To launch a new film about the making of the performance, we asked company member Sarah Douglas to share her experience of working with Liz Aggiss, being part of Out of Whack and what dance means to her…
Have you ever thought how wonderful it could be if you could express yourself through performance and dance? I joined Out of Whack last September and it was good to meet others in a non-judgemental, therapeutic way using the nonverbal language of movement. Through the company I have found an outlet to connect back to a part of myself that was calling for expression.
When I found out we were going to be working with Liz Aggiss to choreograph a new performance piece called Out of Whack is Busted!, I thought it was a brilliant and unique opportunity. I was initially nervous as I was new to the company, but I chose to move forward.
Creating Out of Whack is Busted!
Once rehearsals were underway, Liz posed many questions to the company, asking us to think deeply about how to engage with the piece. She asked us: Why do we do what we do? Do we have a fundamental need to be seen and heard? How do we do that in an unruly way? What is our relationship with the audience? And with each other? She asked us to consider how to get into our bodies, about the quality of the performance and how it resonated with us.
As we came together as a company, we found ourselves immersed in a structured piece of work over a series of 10 sessions in October and November 2024, which enabled friendships and relationships to develop. Liz was very generous, highly focused and inclusive, non-judgemental and fun. Her disciplined and creative approach allowed us the time we needed to put our unique selves into the piece and not just be ‘directed’ by her. To observe it coming together in rehearsals was magic and we had fun, a lighter energy came into being. People were so kind and generous towards each other, and this helped us all grow and become fearless. We were daring to open our hearts and let go of our issues.
The context of Out of Whack is Busted! was multifaceted. In between rehearsals we were encouraged to practice, to get into our bodies and to dare to explore and this involved great depth of feeling. Liz encouraged us to dig deep within ourselves and consider our internal narratives that sit within all our stories and histories. We were asked to connect to our bodies but not get lost in the emotion. We were encouraged to be raw not refined, to think of how to empower ourselves through our bodies and attitude of movements, to be quirky not lyrical and to be free in how we expressed ourselves in the context of what we were conveying. The company had shared aspects of ourselves that had been hidden and stepped into parts of ourselves we thought we had lost.
It made me feel rebellious, anti-establishment, courageous and free. During rehearsals Liz would call out ‘do not acknowledge your mistakes – keep moving forward - do not let go of the creative process!’ She was so encouraging, and we were all growing in confidence.
The performance
The day came to perform Out of Whack is Busted! for the first time to a live audience in the Studio at Warwick Arts Centre. We found our spacings on the stage under the lighting effects which changed the dynamic. We knew the piece and the company was ready to give it our all, prepared to do everything as if it were the first time. We had finally found our party!
It was a blur of lights, adrenaline, music and audience, with the swirl of the company finding our place on the stage; it was timing, connection and self-expression with the confidence to be seen and be heard; it was joy and self-acceptance and with this a diminishing of the critic to a whisper with a sense of what it could be like to feel completely free.
Liz Aggiss was dynamic, always prepared to think beyond a moment, she was accommodating and adapting her creative ideas to meet the best possible outcome for both the performance and the company. The totality of the piece was entirely affirmative about transforming perceptions of older people and dance creativity.
We came out much taller, braver and proud, knowing we had achieved it.
We were born ready!
