NIGEL CHARNOCK, L’EXTRAORDINAIRE PHYSICALITÉ

Nigel Charnock (1960–2012) was one of the great dancers of the modern world. Also a choreographer, company director, writer, and theater director, he sought to transcend the traditions and superficiality of dance. He was known for his remarkable displays of energy and physical commitment, as well as his masterful use of self-deprecating irony.

Graham Clayton-Chance met Nigel Charnock at the beginning of his career and gradually built up a rich archive of film footage about him. Here, he presents excerpts from seminal works.

MY SEX, OUR DANCE (1986)
This piece marks the birth of Charnock’s artistic identity, when he founded his company, DV8 Physical Theatre, with Lloyd Newson, as a radical duo. The physicality is violent, extreme, and deliberately uncomfortable: the two men explore the meaning of trust in a context of danger (AIDS, Section 28).

YOU (2015)
A reinterpretation of one of Charnock’s iconic solos, this piece is a physical and verbal burlesque comedy that reveals dark truths about love, sex, and relationships.

STILL (2015)
An excerpt from the piece *Still* (2009) for Candoco Dance Company (a pioneer in inclusive dance), the film isolates a male duo in a moment of attraction and mistrust.

LUNATIC (2020)
Lunatic (2009) explores nationality, gender, class identity, and gender fluidity, set against a collision of music from the 1930s–1950s and 1990s pop.

10 MEN (2012)
Nigel Charnock was in the midst of creating *Ten Men*, an all-male play, when he passed away. The film captures the infectious energy of the rehearsals, revealing “a joyful immediacy.”