Because of electrical problems, this event had been relocated from Guildhall Street to the Urban Room (UR) on the Harbour Arm. This is a long room with exposed bricks, wooden rafters and dimmed lighting, brightened by flashing coloured lights. The small bar was at one end while DJ Rev was set up at the other end. Although exposed to the November wind and light rain, this was a space more conducive to a disco and performance than the Guildhall Street room might have been.
Initially there were very few people inside but many were drawn in as DJ Rev pumped up the acid and hip house music. More and more people got into it...heads started to nod to the rhythm, then feet tapped, people began to sway, drinks were put down, coats taken off and we were really dancing as the music got into us...and yes, I gave up supporting the brickwork and started to dance! We were totally hooked into the music but then it stopped as we were called outside to watch the performance. Shades of Bray is a group of five female dancers, working with Jacob Bray, and they were coming to celebrate (or commiserate with) the ending of the successful Folkestone Triennial Fringe. We formed a large, semi-circle around the spotlighted space and there, poised ready to dance, were the Shades of Bray dancers. I had already noticed them inside, not just because their dancing there was notable but because of their striking images and combinations of simple red and black clothes - shorts, culottes, shirts, vests. The wind was howling across The Arm but the rain had stopped. I had no jacket so identified the tallest people wearing the thickest-looking coats and I wriggled my way into the middle of four of them so that I was warm. The music started, pulling us in. The dancers had seemed distant, all locked in their own worlds, not connecting with us, but they picked up the rhythm and, in unison, moved through the space. How is it that movement in unison, whether it is dancing, marching, gymnastics or coordinated sporting actions can pierce the body and raise the heartbeat? And that is just what happened there. They danced as individuals and as a group, each showing flexibility, rhythms, shapes, poses, connections, always relating to each other through touch, acrobatic support, position and the music. It particularly showed the integral trust, especially as one was thrown into the air and caught by the others. I forgot about the cold and just envied their youth and ability to dance so freely. There were several sections, many of which were just dance and some involving amusing, political comments. A few people complained about the fact that it was outside in the cold, and others felt the timing was inappropriate. I heard one person ask why they had chosen to break up the disco...missing the point of the evening! Maybe timing was an issue but the dancing itself was exciting and the humour infectious. When it finished we all scampered back into the UR, pleased that we could dance and warm up again. By now, the music was really hot with tech, deep and Afrobeat house music. So, not only did we rid ourselves of the chill, but we got into the rhythm. There was not a free inch of space. Some of the music DJ Rev was playing had a major drum element. This is the quickest route to my soul so I closed my eyes and just felt it. Some people need alcohol or drugs to get them to this state but, for me it's just good drumming. Fortunately, there were people to talk to or I would have just slipped into a semi-conscious state. Eventually, my elderly legs betrayed the young woman inside, so I had the sense to remove myself from the UR and the excellent music. But it had been a very good way to say farewell to a very good Fringe. JP Nov 2017
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