Flipping the script on the audience experience, immersive dance performance 'Half Light' visited Bristol earlier this month as part of its autumn tour đĄ
In our November mag, Florence Grieve caught up with artistic director and performer Holly Thomas to learn what it means to make dance accessible to blind and visually-impaired audiences đ
đLink in bio!
All photos by Vonalina Cake
Well, this is lovely. Thank you Tom and @bristol247 for this review, and for boldly battling the elements to join usđđź âHalf Light is a beautiful and intelligent work, in which rich soundscape and grand metaphor guide the audience gently through a life of visual impairment, of womanhood and of humanityâs relationship with nature.â
#HearDanceDifferently #EmbeddedAudioDescription #HalfLight #DanceTheatre
And itâs a wrap.
We were blessed with such brilliant creative collaborators, audiences and partners, and we have thank yous longer than Adrian Brodyâs Oscar speech âĽď¸
The biggest thanks to everyone who joined us on the journey through the twilight.
We hope to see you again. Until then, savour your senses, and linger a while in the liminal âď¸
#HalfLight #HearDanceDifferently #DanceTheatre #EmbeddedAudioDescription
Oooh, will you look at that. Thank you Bristol, you gawjuss lot you!
Weâre really excited to bring Half Light home for two sold out shows at @arnolfiniarts , our brilliant partner and Half Lightâs labour & delivery ward.
We look forward to seeing you all on 14 November. A sunrise is guaranteed.
ID: A tour poster with dates as above and the words âImmerse yourself in a word where sight is not assumedâ. Four performers wearing soft pastel tones walk purposefully towards the camera in unison, each with one arm extended in front of them, portable bluetooth speakers in the palms of their hands.
The words âSold Outâ in pink on white background stretch diagonally across the image
Funders logos along the bottom: Arts Council England, Abderrahim Crickmay Trust, Arnolfini, Pavilion Dance South West, Pervasive Media Studio, The Place
#HearDanceDifferently #HalfLight #EmbeddedAudioDescription #DanceLikeEveryoneIsListening #DanceTheatre #CreativeInclusion #Blind #VisuallyImpaired
Bristol, the season has officially changed...
And we're back with a new issue to keep you company on these dark evenings â¨
Our November issue contains a world of whimsy and wonder. In our pages this month we've got...
đ A very special interview and exclusive tour of world-renowned interior designer David Carterâs new home in Bedminster (@40winkslondon )
â¨A look ahead to a magical dance performance created with visual impairments in mind (@halflightprojects )
âˇMountain-high fashion ideas so you look fresh on the slopes
đ @jimmychoo imparting his expert industry insight to some very lucky pupils near Bristol
Plus...
đ§ Bake Off star @brionymaybakes chats about her new, brutally honest parenting podcast
đWe explore a very special collection of @penguinrandomhouse Books kept in the city
đ¤ @garynuman reflects on his pioneering career to date (and is determined to keep making music people have never heard before)... and plenty more!
Will that be enough to be getting on with?
As usual keep your eye out in cafes and cultural venues around town to pick up a copy đ
See you next month!
Team MC x
Us, watching the gathering darkness, wondering if itâs too early to be in pyjamas.
If you too, are a fan of cosy flannelette come nightfall, we have good news.
Our evening shows are now sold out out but tickets remain for our 4pm shows:
Tuesday 28 October @theplacelondon
Friday 14 November, @arnolfiniarts
Touch tours an hour before each show.
Promo by @dan_canham
With thanks to our funders and partners @aceagrams@accharitablesettlement@pervasivemediastudio@arnolfiniarts@theplacelondon@pdsw_org
#HalfLight #EmbeddedAudioDescription #DanceTheatre #ItsNeverTooEarlyForPyjamas
Fancy a Monday Half Light news sandwich?
A. There are still a few tickets left for the 4pm performances of Half Light at @theplacelondon on Tuesday 28 October and at @arnolfiniarts on Friday 14 November
B. The evening shows have now sold out
C. If you canât make a show, Holly recommends some very satisfying parks and pasties in @bristol247 My Bristol Favourites
Complementary condiments- Touch Tours and a guaranteed sunrise âď¸
ID: A screen shot of Bristol 24/7 feature with a photo of Holly crouching in front of the stained glass window at Trinity Arts
â°Calling Bristol!
We donât want to panic you butâŚ.as of this evening, (6 October)there are just two tickets remaining for our evening performance of Half Light at @arnolfiniarts on Friday 14 November and 16 left for the afternoon show.
Tickets via HeadFirst. You know what to do! đź
ID
A Half Light production photo of three performers gathered together, raising blue tooth speakers above their heads. Text from Headfirst Editorâs pick reads: âHolly Thomas recalibrates our senses with dance-theatre piece Half Light, blending storytelling, movement, and textured sound to refract her lived experience of visual impairment and parenthood. Eschewing conventional audio description, it conjures a multi-sensory realm where movement is inhabited as deeply through sound as it is through vision.â
#HearDanceDifferently #DanceLikeEveryoneIsListening #HalfLight #Arnolfini #Bristol
Show one done at beautiful @pdsw_org , where we leave our gratitude and a little bit of our hearts for the teamâs continued support, partnership and commitment to developing B&VI dance âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
And a big thank you too from all us to all of you at @dorset.blind . It was a treat to meet again!
ID: Happy Half Light team members gathered around a show poster on the terrace outside @pdsw_org , with the October sun shining down.
It's almost time!
Designed to be experienced by blind and visually impaired, and sighted audiences alike, Half Light decentres the visual and invites you to immerse yourself in a world where sight is not assumed.
This is what Isobel from our production week audience had to say about the work.đĽ
Come along to @pdsw_org on Saturday and dance like everyone is listening!
Shows at 2pm and 5.30pm with Touch Tours an hour before each show.
#HearDanceDifferently #DanceLikeEveryoneIsListening #EmbeddedAudioDescription
We are limbering up for Half Lightâs premiere next Saturday, 4 October at @pdsw_org
Decentering the visual, Half Light invites you to hear dance differently and immerse yourself in a world where sight is not assumed.
And we kindly invite the powers that be not to mess with disabled peopleâs Access to Work support. Let us work and make work!
We have shows at 2pm & 5.30pm with touch tours one hour before each show.
We promise to fight nicely, but by our rules đ
#HearDanceDifferently #HalfLight #AutumnTour #disabilityrightsarecivilrights
Hear Dance Differently this autumn with Half Light.
Designed to be experienced without the need for separate Audio Description for blind and visually impaired access, Half Light decentres the visual and foregrounds all that is heard and sensed.
Our tour opens at @pdsw_org on Saturday 4 October, and we couldnât be more excited to share our Half Light world with you!
Shows at 2pm and 5.30pm with Touch Tours an hour before each show.
Reel text reads: Hear Dance Differently. Half Light. Immerse yourself in a world where sight is not assumed. Decentering the visual, Half Light foregrounds the heard and the sensed, with scene stealing sound design by Dan Pollard. The sound of socked, sweeping steps with a volume icon underneath. Pavilion Dance South West, Saturday 4 October
