Cowpuncher

Choreographer Holly Blakey teams up with Oscar nominated producer Mica Levi and Andreas Kronthaler from the house of Vivienne Westwood on ‘Cowpuncher’; a one-off performance dripping in style and verve.

Picture the scene; sun rise on the plains of the wild west. An assembly of figures pulsate in the morning heat, moving slowly in time to the very first notes of Levi’s ambient opener. The music rises in line with the light, the dancers slowly start to wind their lassos, perfectly in sync, but each in their own style. After around ten minutes of building gradually to full-tilt lassoing, they break into their own narratives across the stage…

The scene is set and in that moment a new world is born.

Cowpuncher is another (far less romantic) term for a cowboy, and we witness the darker side of classic wild west motifs through the gestures, movements and relationships of each dancer on stage. It is a cruel terrain made all the more unforgiving by Levi’s brutal compositions. Cowpuncher is a stark and graphic watch, at times Lynchian (a saxophonist takes to the stage in an ill—fitting suit to serenade a solo dancer), but at the very same time, at all times, dangerously stylish.

Boy do we ever love the wild wild west.

We can’t imagine what it must feel like to put so much into a one-off performance; it feels like a shame that more people won’t have the opportunity to see the show, however, it crystallises Cowpuncher as a truly special one-off moment in time. You were either there, catapulted to a brave new terrain -or- you weren’t.

The experience was made that bit more special / surreal due to the fact that it was the brainchild of our friend Holly. We were awestruck. Check out Holly’s I AND ME Stories below and learn more here.