Dog Ballet: A film

What do dogs mean to you?

Dog Ballet celebrated the community around the dogs and dog owners of London, and the joy and tenderness that can be found in these relationships of mutual care.

Over the course of the summer of 2021, artists Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari, with Amy Pitt and Lewis Gibson, spoke to people in the parks of London about their dogs. The recorded conversations were mixed with the profoundly beautiful music of composer Lewis Gibson, to create Dog Ballet Solo, a soundscape to watch dogs play by.

Dog Ballet launched with an in-person collective listening experience and dog minigolf at Alfred’s Meadow in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Dog Ballet Solo was available for free online for 8 weeks so anyone could listen to in their own local park to transform the everyday act of dog walking into something poetic and playful.

Dog Ballet was presented by Artsadmin and  LIFT. It was part of Artsadmin’s What Shall We Build Here festival of art, climate and community and the LIFT LOVES LONDON summer season of art to recharge the city and renew London. The project was generously supported by ACT (Art, Climate, Transition) through the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, Arts Council England, Here For Culture and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The film, commissioned by the British Council, was shot and edited by Paul Cochrane, with music by Lewis Gibson.