On the stretch: Phoenix Dance Theatre dancers in Interplay, premiering at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Drew Forsyth
LEEDS company Phoenix Dance Theatre returns to York Theatre Royal for tomorrow and Saturday’s world premiere performances of Interplay.
Presented in association with the Theatre Royal, this powerful mixed bill brings together work by international choreographers Travis Knight and James Pett (Pett Clausen-Knight), Ed Myhill, Yusha-Marie Sorzano and Phoenix artistic director Marcus Jarrell Willis.
Chief executive Paul Crewes, who has overseen a surge in dance performances at York Theatre Royal, says: “We are delighted to support Phoenix Dance Theatre with the premiere of Interplay and to give York audiences the first opportunity to see this eclectic and dynamic programme of contemporary dance performed on our stage.”
Introducing Interplay, Marcus says: “This dynamic programme celebrates creative collaboration, placing dialogue, contrast and connection at its heart.”
Across duet and ensemble works, Interplay explores themes of duality and shared authorship, revealing how distinct artistic voices can intersect to create something greater than the sum of their parts.
“Each piece offers a unique perspective, united by a bold physicality and a deep curiosity about human relationships, rhythm and collective experience,” says Marcus.
Originally premiered in New York in 2013, Willis’s Next Of Kinhas been re-imagined for Phoenix to highlight the duet’s exploration of the subtle humour and tension between two kindred spirits navigating life together.
Ed Myhill’s Why Are People Clapping?!, restaged by Camille Giraudeau, is set to Steve Reich’s Clapping Music and uses rhythm as its driving force. Combining wit with precision, the choreography highlights the music of life: how rhythm can be found in a tennis match, footsteps in an empty street and in the beat of our own hearts.
In Travis Knightand James Pett’s Small Talk, two figures inhabit a shared yet distant space. Through quiet gestures and unresolved tension, the work reflects on relationships that fade, not through catastrophe, but through the slow exhaustion of time.
The work showcases a portrait of two people held in a fragile stand-off, suspended between what they once knew and what they can no longer admit.
Interplay concludes with a new collaboration between Yusha-Marie Sorzano and Marcus Jarrell Willis. Inspired by ritual, meditation and the roots of hip-hop and house culture, Suite Release reclaims dance as instinct, resistance and communal connection and joy, inviting audiences not only to witness movement, but also to remember it.
Marcus says: “I’ve always found it intriguing to observe dual artistic expression: the ways two creative minds come together and collaboratively work towards one goal in creation, while maintaining their individual artistic expressions.
“The programme consists of different forms of artistic duality, through choreographic voices, as well as the structure of the dance works themselves. I think it will be interesting for an audience to see a full programme that focuses on this particular theme – duality – while highlighting a range of different works.”
Marcus continues: “I wanted to commission choreographers that have unique perspectives of what contemporary dance looks like today, which is what I believe Phoenix Dance Theatre stands for in this iteration of the company.
“While the works are all linked by the theme of duality, the mixed bill offers something for every audience member from any background to connect with. The choreographers themselves come from various backgrounds across the UK and internationally, providing the opportunity to see dance through multiple lenses.”
Marcus, who became Phoenix’s ninth artistic director in Autumn 2023 after seven years in Cardiff, concluded his first tour – Belonging – at York Theatre Royal in May 2024. “This is our first time back in York since then, and I’m excited about maintaining our relationship,” he says. “It’s a lovely theatre, where the audience received the company so well and we so enjoyed our post-show discussion, when, as whenever possible, we had the entire company involved because it’s good for them.”
Now Interplay, as its title suggests, “taps into what it means to have ‘interplay’ in different forms that we can bring together, either through choreographic partnerships or duo pieces, so it’s all about dual relationships and duos pairing up, “ says Marcus. “In this case, we have two re-shaped works, Next Of Kin and Why Are People Clapping?!, and two new creations, Small Talk and Suite Release.”
Highlighting the creative partnerships, he says: “Travis Knightand James Pett regularly create together. I believe they’re based in London but they work all over the place.
“Suite Release, a title that’s a play on words, brings me together with a choreographer that I’ve danced with for many years, Yusha-Marie Sorzano.
“We decided to do a piece about music and our relationship with music, and how we grew up together and lived our lives, so it’s a bit of a party! I’m originally from Eastern Texas, Musha was from Trinidad, then grew up in Mexico, and we met as teenagers in New York City.
“So this work is about remembering; remembering how to move and dance and connect to music – and that comes from our experiences and universal feelings, because our dance company is so diverse.
“That’s why we hit the sweet spot with Suite Release, remembering why we dance and thinking about what that means when we’re living in a world with so much weight in it, so much going on, where we need a release.”
Interplay encapsulates his artistic philosophy. “New York was so varied in its possibilities and artistic approaches, and I’m just cracking on with what I do with Phoenix,” he says.
Phoenix Dance Theatre presents Interplay, in association with York Theatre Royal, at York Theatre Royal, February 27, with post-show discussion; February 28, 2pm and 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatrerotal.co.uk. Also Leeds Playhouse, March 31 to April 2, 7.30pm; 0113 213 7700 or leedsplayhouse.co.uk.