Matthew Bourne has managed a difficult balancing act. Critically lauded while at the same time being described as the ‘the world's most popular living dance maker’ by Time magazine, he is also the focus of study for an increasingly wide variety of qualifications – his work being found on the syllabus for many GCSE, A Level and BTEC courses. It's safe to say he's a bit of a national treasure.
So it was with a fan's interest – I’ve loved the work of New Adventures since seeing Town and Country in 1991 – that I sat down to have a chat with Paul Smethurst, resident artist of the New Adventures company.
Implementing education
Smethurst is currently working on a long-term project in connection with Matthew Bourne's balletic re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet. The production aims to engage with vulnerable groups of young people (such as school refusers) through the power of community dance. He is currently working in Bradford before moving on to Barking and Dagenham for four-week stints, as the project tours the country. The young people involved in the East London project will be lucky enough to perform at Sadler's Wells on the Romeo and Juliet set, while the cast have their Monday rest day.
‘The company hope to inspire the next generation of dancers’
The company are also working with a scheme called 30 Tickets where the young people the company work with can choose the venue the company perform at, along with the opportunity to take part in workshops, with priority given to dance refugees.
If schools or colleges wish to access workshops from the New Adventures team, they must look for the Take Part section on the website. Paul refers to these as their ‘bread and butter’ – the workshops are made as bespoke as possible, tailored to the demands of the school. In the past, these have included ‘acting through movement’, ‘technical challenges’ and ‘creating choreography’, with the workshops available for half days and full days.
Originally working with the company as a performer, Smethurst wanted to develop his passion for teaching, and to give back to arts education. He says that working with young people is stimulating as they often have hungry minds and are very physically capable, able to make progress in such a short space of time.
Paul admits that he prefers the longer-term projects where he can see evidence of a deeper impact, where angry and vulnerable young people stand tall, start communicating with each other and let go of their pain. It also allows him to indulge in his love of creating dance work, which is not always possible in a school environment.
This leads us to discussing Matthew Bourne's interest in education work. Bourne believes that when it comes to education-based events, quality is tantamount, as the company wants to have as much engagement with young people as possible. For example, the current production of Romeo and Juliet has six young dancers, who will perform throughout the tour. In nurturing young talent, Bourne and the company hope to inspire the next generation of dancers.
Inside the mind of a visionary
While he is also an advocate for arts education, Smethurst is first and foremost a performer, and having worked so closely with Bourne, he has clear insights into his working methods. Inclusivity is at the forefront – ensuring that everybody in the company not only feels valued but is challenged and fulfilled by their work, giving it a family feel.
Smethurst also describes Bourne's musicality as incredible. Much of the choreography is drawn from the music; it comes first. Because of his immense passion for the music of the classical ballet repertoire, it is the source of much of what he does, such as re-interpreting the classics. The importance of the story for Bourne is often drawn from a certain feeling/aesthetic and then he’ll move forward from there. In the last few years he has been focusing on a more classical style with shows like The Red Shoes but now with Romeo and Juliet he has moved back to the strong movement work of something like The Car Man.
‘He is creating a piece of theatre, not a just a piece of dance’
Impactful storytelling
Stories and characters are also of high importance to him. This means he needs dancers who not only have a strong technical ability, but who can act too. They need to be able to be as expressive with their faces as they are with their bodies. For Bourne the story will always be the first thing on his mind, since he is creating a piece of theatre, not a just a piece of dance. And while Bourne is often accused of not being avant-garde enough, that's not really where his interest lies. Conveying a compelling narrative through a rich dance vocabulary is what excites him.
Smethurst also details Bourne's obsession with film: it is an encyclopedic knowledge that has made him interested in the visual impact of performance. Quite often his work starts with a storyboard, then music will be selected to soundtrack key moments, which the dance must fit to. This may mean that the performer only has a couple of minutes in which to express a relationship or convey an important plot point, but Bourne enjoys these creative restrictions as he feels it enhances the work, since every movement becomes nuanced, adding to the meaning of the story. This is different to how most contemporary companies work, where the movement comes first, and the music and visual impact are considered later.
With Matthew Bourne turning sixty next year, he is working through his detailed list of goals, while giving himself time to slow down. For the company, the next 5 years are about touring. For instance, Bourne's reimaging of The Nutcracker is set to tour, with emphasis still placed on the nurturing of future talent, exposing more and more young performers to his incredible work. Although there might be other challenges to come, one thing is for sure: Matthew Bourne loves running his own company, it is his one true love.
For more information about workshops with New Adventures, visit https://new-adventures.net/take-part/workshops