RUSH @ Dance Base

When Harriet Macauley explains her inspiration for Pair Dance’s Rush, she moves far away from the world of contemporary dance. “As a regular commuter on London underground, I was very interested in the monotony of the daily commute,” she begins, before listing the joys of the subway. “Bodies moving in the same direction: often flustered and centred on ourselves and our destination. The lack of space and natural light, narrow corridors and low ceilings creates this heated and often intense energy, with buskers playing instruments.”

As a dancer, however, she found herself noticing the natural choreography of her fellow passengers. “The non verbal communication between commuters is fascinating,” she admits. “The long glares, body language, hunching over, body positioning, smiling, and hand gestures.” From these subtle physical cues, Macauley was inspired to use dance to represent this modern hell.

Rush’s vision is pessimistic: Macauley acknowledges that it is “related to the monotony and regimentation of our daily commute but it also touches on the issue of time, relationships, environment and spiritual apathy.” Dance itself is a model of almost repressive regimentation, with the required training and rehearsal requiring a strict discipline. Macauley counters this with her creative process: “It has to be said that as a team we never lose sight of a light hearted and open approach to creating dance works.”

Originally formed as a collaborative vehicle for Macauley’s collaborations with composer Richard Leonard, after she left Rambert Dance Company in 2006, Pair Dance has developed a vision that includes increasing opportunity for young people. Rush, studying a subject rarely considered within dance, suggests that Pair Dance are one of the many companies considering ways to make dance more inclusive. Macauley herself is passionate about the possibilities of dance.

“Our mission is to create opportunities for artists and young people to play, explore and investigate an endless capacity for development through movement and sound,” she says. Yet this is not just about choreographing recognisable scenarios. “Our Creative Learning stream brings dance to a suburban area in Hertfordshire, making high quality dance performances more accessible to those who struggle to travel into the city.”

Despite the optimism of her vision, Rush refuses to blink at the crazed paranoia of the commuting grind: the underground becomes a nightmare of tics, twitches, noise and anxiety. At the point where words fail to express utter frustration and chaos, Rush captures the physical horror of mundane reality.