In Situ Solos (2021)

2020 the city was emptied, space created, space left alone. We were told to ‘stay’ and not go, becoming hypersensitive to the space around us. In Situ Solos presents six female dancers performing a programme of miniature solo dances based on unique movement scores, devised and created by choreographer Aisling McCormick, filmed by Elspeth Visher (Vish Films). These dances attempt to reimagine once familiar spaces in Belfast, finding the dance that moves them back into life in a fresh new way.

The idea stemmed from my curiosity about visiting different public spaces in Belfast city after the experience of lockdown. Even though these spaces may look the same, our relationship with the city has changed, and so these spaces contain great potential. I am also curious about finding ‘new theatres’, spaces outdoors where Covid restrictions are not a problem. I am also curious about female bodies being in those spaces and re-imagining them through dance.

So, I wandered the streets and hills of Belfast, from Black Mountain, Falls Road, all the way through the city centre to the Docklands. I reimagined these spaces and danced through them, filming and writing as I went. This process drew inspiration for writing movement scores that anyone really could take and interpret and dance in that space!