Follow the Fidler

Matrafisc Dance Company, Soul's Paths, The Wonder Inn, 28 Oct 2016, 19:00

It is not every day that I am in on the birth of a new company or even at a premiere of a new work but that is precisely what happened last night when I attended the first performance of Soul's Path by the Matrafisc Dance Company and the Vonnegut Collective.

Despite my preview, Soul's Paths (27 Oct 2016), I had no idea what to expect.  The venue, The Wonder Inn, which is almost next door to the Shude Hill bus station in Manchester,  is indeed an inn or at least has a bar serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and some rather tempting cakes. I arrived at 18:30 and sat at one of the tables with a cup of coffee waiting for something to happen.

Shortly after 19:00 a trumpeter (Gary Farr) raised his instrument to his lips and started to play. He began near the entrance and made his way slowly past the tables to the far end of the bar.  I noticed members of the audience were following him so I got up and joined them. I glimpsed two of the women dancers (one of whom was my ballet teacher Carlotta Tocci) dancing on the counter.  The sound of the trumpet ebbed away and a violinist in a black top hat (Gemma Bass) began to play. Was she the pied piper mentioned in the preview? Apparently so!  Everybody followed her.

We were led through a series of rooms first on the ground floor and then upstairs in which different dancers performed solos or duets. Each of the rooms was decorated and dimly lit.  In one of the rooms, strings of bird shapes traversed the room.  In a rather lovely gesture, Ina Colizza pinned a card to one of the strings after she had completed her dance.

The tour of the building ended in a large room where chairs and cushions had been arranged along one wall for the audience. The violinist sat in the middle of that space. The percussionist, Harry Percy, sat with his instrument opposite her.  At one end of the room stood Norman Skip with his keyboard of electronic wizardry.  At the other stood the trumpeter.  The whole company appeared for the final dance in the centre which was thrilling for its exuberance and energy.

The production was unusual, imaginative and innovative. The dancers complemented the musicians beautifully. I was rather apprehensive about the Vonnegut Collective having played some of the recordings. The music they played for us last night was delightful.

After the artists had taken their bow Ina told us that we had just seen the first performance of the Matrafisc Dance Company. I think Manchester will take them to their hearts. And not just Manchester but audiences everywhere.

Soul's Paths

Manchester 1650

Source: Wikipedia

In the historic heart of Manchester not far from the Shambles and the cathedral off Shudehill there is a "creative wellness centre" known as "The Wonder Inn" whose focus is "to raise the vibrations of [the] community and the planet through the celebration of art." Classes and performances take place at The Wonder Inn from time to time,

One of those performances will be Soul's Paths in which my ballet teacher, Carlotta Tocci will dance. Carlotta is a very good teacher as I noted on Facebook when she first taught me:

"An excellent class at KNT in Manchester yesterday. A new teacher stood in for Ailsa. I didn't catch her name but she was very good and I do hope to attend another of her classes one day. She had a slight continental accent (though not sufficiently distinct to identify a country of origin) which suggests that she may have trained abroad. She was very friendly and had an encouraging smile."

She is also a very good dancer. I saw her in Northern Ballet School's summer show A Showcase of Dance  on 9 July 2015 in The Night Shift and singled her out for special mention (see my review of the performance (see Serendipity 15 July 2015).

Soul's Paths is described on the Wonder Inn's website as

"a result of a collaboration between Matrafisc Dance Company and Vonnegut Collective we present "Soul's paths", a site specific performance, grown around the idea of an inner journey that gradually goes deeper while experiencing the key themes of friendship, love, fraternal bond and sexuality. The journey itself starts the exact moment you step in."

There is not much on Matrafisc Dance Company's website right now but Vonnegut Collective's tells us that it is

"a Manchester-based chamber ensemble making new music relevant and accessible through improvisation and innovative collaborations."

Some of the ensemble's recordings can be played on the site. The music is certainly innovative; at least some of it appears to be improvised;  and it may well be relevant; but I am not sure about its accessibility as it may not appeal to everyone.

According to the Wonder Inn the show was:

"Born from a deep interest in life stories and what makes us humans, Soul’s Paths is a metaphor of our society. Sometimes we are just too busy to enjoy the little experiences of the life... With this performance they reflect on life’s complexity.
Follow Pied Piper (the violinist), through the building, from room to room, from scene to scene and explore in depth the challenges we all share."

The show has been choreographed by Ina Colizza and Antonello Apicella who will also dance with  Paula de la Puente, Giorgio De Carolis, Mariateresa Molino and, of course, Carlotta.

There will  be performances at 19:00 and 21:00 on 28 Oct 2016 and tickets cost £8.