Edinburgh's All or Nothing Aerial Dance Theatre will tour Scotland with a new outdoor, interactive production, The Swings, staged on a five-metre-high swing set.
The Swings will be performed at 23 outdoor venues from Saturday 26 June 2021, in Lerwick, Shetland, to Wednesday 18 August 2021, for the Lochwinnoch Arts Festival. Outdoor venues include town, city and country parks and gardens, community centres, an old bowling green, a city centre public square, a rugby pitch, and a car park.
The 15-minute aerial dance duet, performed at intervals throughout the day, was inspired by playground games and memories. Following every performance, audiences will be invited to have some time on the swings accompanied by a soundscape made up of memories, thoughts and feelings of being on a swing.
It was conceived by All or Nothing Dance Aerial Theatre's Artistic Director, Jennifer Paterson, who has also directed the production with Nic Green in collaboration with performers Chrissie Ardill, Claire Crook, Beverley Grant and Danuta Ramos, and designed by Becky Minto with sound design by Yas Clarke.
Paterson said, “the inspiration for The Swings came from spending time in a playpark as a mum, being around swings again and seeing how much joy they bring. Swings are so integral to your childhood. They are in almost every park. If you’re lucky, you have one in your garden, or maybe a rope swing on a tree. You hang about them as a teenager. The feeling of being on a swing and the excitement of building it up higher and higher never leaves you. It’s such a visceral feeling: the air rushing past your face, the laughing, the rise and fall of your stomach. Will you jump off? How high can you go? What tricks can you do?”