Music Editor Liza Glushak reviews Manchester Collective’s collaboration with Thick & Tight, applauding Papillons for being a creative and immersive tale of species endangerment and hope.
‘Papillons’ is French for ‘butterflies’, and Manchester Collective’s collaboration with dance duo Thick & Tight is an interpretative exploration of what happens when butterflies begin to lose their colour amidst environmental degradation. It is mournful, and yet alive in its creativity.
It is mournful, and yet alive in its creativity.
To be completely transparent, I am terrified of butterflies. When I was ten years old, my family took me to a butterfly conservatory in Germany, which sounds rather magical, but all I remember was feeling claustrophobic in the swarm of butterflies and crying, begging for my mum to take me home. Since then, my impression has been tainted by fear despite the undeniable beauty of butterflies.
The Papillons show, however, moved me deeply. Consisting of only four performers on stage – cello player Laura van der Heijden, electronic and visual artist CHAINES, and the Thick & Tight duo, its effect was grand. Papillons began with a descriptive audio introduction of the four artists, transcribed on the screen behind, a feature which ensured accessibility. As a non-disabled person, I still found this to be a potent detail that ensured my immersion into what I was both seeing and hearing.
The four artists used the stage freely; at a certain point, Thick & Tight could be seen stretching on the side, as CHAINES and van der Heijden captivated the audience with their music. In another moment, CHAINES was lounging on the stage, looking back at the screen. This created a unique familiarity between the stage and the audience. With minimal staging, Papillons was intimate, like a whisper.
With minimal staging, Papillons was intimate, like a whisper.
Van der Heijden noted that her love for the cello is partially due to its sound resembling a human voice. Perhaps that’s precisely why when I heard its sound, I felt like I was being directly spoken to. Adding CHAINES’s clever electronic manipulation of the instrument, the sense of alarm and immediacy of butterflies’ fading vibrancy and our role in that played feverishly in my mind. With the venue completely dark, except for vertical light sticks surrounding the performance, the spectacle was profoundly meditative; it felt like a full-body experience.
Thick & Tight’s choreography reflected the fluttering of butterflies, moving tactfully to the rhythm of the cello. The audio description outlined how they wanted to avoid being too literal in their interpretation, which was a success, as it kept me on my toes, not knowing what kind of movements to expect next. I enjoyed seeing the synthesis between the two dancers – it felt natural and open, clearly a product of the duo’s trust in each other, as well as attentiveness to the musical metaphor. My only criticism would be the slight disproportion between the magnitude of the cello’s sound and the smallness of the movements. At times, I found myself thinking that the dancers were overshadowed by the music.
A highlight for me was the feature of the Camberwell Incredibles, an arts community comprising adults with learning disabilities and special needs. Their singing, painting and mental associations they vocalised in response to the sound of van der Heijden’s interpretation of Kaija Saariaho’s Sept Papillons was as unique and varied as the colour of the butterflies. Although Papillons handled an arguably disheartening topic of endangerment, the collaborative nature of this performance gave it a sense of hope and optimism. If we come together, all from different backgrounds and perspectives, perhaps we can find a solution with our shared compassion.
Although Papillons handled an arguably disheartening topic of endangerment, the collaborative nature of this performance gave it a sense of hope and optimism.
During the final part of the performance, van der Heijden switched from the classical cello to its electric counterpart. This was actually my first time seeing or hearing an electric cello, which, unlike the original, is a carcass-like structure, stripped of its wooden flesh. The audio description, in CHAINES’s voice, noted its resemblance to a colourless butterfly. In my head, I thought the electric cello, though sonically just as powerful, was an echo of the classical, just like a fading butterfly is a ghost of the distinctly vibrant creature.
As the music drew to a close, CHAINES increased their distortion of van der Heijden’s cello, turning the sound into a beautifully haunting cry. If a classical cello is similar to a human voice, then this one felt like a butterfly’s plea for protection.
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