Co-curator James Russell talks about the ideas behind Dance Out, the new RWA exhibition celebrating dance in paintings, film, sound and live performance – from 20th-century dancefloors to Bristol’s contemporary nightlife.…
“… If you do know about art there’s plenty to explore, but Dance Out is an exhibition in which you can simply immerse yourself. Take a moment. Relax…”
The RWA’s new exhibition, Dance Out, takes that idea and runs with it – bringing together paintings, drawings and film that explore dance as an everyday human activity, while also transforming the galleries themselves into a space for music, movement and performance. Co-curated by David Remfry RA and art historian James Russell, the exhibition features major names alongside exciting contemporary voices.
We asked James about the thinking behind the show, its Bristol connections, and why visitors should feel free not only to look, but to listen, linger – and perhaps even dance…
Dance Out celebrates dance as something both social and solitary, everyday and extraordinary. What initially inspired the idea of making an exhibition around dance?
There were a few things that came together. I curated an exhibition of David Remfry’s watercolours and loved his dancers. Kathryn Johnson, RWA Head of Exhibitions, was keen to work again with Melanie Manchot, whose film ‘Dance All Night’ was shown at RWA in 2023. Nightlife has always been important in Bristol and recently there has been a resurgence of dance genres like Northern Soul. When you’re programming exhibitions you want to devote time and space to art history, but you also need to explore new ideas in new ways. Dance was perfect in this sense.
You’ve co-curated the exhibition with David Remfry RA, whose dancefloor watercolours are such an important part of the show. How did the two of you approach bringing together such a wide range of artists, periods and forms?
Every exhibition I’ve worked on has evolved in unexpected ways. With Dance Out David had several artists he wanted to include – Paul Dash, Tracey Emin, Denzil Forrester – so that was our starting point. From my end I considered all sorts of ideas and possibilities, and at one stage the show looked very different from how it turned out! Securing funding for Melanie Manchot’s ‘Night Moves’ was an important step. From there we decided to focus on paintings and film, bringing together artists who use their medium in innovative ways, all exploring dance as an aspect of everyday life but in contrasting ways.
The exhibition includes major names – Paula Rego, Tracey Emin, Gillian Wearing, Denzil Forrester and others – alongside newer voices. What kinds of conversations or connections did you want to create between these artists?
I tend to assemble artworks for a group show quite intuitively. It’s good to have variety, but also enough shared qualities that the works can be arranged harmoniously. In this instance quite a lot of the conversations and connections emerged naturally during the installation. Leaving film aside for a minute, an exhibition of paintings is unusual among cultural forms because it can be experienced in three dimensions. If you stand in the middle of the main galleries and look around you will see the shape of a dancing figure in one work echoed in the next, and then in another work on the other side of the room. A leaping figure on one wall has a counterpoint in a work on the opposite wall. There were specific comparisons I wanted to make, e.g. between David’s style of drawing and Paula Rego’s, but others emerged as we went along. The lively back-and-forth between Amy Dury’s paintings and Denzil Forrester’s came as a complete surprise!
Dance Out is not just an exhibition to look at – the RWA itself is becoming a space for dancing, music and performance during the run. How important was it to make the exhibition physically come alive in that way?
Early on in the planning process we decided that we were going to create a programme of events and activities that was integral to the exhibition. Not an add-on but part of it. People dancing in the main galleries among the dancers shown on the walls. Myles-Jay Linton, who DJs as d4rling, came to RWA with an exciting proposal for local DJs to ‘imagine the music in the paintings’ and create sets in response to the artworks. The Bristol-based company Beatblocks then came onboard to support the exhibition by installing one of their extraordinary haptic dance floors in the gallery. The DJs Devolicious and Josephine Gyasi meanwhile created playlists inspired by works in the show, and now the music they chose plays all day in the galleries from speakers inside this dance floor. Again, not an add-on but an integral part of this groundbreaking show. If anyone feels moved to dance, they can!
There’s a strong Bristol thread in the show, from contemporary nightlife to live dance events in the galleries. How do you see Dance Out connecting with the city around it?
I’m glad you mentioned this because one of the star attractions of the exhibition is Melanie Manchot’s film ‘Night Moves’, which was shot on location in Bristol last year and features six Bristol-based dancers and dance troupes. ‘Night Moves’ is the first film commissioned by the RWA, and it was funded by our own Commissioning Circle and by the Art Fund. It is a film about dance, of course, but it is also a thrilling tribute to our extraordinary city, seen both through its creative, characterful people (the dancers) and its unique qualities as a place. Presented as a five-screen installation it is beautiful and evocative but also wonderfully relevant to the TikTok age.
Through its dynamic outreach programme the RWA is far more deeply ingrained in the wider city of Bristol than people perhaps realise. Lots of the groups and organisations we work with are coming into the RWA during the run of the show so that people can dance or move in the space. It’s something that makes me very happy.
Finally, what would you say to someone who thinks they ‘don’t know much about dance’ – or even contemporary art – but is curious about coming to see the show?
Come! Marvel at ‘Night Moves’, enjoy the light and space and music in the main galleries, soak up the colour. There’s nothing you need to know, no expert knowledge. If you do know about art there’s plenty to explore, but Dance Out is an exhibition in which you can simply immerse yourself. Take a moment. Relax.
Dance Out runs at the RWA until 9 August 26. More info here.
Free unlimited entry for Friends of the RWA
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