SURGE :

IN2IT
8 hours ago
3 min read

When the body meets the digital

What happens when the human body is pushed to the limits of evolution – and technology starts breathing down our necks? In SURGE from Tom Dale Company, this is not a theoretical question, but a physical experience you feel in your body.

SURGE is an immersive and sensual performance where dance, light and sound merge into one vibrant whole. Created during the pandemic, the work has since moved and fascinated audiences around the world, and it's easy to understand why: This is performing art that is not just seen – it is experienced.

With a futuristic and thought-provoking expression, the performance opens up a visual and musical landscape where the audience does not remain passive spectators. Instead, we are drawn into a universe where the boundaries between humans and technology, body and digital reality, are constantly shifting. Tom Dale himself describes the work as more than a solo, it is a duet between the dancer and the digital landscape created by Barret Hodgson (Vent Media).

At the heart of SURGE lies a disturbingly current thought: Humanity is pushing against the limits of evolution, while the digital world attempts to recreate life. We increasingly share the planet with a new life force – technology. This tension vibrates throughout the performance.

The result is an experience that contains something rare: It engages both the experienced art audience and those who are usually outside the performing arts. There is no answer here, only room for individual interpretations. The audience is drawn deeper and deeper into it – and many leave with the feeling of having been changed, if only a little.

Press review:

"A mesmerizing union of sound and movement" (The Guardian).

"Dazzling, ingenious, thought provoking" (Culture Whisper).

Others have drawn lines to both Blade Runner , 90s club culture and cyberpunk – while at the same time experiencing the performance as deeply rooted in our own time: a tightly composed and genuinely original collaboration between performer, choreographer, music and design.

ABOUT

Tom Dale Company is a British dance company that has distinguished itself with groundbreaking performances at the intersection of contemporary dance and digital art since 2010. Under the direction of choreographer and artistic director Tom Dale, the company creates bold, immersive performing arts experiences where body, technology and space merge.

The company is known for bringing together strong multidisciplinary artist teams and for its experimental expression, which challenges audiences’ perceptions of movement and reality. Their critically acclaimed productions include Rise , I Infinite , Refugees of the Septic Heart , Step Sonic and Digitopia , the latter winning Outstanding Production at the UK Theatre and Technology Awards. Most recently, SURGE has received rave reviews nationally and has won Jemima Brown a National Dance Award for Outstanding Performance.

Tom Dale is a graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and has previously danced for leading choreographers and companies, including Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, before devoting himself fully to his own artistry.

SURGE will be experienced in the Opera Hall at Normoria on March 7th, presented as part of a Double Bill.

Watch the trailer here :

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/79d535_b8c786ac5ea4425991ed2efbfedd8285/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Jemima Brown fremfører både dans og livevokal.