Hiraeth/Saudade

The spotlights switch on. It is perfectly still in Studio 1.

A group of young people enter the space. People, whose hometowns are spread over two continents. Only one of them speaks English as a first language. But there is something that unites them.

A harp starts playing and they start to dance. Slowly, beautifully; quicker as the harp sounds get enriched by singing and samba beats; energetic, as it changes into a clogging.

But all the time powerful, moving and in entire harmony.

Showing a melting of different cultures. Showing a story of time and distance, question and answer, Welsh tradition and Brazilian capoeira, contact and togetherness.

We wanted to explore the collaboration of music and dance”, explains Angharad Harrop, the leader of this international project. Rehearsing across a distance over 8000 km was anything but easy - even the internet has its limits: “We tried to work via Skype, but there is always a delay of two or three seconds, so it was nearly impossible to put the piece together.”

Angharad Harrop is a Dance Artist born in a small fishing village in the North of Wales. She left her home to study at De Montfort University and to do research in Brazil, but she has always returned. And that, finally, is what the Welsh-Portuguese title of their performance means: a feeling of homesickness, nostalgia, wistfulness and longing, something that's in your blood, something that always draws you back home:

Hiraeth/Saudade.


Katharina Maria Kalinowski

A need that is wordless

As the performers broke into the dance which I later learnt is called Capoeira, I was amazed by the use of their bodies as they entwined using graceful 'martial art' moves - always with eye contact, and always with a visible, natural enjoyment. Both male and female performers combined beautiful balance with heroic muscle strength to conjure a vision of graceful gymnastics.

As the performers sat to sing, the music that surrounded me took me to a different place. I was no longer in a dark studio but in a hot and serene setting that brought a genuine smile to my face. I let their voices drift over me.

There was time for questions and answers at the end of the performance and this was equally enjoyable. We met each performer in turn (including Angharad Harrop - formerly of DMU). Some spoke through a translator but all were filled with talent and love for the project they have embarked on. They described the ideas behind the project which expresses the sense being physically apart from somewhere or someone while a wordless need keeps drawing you back. And that is exactly what the performance conveyed to me.


Celia Wilding