our busy lives. The sleight-of-hand magic in Iterations brought the endless hours of hard work and repetition that go into any impressive endeavour into sharp focus. Taranto aleatorio put flamenco music and dance in a different light. While REFACE forced us to reflect on how and when we share the many sides of our personalities with others, and them with us.
But just watching these, and other deeply personal yet universal shows such as A Solo in the Spotlights and ICI JE LÈGUE CE QUI NE M’APPARTIENT PAS, isn’t enough. We need to crack open the shell, poke around inside, turn it upside down and look at it from alternate angles – only then can we truly appreciate a work and the impact it’s had on us. Doing that alone is possible, but far less rewarding than embarking on a joint dissection with others.
As a mentor, I work closely with three of the ten emerging writers who take part in the Springback Academy each year. In theory, they’re here to learn from me as I impart pearls of wisdom on syntax, flow, grammar and the ‘dos and don’ts’ of dance criticism. Yet always, without exception, I learn as much from them as they do from me. Because the very act of sharing a theatrical experience, discussing our thoughts and feelings, and then deconstructing how we write about them, can be as illuminating and invigorating as anything we see onstage.
So to the artists who gave of themselves so freely this year, I say thank you for a wonderful festival. But equal thanks go to my mentees and every single person I spoke to along the way, in toilet queues, whilst reaching for a bread roll, perched on a wall waiting for a venue to open, and many, many other places – because those are the moments that help shape who we are and who we’ll become.