Underfoot is a site-specific performance taking place at Brough Law Hillfort in the Breamish Valley, part of the Northumberland National Park. 

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HERITAGE SITE OF INTEREST:

The site has been identified through the Northumberland National Park Village Atlas on Ingram and its archaeological and historical study of the border township. Brough Law Hillfort was an Iron Age settlement and its remains can still be seen on top of the hill named Brough Law, close to the village, shown in the image above. It presents archaeological themes of conquest, abandonment, and human exploitation.

As well as of archaeological importance, Brough Law Hillfort is of choreographic interest. Historic England describes it as ‘multivalent’, with a large stone wall ‘enclosing a sub-circular central area’, and at least three hut circles (Heritage Gateway, no date). The circling, spiralling shape forms an initial choreographic idea of embodying the circling that is present on the land, suggestive of a ritualistic act alluding to the ceremonies and ancestral myths that may have been significant at Brough Law. The rocks themselves that form these walls of circles all show unique patterns and textures that could provide stimulus to the performers. Northumberland National Park states that Ingram has been designated as a dark sky discovery site, and with wide views across the valley, alongside frequently changing weather conditions, these factors will contribute to the lived experience of the dancers engaging with Brough Law throughout the research process.

 

PERFORMERS:

Underfoot will be researched and performed by three dancers, all of whom are local to Northumberland. They therefore have a sense of belonging to the landscape prior to the project and will be able to contribute their own local heritage to the process. The lead choreographer has visited the hillfort frequently from a young age and so this developed relationship to the site will inform the work and its relevance to the community.

 

CHOREOGRAPHIC-RESEARCH PROCESS:

The Northumberland National Park Village Atlas has informed the initial research into the heritage of the area and its importance to the local people. Talking to the people that live in Ingram will be an important part of the research process in order to gain a deeper understanding of how the site plays a role in their lives today, as well as considering the role it played in past generations. Listening and holding conversation, using historical documents and existing archives will contribute to the research into the history of the site: what its main purpose was, who used it, how it was cared for/not cared for, how it was viewed by the local people, and how it has changed throughout history. Building a rapport with the community will be essential to discover how Brough Law Hillfort relates to the village itself, connecting the landscape with the social and cultural values held by the people who live and work there. Delivering workshops in the village throughout the choreographic-research process will be a key way to share the work as it progresses and involve the community as much as possible. These workshops will involve: movement and embodying aspects that the dancers have explored at the site; discussions about the landscape and the participants’ relationship with it; and feedback on the developing performance work.

Improvisation will be used as a tool for generating embodied movement, particularly at the beginning of the research process. This will allow the performers to engage in a practice of paying attention and begin to challenge them to move and engage with the site in an unfamiliar way. This will be essential to initiate the interplay of past and present, and tuning into the landscape to consider how intangible heritage has contributed to its present conditions. Acknowledging the lived experience of the dancers, experiencing the site at multiple times of day and in differing weather conditions will deepen their knowledge of the landscape through their changing perceptions and interpretations. As the project takes place over approximately 3 months, the site will change with the seasons. Devising the work with consideration of these factors over a period of time will allow for forethought of what time of day and in what ideal weather condition to film the final performance.

 

PERFORMANCE:

The hillfort is only accessible via a steep path up Brough Law, and therefore performing live to an audience at the site would exclude a large proportion of the community, such as people with disabilities, the elderly, and those with young children. Rather than an audience member viewing the performance from one angle, filming the work may allow for the hillfort to be shown in its entirety, as is shown in the 3D interactive model by Sketchfab here. Showing its full circling, spiralling shape, as well as the formation of the stones, will immediately connect to the dancers' embodiment of these shapes as they move around the site. Mediating the performance in this way may allow the audience to experience and perceive the site in a new way, reconceptualising the hillfort’s importance in Ingram and in connection with the surrounding environment.  However this also requires careful consideration during the editing process in order to place value on how the lived experience and intangible heritage at the site is shown through its mediation.

 

ARCHIVE GALLERY: 

The filmed performance will be installed at the existing Breamish Valley Archaeology Exhibition in Ingram. The work will be presented as part of the archive, capturing a lived experience and intangible heritage. This considers a purpose of the Village Atlas of Ingram ‘to provide information and advice to facilitate not only greater understanding, but also active participation by community members in investigating and preserving aspects of the past’ (2004: 7). This may be achieved through the presentation of a dance performance engaging with and embodying the heritage and social values of the hillfort, alongside actively involving local people in the research process.

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KEY QUESTIONS OF CONCERN:

• What intangible heritage is being considered: the site, choreographic reactions, motifs, social values, shared memories…?

• How is the site’s rhythm, aliveness, texture, topography, space part of the performance?

• What is the relationship between the audience and performers? There will be consideration of how the performance is mediated for film and viewed by an audience in an archive gallery space.

• Is the goal to present the site and its heritage as it is? Or could the performance reframe the site so that its heritage and value is considered in a new way? Filming the work to show at the archive gallery opens up this possibility.

• How will the performance be viewed by tourists and their understanding of the site’s archaeology? What else needs to presented alongside the film to provide a context and frame for the performance?

• How will the community be invited to participate in the choreographic process? The aim of these workshops will be in line with the Village Atlas of Ingram to further understanding and enjoyment, reinforce and develop the existing sense of place and belonging of individuals within the community, and provide a springboard for future community-led initiatives.

• How is the performance embedding intangible heritage alongside the individuality of the performers, affinity with the local community and audience, and cultural diversity of embodied knowledge?

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EXISTING WORK/ARTISTS THAT HAVE INSPIRED THE PROJECT:

• About Time Dance Company, in particular their work Longways/Crosswise (2018). Also see the interview I had with Jenny Reeves, the company's founder, on my blog Between the Art: Jenny Reeves: Illuminating Place, Stories and Local Heritage.

• Under the Vaulted Sky by Rosemary Lee (2014): synthesising the natural, the human constructed, and the spiritual in a site-specific performance, with community members performing the work at a Cathedral.

• Past Present by Ioana Marinescu (2021): bringing archive to life through site-specific explorations using movement, photography, film, presented in a gallery space.