A history of Bare Bones

David Massingham, DanceXchange and Bare Bones Artistic Director, on a decade of Bare Bones

“It is with a sense of achievement that I found myself looking at how DanceXchange, the producing organisation behind Bare Bones could celebrate its ten year anniversary of being part of the amazing Birmingham Hippodrome complex. We recognised that any such celebration would not be complete without our company which was also ten years old.

Bare Bones began life as a project, the aim of which was to raise DanceXchange’s profile nationally in the period in which we did not have a base while our new Hippodrome building was being refurbished. I also wanted to do a performance project that was a reaction against a movement towards dance shows that were reliant on technologies. So it was decided to curate an evening’s work in which the performer is placed very much at the centre of the process of creation, in-the-round and using no sets or props. Pieces were also to be made in a very short timeframe which has the effect of then showing the finished work as if taken straight from the dance studio to the stage with simple costuming and no elaborate lighting states.

So I asked Jasmin Vardimon, Akram Khan, Henri Oguike and Yolanda Snaith if they were interested in making a dance work on a newly formed company of dancers on a 9m x 9m dance floor with no sets or props and an audience seated on all four sides. They all said yes and a touring project was begun that saw us go to non-theatre spaces across the country. That was the raison d’etre of the company then and still remains the case today. Bare Bones shows can be performed anywhere where there is a large enough space with a sprung floor.  This unique highly portable format has allowed us to go to all sorts of venues bringing the most wonderful performances alive to audiences that may not get to see dance otherwise.  We have performed in museums, school halls, community centres, dance studios, art centres, theatres and an aircraft hangar.

Bare Bones The Decade is a retrospective which features nearly all our duet and solo works. We have also made many fantastic larger group works, three of which are to be revived as part of the The 5 Man Show revival which will tour again in spring 2013.

Twenty six commissioned works over the decade has brought about a creativity in choreographers and performers that has sparked new ways of working and artistic collaborations beyond the Bare Bones tours. DanceXchange has worked with many of the commissioned choreographers extensively since their Bare Bones pieces. Akram Khan’s Ma was produced at DanceXchange and went on to worldwide success. Hofesh Shechter’s Uprising was first researched and developed at DanceXchange and has been touring the globe to critical acclaim ever since. Luca Silvestrini has also had a long association us that has produced a wide range of highly successful collaborations both on stage and off. (In)visible Dancing was created with Luca for our International Dance Festival Birmingham 2010 and is now set to be recreated for both national and international high streets.

Bare Bones’ success lies in its unique way of bringing creative people together to face the challenge of making something wonderful for audiences to enjoy whilst pushing the boundaries of dance as an art form. I want to thank each and every person that has played a part in the ten year journey. I particularly want to salute our performers who you will see tonight and those that gave their creative spirit to the original works when first performed.”

Bare Bones 1: Jasmin Vardimon, Yolanda Snaith, Akram Khan, Henri Oguike, David Massingham

Bare Bones 2: Kim Brandstrup, Carol Brown, Frantic Assembly (Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett), Robert Moses, William Tuckett

Bare Bones 3: Helene Blackburn, Wendy Houston, Hofesh Shechter, Luca Silvestrini, Hans Tuerlings

Bare Bones 4: Bare Bones for Children: Enrique Cabrera, William Tuckett

Bare Bones 5: The 5 Man Show: Liam Steel, David Massingham, Arthur Pita

Bare Bones 6: Garry Stewart, Rui Horta, Charlotte Vincent, David Massingham

Funny Bones: Enrique Cabrera, Luca Silvestrini