An Infinite Line of Merseyside dance

Our friends at Merseyside Dance Initiative are working on a whole host of interesting new projects at the mo, and this is one; a big three-year partnership that intends to explore the Merseyside coast through movement and dance. A new collaborative project with Fevered Sleep, a London-based company "with a reputation for producing challenging cross-art performances, interventions and installations and for their work exploring the natural environment", will see MDI produce An Infinite Line: Merseyside, a project inspired by the quality of natural light along our coast and estuaries, from West Kirby to Southport. They say as Merseyside is a place defined by movement - shifting landscapes and people, the ebbs and flows of the tides, river crossings, shipping traffic and coastal paths - so the project will draw on research with people who move around the region's coasts and estuaries as part of their daily lives; ferry captains, dog walkers, runners, cockle pickers, fishermen, shell collectors, meteorologists, swimmers, windsurfers, park rangers and so on. This will involve the development of 'public interventions and actions' around sites along the coastline, and the making and screening of a film capturing the project, celebrating Merseyside as a place that is always on the move. Rachel Rogers, project development manager at MDI says: "We are really excited to announce this partnership and to get it up and running. It will be a great opportunity for us to collaborate and create site-specific work with one of the UK’s most exciting performance companies. The project will also provide opportunities for local people, communities and artists to get involved so watch this space!’ David Harradine, artistic director of Fevered Sleep added: "I have been inspired by the infinite variability of Merseyside’s light for some time and I’m very much looking forward to starting my research trips this January. The opportunity to engage and collaborate with local communities as this piece develops, with the support of MDI, is very exciting."