They were Always Present (1998)
Devised by Sarah Rubidge in collaboration with dancers from Ndere, Footsteps, Namasagali College and other dancers
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They
Are Always Present was created during a two
week workshop with a group of Ugandan dancers, some specialising in traditional
dance, some specialising in Modern Dance. The
dancers were interested in developing new choreographic approaches to
their work, expanding their repertoire of ways of creating narratives
through dance, and in developing an understanding of different ways of
using the body.
They
Are Always Present was a large scale promenade work. It
featured several short dance vignettes, choreographed by the dancers,
interwoven with traditional dances from various Ugandan tribal cultures.
These were set in a loosely structured narrative framework. The performers
used autobiographical stories using the ever present notion of a dialogue
between their everyday world and the spirit world as starting points for
their individual dances. This theme was continued throughout
the work with dances using old tribal tales juxtaposed against dances
which told of personal experiences of the dancers which echoed those ancient
ideas.