Invited guests including the Lord Mayor were the first to see “Samadhi” an immersive digital dance installation in the Chester Visual Arts space in the Grosvenor Shopping Centre.
Samadhi is an immersive digital dance installation created by Fallen Angels Dance Theatre. It was created with people in recovery from substance use and/or mental health conditions in Chester and Liverpool. In many Indian religious traditions, Samadhi is described as a state of higher consciousness where the individual mind transcends the limitations of ordinary perception and merges with the universal consciousness. The installation combines dance with augmented reality twists to the performance by Noel Jones, enhanced by an ethereal soundscape composed by Tom Ashbook and costumes created by oH Chester Design Foundation designer Alena Kudera.
The 14 minute installation is part of the Recovery month exhibition – a collection of artwork made by local people in recovery to celebrate the therapeutic value of art on a mental health/ addiction recovery journeys.
digital technologist Noel Jones, who has added startling augmented reality twists to the performance, enhanced by an ethereal soundscape composed by Tom Ashbook. and costumes by costumes created by oH Chester Design Foundation designer Alena Kudera.
Fallen Angels Dance Theatre was founded in 2011 by professional dancers Paul Bayes Kitcher and Claire Morris. They started work in Chester in 2014 and have expanded to Liverpool, Manchester and Ellesmere Port , and are the only company in the UK providing dance theatre experiences for people in recovery from addiction. The group hold regular meetings at Storyhouse and support people to transform their lives and share their recovery journey through dance, performance and creativity.
Paul has lived experience of addiction and recovery and his practice recognises the complex barriers many face, including mental health issues, disability and neurodiversity. Speaking at the event co founder Claire Morris said that “people do recover from addiction and mental health adversity. We often see in our towns the adversity and the challenge, but not so much the championing and celebrating of recovery. Its important for us to be visible so that someone who is challenged might just reach out. ”
The Recovery Month exhibition includes artwork created by clients of the local drug service for Cheshire West as well as a photography project “Recovery in Focus” from Wrexham.
The Recovery Month exhibition also includes a short Making of film produced by well know local photographer Sam Ryley. The exhibition has been funded by Arts Council England.
After its Chester debut Samadhi will be part of an exhibition at The Turnpike Gallery in Leigh. The exhibition, called Beyond The Surface which will celebrates 10 years of Chester’s Fallen Angels impactful work in the Greater Manchester town.
You can see “Samadhi” at Chester Visual Arts, in Grosvenor Shopping Centre: 19 – 29 September. Open Thurs- Sunday 11-4
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