Miss Rosen meets husband-and-wife team Russell Maliphant and Dana Fouras, who tell her about their new programme maliphantworks3 at London’s Coronet Theatre
Olivier Award-winning choreographer Russell Maliphant and Dana Fouras are an extraordinary duo who have discovered the secret to longevity: cultivating creativity, expansion, and growth rooted in a 25-year partnership on and off the stage.
“We have a shared aesthetic and some shared history of dance styles,” the husband-and-wife team tell me. “There is a trust that has been built over many years of looking at things together. When on stage we have a telepathic listening that we hope to physicalise.”
This telepathy allows them to explore elements of dance, music, and film in a unique and often compelling way as principals of the critically acclaimed Russell Maliphant Dance Company. This season, they return to London’s Coronet Theatre for a third season with maliphantworks3, a programme that includes the premiere of The Space Between – a duet Mailphant and Fouras developed with video artist Panagiotis Tomaras – along with two specially commissioned films made in collaboration with photographer Julian Broad, and a revival of 2018’s Duet.
The Space Between explores multiple layers of the couple’s relationship, which unfold before the audience in a mesmerising amalgamation of dance, music, video, and costume. “There is not always the opportunity to experience the non-verbal communication prominently in day-to-day life, whereas on stage it is the primary focus,” Fouras says. “There are many interpretations of the title and we can imagine it on a purely physical level or on an emotional or psychological level. We hope to create the freedom to reference all of those elements and we also have the freedom to be authentic within the moment of live stage performance.”
The intimacy of the Coronet Theatre is perfectly suited to showcase the pair’s work, creating sight lines that deepens their connection to the audience – and vice versa. “The illusionary quality of dance performance and stagecraft was always present in the studio during my education,” Fouras says. “Working with Russell has just deepened this experience further.”
“Each piece is informed by its collaborators and performers, so those elements are always present in the way I imagine a work during creation,” Maliphant adds.
The couple’s holistic approach to expanding perceptions is beautifully evidenced in the pairing of Panagiotis Tomaras’ video work, which is projected upon Stevie Stewart’s costume designs for The Space Between. “Stevie found tones and textures that worked well in the projected light that also has the ability to act as a good surface for the animation,” Fouras says. “Panagiotis’ video projections both conceal and reveal elements of the figure. The projections paint organic forms that texture the space and the dancer, fluidly shifting the energy and mood through space.”
This sense of fluidity informs every aspect of maliphantworks3 and becomes the uniting force that brings together the varied elements of each piece into an exquisite symphony of sight, sound, and motion that will take your breath away.
maliphantworks3 is at The Coronet Theatre until February 22, 2020.
