Be Like Water

Following an enthusiastic response from audiences and national press following the premiere of Be Like Water (Nov 2012) the show – co-commissioned by New Art Exchange, Royal Opera House (ROH2), London and Dance4 – will tour nationally in February 2013.

The piece began with Hetain wanting to recreate a scene from a kung fu movie that he loves. He knew it would be performative but without knowing whether it would become a video or live piece.

It became both: a video installation, The First Dance and also a live work Be Like Water.

Be Like Water became a meeting place for Hetain’s live and video practice which features in the show, and like TEN, has been dev

But after TEN, Hetain knew he didn’t want to speak on stage in his own voice. To repeat this would have felt too comfortable. Instead he would speak in Chinese or use subtitles.

It started as a solo piece, but through a chance experiment with dancer Shelley Maxwell, things changed and Hetain became interested in asking a female performer to be his translator, avatar, or somewhere in between.

Event Details:

2 February – Rich Mix, London, UK
5 February – Lakeside Arts Centre, Nottingham, UK
7 February – Pavilion Dance, Bournemouth, UK
12 February – LICA, Lancaster, UK
14 February – Contact, Manchester, UK
15 February – Contact, Manchester, UK

For more information go to:

http://www.hetainpatel.com/be-like-water-royal-opera-house-premiere/

Creative Team

Concept, text and choreography: Hetain Patel
Performers: Hetain Patel & Yuyu Rau
Digital Artist: Barret Hodgson
Music: Ling Peng
Light designer: Jackie Shemesh
Dramaturgy: Michael Pinchbeck & Eva Martinez
Moving image adviser: Lucy Cash
Additional choreographic input: Shelley Maxwell, Susanna Recchia, Aurea Romero, Sarita Piotrowski
Producer: Gwen van Spijk

Development Credits:
Co-commissioned by Royal Opera House (ROH2), London, Dance4 and New Art Exchange, Nottingham. Development supported by Broadway Media Centre, Lakeside Arts Centre and Hatch, Nottingham, and South East Dance, Brighton.