Bock and Vincenzi  

The Invisible Dances was a theatre work presented in three acts over three years.

Each act was drawn from a repertoire of work developed during a five-year research period – as well as responding to the different spaces, times and contexts in which they were presented. The performers, both blind and sighted, inhabit a series of musical, spoken and visual texts that remain unseen/unheard by an audience.

Elegiac in its search for narrative, The Invisible Dances presented a disturbing visual world of abandonment and beauty.

''The most complex and unsettling work in the Biennale… a 150 minutes of tension without a climax, incapable of bursting, captured in a dimension of incommunicability.''
La Republica 2005

''As the piece ends in roaring darkness, it’s as if we finally join [the performers]. And you’d be amazed at just what a blast that is.''
The Observer 2006

The Invisible Dances
A Theatre work
2004 - 2006

Conceived by Bock & Vincenzi Directed and Designed by Simon Vincenzi
Choreography: Frank Bock Composer: Luke Stoneham  Lighting Designer: Chahine Yavroyan  Video: Andrew MacGregor
Production Management Koen Van Geene
Project Management Nicky Childs

Act 1

PRELUDE
Duration: 30m

Performed by:
Frank Bock, Jonathan Burrows, Gary Clarke, Mette Edvardsen, Rose English, Koen Van Geene, Luke Stoneham & Yen Thou.

Artwork by Duncan MacAskill
Texts by Fiona Templeton and James Brown
Video extract from The Red Shoes by Powell & Pressburger
Production assistant Lyndsey Housden

Commissioned as part of Snagged and Clored.
Performed at The Clore Studio, Royal Opera House 30th / 31st July 2004

Act 2

L' Altrove
Duration: 2h 30m

Performers: Frank Bock, Gary Clarke, Theo Cowley, Rose English, Valentina Formenti, Joanna Fong, Tim Gebbels, Mary Herbert, Nanette Kincaid, Navraj Sidhu, Luke Stoneham, Mike Taylor & François Testory.

Sound design: Bill Birtchnell  Text: Fiona Templeton & James Brown
Translation of 'invisible dances… from afar' spoken by Valentina Formenti
Costumes made by Sonja Harms
Black Show Boy Head-dress by Mr Pearl
Production assistant: Frances Scott

Performed at Teatro alle Tese, Venice Arsonale. September 15th & 16th 2005 as part of 37th Edition of the Venice International Theatre Biennale.
 Produced by: La Biennale di Venezia in association with the British Council; with support by Dance4, Laban, Queen Mary’s College and Arts Council – England.

Act 3

Here, As If They Hadn't Been, As If They Are Not.
an epilogue
The Invisible Dances

Duration: 1h 30m

Performers:
Frank Bock, Gary Clarke, Theo Cowley, Rose English, Valentina Formenti, Joanna Fong, Tim Gebbels, Mary Herbert, Nanette Kincaid, Navraj Sidhu, Luca Silvestrini, Mike Taylor & François Testory.

Text: James Brown
Costume construction: Sonja Harms
Production assistant: Frances Scott

Performed at: NOTTDANCE06, Nottingham; 4th May 2006; KunstenFESTIVALdesArts, Brussels 18th, 19th, 20th May 2006; Laban Theatre, London 30th, 31st may 2006; British Council Showcase, Roubaix

Funded by Arts Council England, Dance4, KunstenFESTIVALdesArts, and Laban.