IN March 2007, 75 performers aged from 7 to 75, many of whom hadn’t danced before, came together for Wolves, an intergenerational dance production formed by the Glasgow-based dance company Barrowland Ballet.
Using movement and live music to explore the ideas we have about bodies and minds from childhood through teenage years, middle-age and later life, their production was a hit, gaining a five-star review from The Herald.
This month the company, which is built around the artistic work of choreographer Natasha Gilmore, takes another, smaller production (also called Wolves) on tour to Edinburgh, Stirling, Inverness, Musselburgh and Paisley.
Further investigating some of the ideas from the original production, Wolves 2018 brings together some of the dancers from that original show, many of whom share family connections, such as award-winning playwright Davey Anderson, who performs alongside his nine-year-old daughter Rosa, and highly-acclaimed folk musician Mairi Campbell, who sings, dances and plays her viola along with her teenage daughter Ellen.
The youngest members of the cast are Gilmore’s own two sons, while 69-year-old Irene Kelso is the oldest.
“That intimacy has allowed for a playfulness which has informed the work, as well as people’s own personal experiences,” says Gilmore, after noting that a key question of this production is how we go about choosing our paths in life as we grow up.
“Is it about acting on the advice of older people, or rebelling against those ideas?” she says. “Is it more about being brave enough to forge your own path, and to what extent is that idea itself informed by other older people?”
The company recently launched the Wolf Pack, a free intergenerational company in Glasgow for participants aged seven to 90 years old. They perform on March 2 at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal as part of community dance festival Go Dance.
Before that, there’s these dates, for which the wolf metaphor works well, as Gilmore further explains.
“There’s that idea of the lone wolf versus the wolf pack,” she says. “That idea of the lone wolf pushing against the family, which is what teenagers do to create space for themselves to grow.
“That can be frightening and challenging, but, like in later life, there are instances when you do just have to step off the path yourself.”
Today [Feb 17], Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 2.30pm and 7.30pm, £10, £8 concs. Tel: 0131 5296000 edtheatres.com
Tomorrow [Feb 18], Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, 4pm, £8.50. Tel: 01786 466666 macrobertartscentre.org
Feb 19, Eden Court, Inverness, 7pm, £10, £8 concs. Tel: 01463 234234 eden-court.co.uk
Feb 23, The Brunton, Musselburgh, 7.30pm, £12, £10 concs. Tel: 0131 665 2240 thebrunton.co.uk
Feb 24, Paisley Arts Centre, 4pm and 7.30pm, £10, £8 concs. Tel: 0300 300 1210 renfrewshireleisure.com/arts barrowlandballet.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here