Projects

Dance In The Lane was Pugmill's first production performed on home turf, Dartmoor National Park.

 

Have a read about our project with Villages In Action below. 

 

Villages In Action commissioned Pugmill Dance & Company, a dance-theatre company from Dartmoor National Park, to create a pop-up dance performance for the agricultural event 'Widecombe Fair'!

 

The company used the famous traditional song about 'Uncle Tom Cobley and All' that is associated with the fair to create a short contemporary dance work, made to perform outdoors at the Fair's 'Green Stage'.

 

Artistic director of Pugmill, Jonny Hibbs, used his connection to Dartmoor and his experience living in a remote part of the National Park to create the work. Having gone to the fair growing up (Widecombe Primary School students would get the day of school to attend!), Jonny says he enjoyed finding ways in which his dance practice could be directly related to a staple event from the community that he is from. 

 

Jonny says,

"Widecombe fair is really special to those on Dartmoor. Its purpose as an agricultural fair has changed over the years, but the showing of livestock and the selling of produce remains at the heart of the fair. To bring contemporary dance to a rural event like this one meant that we had to think carefully about how dance-theatre could be included in the rich make-up of what already happens at the fair. We wanted to bring something new, find new audiences of contemporary dance but also respect the core values that Widecombe Fair has and make sure that the work was coming from lived experiences of Dartmoor."

 

The dance depicted 'Uncle Tom's' infamous journey across the moor to the fair and was performed to original music. Ricardo Ludgero Souza, an emerging dance artist, performed the work and Jonny choreographed the movement and composed the music. 

 

Collaboration is a key part of Pugmill's process. When talking about how the show was made, Jonny says

 

"We aim to break down hierarchy in the rehearsal process as much as possible. We each have respected roles, dancer or choreographer, and have different tasks in either performing or creating, but I think good work can be made when each role is considered by the other. Both dancer and choreographer need each other to make the work and it's just recognising small details like this, and championing them in the room, that helps make it a playful and rewarding process for everyone."

 

Ricardo Ludgero, who had their first time at Widecombe Fair this year, said:

"The fair is strange but in a great way! It's like going back in time! It didn't feel like people knew what we were until we started doing the show, but I think that's a great thing! People watched and hopefully we brought some dance to people who wouldn't normally watch it. And it didn't rain!"

 

Pugmill is currently working on its first full length production after sharing a work in progress at Theatre Royal Plymouth earlier in the summer. The show is a queer story from Dartmoor National Park. This ties in with the company's new Dartmoor Queer Archive, an initiative to connect and support LGBT people that live rurally in Devon.

 

Pugmill is also introducing a hybrid (online and in-person) dance training scheme for those in rural areas aged 16+, which will be piloting soon. 

You can find out more about Pugmill Dance & Company on their website www.pugmilldance.com and on Instagram @pugmill_

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