Fertile Ground returns to The Maltings with Myths and Dreams, an ambitious and innovative programme created by four choreographers. The Company’s new season combines dance, film and digital sculpture in an imaginative evening performed by the cast of top North East emerging professional dancers.

Opening the bill is Labyrinth, a cross-disciplinary work by Fertile Ground Artistic Co-Director Renaud Wiser, freely inspired by the myth of the Minotaur. In contrast with the classical narrative, in Labyrinth the Minotaur is portrayed as a symbol of hybridity representing the complexities of modern times. In our creative process the dancers are immersed in a virtual environment created by sculptor Marie Lelouche and develop choreography in response to her sculptures. On stage, the performers’ movement reveals this virtual maze brought to life by projections and a haunting sound design.

Next in the programme is Plubel by rising European choreographers Fabritia D’Intino and Clémentine Vanlerberghe. A finalist in Boris Charmatz’s Danse Élargie competition and performed at Sadler’s Wells in 2019, Plubel is a hypnotic piece that finds individuality within a group and questions how the female figure is represented in dance.

Finally, Fertile Ground’s Artistic Co-Director Malgorzata Dzierzon brings to the stage her new dance film Somnium. At the time of extended confinement during the pandemic, many of us have found ourselves sleeping and dreaming more. Somnium wants to capture and express our dreams, memories, anxieties and desires at this time of change. Somnium is a collaboration with filmmaker Filipe Alcada and composer Oliver Coates and is a Dance City 2021/22 Commission.