Bookstores, libraries and art galleries are generally perceived as places where noise and disturbance are the greatest taboos – even the gentlest footfall or whisper is often amplified and can draw exasperated ‘Ssssshhhhs’ from visitors immersed in a novel or artwork. However, in Rachel Wesson’s experience, serious bookworms and gallery-goers are more often than not delighted, rather than annoyed, when her Ascendance Dance Company performers spring from behind the bookshelves and across the tables at bookstores; or move fluidly among the artworks at galleries, like sculptures in motion.
Established in 1999, Ascendance has spent the past four years drawing inspiration from galleries and bookstores, to create unusual site-specific works. The concept, Wesson explains, actually emerged from circumstance – as a young, small company, public spaces offered the opportunity to stage interesting works to new audiences, minus the exorbitant production costs.
The company was invited to stage one of their first performances at Leeds’ Corn Exchange, a refurbished 19th-century building which now houses a selection of fashion boutiques, before taking the work to Borders bookstores.
‘The reason why we did this initially is because we didn’t have any money or resources,’ Wesson recalls. ‘But then we [became] inspired by the bookstore and the potential it had to create a dance piece, and it was also a chance for us to rehearse free [of charge] as well. Things just grew from there overnight.’
The company is now about to embark on a national tour, showcasing three dance pieces created over the past four years. The ‘Double Take Tour’ will visit 13 towns across the UK in four months, featuring performances of the playful Shenanigans Behind the Bookshelf, created in Borders; the art-inspired piece Snap Back, which was devised at Leeds City Art Gallery; and Soleil, a classical piece co-choreographed by Wesson.
Despite creating work sprung from the need to keep within a tight budget, Ascendance has managed to make a name for itself dancing in these unconventional spaces. Wesson explains that the choreographic process begins with an initial idea, but is largely influenced through improvisation at a given location.
‘It gives you so much scope,’ she says, pointing out the benefits of working in a bookstore or gallery. ‘It’s almost like a ready-made set.’ But interaction with audiences also offers an interesting alternative to attending a traditional ‘on-stage’ performance, with some surprising results. More than once, bookstore customers – oblivious to the dance activity going on around them – have sat down on a chair in use as a prop in the middle of a performance.
The challenge for Ascendance dancers, says Wesson, is to incorporate any spontaneous, albeit unintentional, audience participation into a performance. ‘My dancers enjoy that element of risk,’ she asserts. ‘You’re never quite sure what’s going to happen next [in a performance]. So we always allow a little bit of room for improvisation.’
As a result, no Ascendance performance is identical to the last. ‘What’s unusual about our work is [that] whenever we do a piece it’s always evolving and changing,’ Wesson observes.
Like other small organisations, Ascendance faces the ongoing issue of limited funding. The company relies on its educational strand to bring in the bread-and-butter. But Wesson is far from despondent, merely accepting her company is still in its early years and remaining optimistic it will secure funding in future.
That said, however, the company recently received a grant of almost £10,000 from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, towards its 2003 national tour. Wesson was also encouraged to learn that although Arts Council England knocked back Ascendance’s proposal, the application made it to the last round.
While international touring plans might not be on the agenda in the near future, Wesson is not ruling out the possibility. The immediate, realisitic vision is to develop the company’s work and move it forward, she explains, and hopefully, eventually tour to larger-scale venues.
In the meantime, don’t be surprised to come face-to-face with someone leaping out from behind the magazine rack and across the tables at the local bookstore over the next few months.
Ascendance dance company begins its national tour in Preston this week. For details on where to catch them, visit the Ascendance website.
