Created for
Richard Alston Dance Company
 
Music

Claudio Monteverdi

Lighting

Martin Lawrance

Costumes

Peter Todd 

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Duration

32 minutes

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Originally danced by a cast of

4 women 5 men 

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Video Excerpt

Filmed by Marco Benozzi and Steve Jackman at Malvern Theatres. 

Edited by Steve Jackman. Produced by The Place.

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This is the fourth dance I’ve made to the music of Monteverdi – a Monteverdi piece I made for Ballet Rambert was also called Voices and Light Footsteps (from Henry James’ description of Venice in the evening), but this is a new piece.

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Monteverdi wrote not only sensually expressive music for voice but also dances of light-footed rhythm. With Orfeo, Monteverdi more or less invented opera. A duet for Orpheus and Euridice, utterly forbidden to look at each other as they leave the underworld is the extract on the video.

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Voices and Light Footsteps is dedicated to the memory of Belinda Quirey, a formidable authority on historical dance and for me an utterly inspiring teacher.

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First performed at Festival Theatre Edinburgh on 27 September 2019. Under the title Arrived, parts of this dance were commissioned by Virginia Arts Festival. First performed at Chrysler Hall, Norfolk Virginia on 21 March 2019.