Looking back to the summer months, we are delighted to share a short video documenting one of the highlights of our summer programme – the collaboration between artist Moyna Flannigan and choreographer Janice Parker that brought Edinburgh its first presentation of Pina Bausch’s The Nelken Line.
A longtime admirer of the work of Pina Bausch, Moyna invited the first Edinburgh presentation of The Nelken Line, as part of her solo exhibition, Space Shuffle, specially devised for Collective.
The Nelken Line is an iconic processional piece that encapsulates the four seasons through a series of simple gestures. The legendary spring, summer, autumn, winter sequence is from one of Pina Bausch’s most celebrated works, Nelken, and is accompanied by a recording of Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five’s ‘West End Blues’ (1928).
Reflecting on Space Shuffle’s themes of space and time, choreographer and artist Janice Parker and dance artist Federica Cologna worked to situate The Nelken Line within Collective’s site on Calton Hill, engaging Edinburgh’s wider topographical and social history. The special iteration was performed several times over two hours at various sites on Calton Hill; devised as a durational performance of arrival and departure, across, through and around the land, its people and its buildings, connecting city and sea. Drawing together a group of local people from an open call, the performers wound their way amongst the historic monuments and panoramic city views of Calton Hill.
A special thank you to The Pina Bausch Foundation, PRS for Music, Moyna Flannigan, Janice Parker, Federica Cologna, Emma Hay (Edinburgh International Festival), Casey Miller (sound), Eoin Carey (photography), Rachel McBrinn (videography), and wider performers Alena Ageeva, Moira Berry, Anne Bonnar, Julie Boyne, Sorcha Carey, Dolly Dean, Frances Driscoll, Laurie Elliott, Suzanne Ewing, Sean McGarvey, Clare Mackie, Alice Mainstone, Ela Nagaj, Rosie Orr, Mark Saunders, Kate Temple and Anna York.
Presented with the kind permission of the Pina Bausch Foundation, in association with the exhibition: Moyna Flannigan: Space Shuffle, 28 June - 15 September 2024.
