Non-Place
Non-place is a contemporary ballet composed by Connor D’Netto and Matt Lomax for the Cat’s Cradle Collective. Working with 30 students from the Central School of Ballet, it resulted in a multimedia performance of dance, music and visuals.
Connor and Matt about Non-Place:
The strange contrast of traveling yet not able to move your yourself, crammed into a busy carriage, a small seat, a traffic jam, a queue, in a sea of bodies, a blur of faceless individuals, nervous, tense, going through the motions . . .
Music
Introduction (Connor D’Netto + Matt Lomax) — full ensemble with electronics
nowhere moving (Connor D'Netto) — bass clarinet, percussion, piano and electronics
Antithesis Space (Matt Lomax) — cello and electronics
Conclusion (Connor D’Netto + Matt Lomax) — full ensemble with electronics
Passer-by is played by the whole ensemble, subtly intertwined with electronics. Connor and Matt method of composition was equally intertwined, with each one composing strands of sound that were then tied and layered together.
Nowhere Moving is a movement composed by Connor, for trio and electronics. Each musician also plays some elements of percussion, that violently ricochets through the whole performance space.
Performance Story
non-place examines our relationships to familiar spaces, identity and anonymity in modern society. Inspired by the ideas of French anthropologist Marc Auge, non-place creates an all-encompassing experience bringing together contemporary dance, expansive visuals, and a new collaboratively composed score featuring 15-piece chamber orchestra and lush live electronics. Rich, intense, familiar yet surreal, non-place holds an otherworldly looking glass to the commonplace spaces of everyday life. (text by Connor D’Netto and Matt Lomax)
Performance History
Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music, London. April 2019
Performed as part of the RCM Great Exhibitionists Concert Series.