The music

The music, what can I say… this guy! It has been an absolute pleasure working with composer David Westcott and starting this collaborative journey.

After graduating from Cardiff University David went on to complete a masters degree in film music composition at the London College of Music. He has tons of professional experience, and I would urge you to check out David’s Instagram page and have a listen to his music…it is stunning!

David and I met during the pandemic through a social media Wales arts network, we met up online and really hit it off, chatting ideas, music, dance, performance and, my initial concept for this project, which at that point was mainly me talking a lot about cables! From that first conversation David and I really connected. Sometimes it’s difficult to communicate an idea, and for someone else to try and conjure up a picture of the thread of an idea that’s in your head, so to find someone who ‘got me’, my ideas and the artistic concept was amazing, and to connect creatively. This initial chat with David made me realise the idea for Gorlwyth was a good one and something I needed to pursue.

It did take some time from this first creative conversation, to put everything in place and of course secure funding and support for this first phase of research and development.

Getting in the space was just amazing, and having the first couple of days with the performers and David to really focus on the devising and creating. I’m finding it quite difficult to write about the process because I’m not sure you can put this into words and truly get the essence of the energy and buzz in the space. The ideas were developed in a wholly collaborative way, the movement sparking the music, the music sparking the further development of the movement, there was a real flow to the process. The thing that has struck me most thinking about the process is that David and I both work in a very emotive way, it is about catching the essence of something, the energy, the feel, this isn’t something you can put into words because it comes from something inherent in us all, something intrinsic from the pit of the belly, a feeling, and the strangest thing for me was it felt like David could hear what was in my head (or as a dancer, perhaps in my body), he brought the concept and energy of the work to life through the music.

This work is very much about honing in on the senses, and the audience being immersed in and an active part of this sensory experience, the music obviously brings so much in carrying us through this journey. David also linked the different sections musically through an overall theme or thread, which was fascinating to me, and a cohesive way to pull the different sections together. One thing that was absolute for me was the need for the shift in energy within the different sections, so we get the rise and the fall, the light and the intense, and that rollercoaster of energy throughout the work. One audience comment from the final sharing was ‘I liked the pace, the rolling of the energy’ which is exactly what I was aiming for. Another interesting aspect of exploring this was finding the intensity through the individual disciplines at different points, one coming to the forefront while the other elements support it and then shifting to another, the energy doesn’t have to come from all the elements all at once, it’s all about finding the right balance.

With the focus on devising and creating, one aspect we didn’t have time to explore was fusing digital with the classical, which will definitely be the next step and something David is keen to explore. We did look at playing with prerecorded sound and live music, this worked incredibly well, bringing yet another dimension to the performance. I really wanted to explore giving live music the space within the overall work, not purely as an accompaniment to the performers, but in its own right. We also have ideas about bringing in another musician as part of the narrative in the development of the work, which is really exciting.

So many ideas! This is what I have loved about this first phase of exploration, as the ideas have developed more ideas have come, in fact the thing I heard most from everyone involved during the r&d was ‘I have an idea!’

I would love to share some of the music, but I am also aware that sometimes it’s best not to share too much at this stage, otherwise it’s a little like seeing one of those film trailers that pretty much show you the whole film, which then leaves watching the actual film as a bit of a pointless endeavor! 

That’s it for now, more about the technology coming soon!