In 2000 Jamie and Wendy began to explore the possibilities of using bungee to enhance dance movement on the ground.

“The technique is always evolving. We constantly notate our findings and implement it into our work. Just like Cunningham and Laban define movement and detail how to the use the body to provide movement true to the technique, we do the same with regards to our technique”.

It has taken a lot of research to get to where we are today. There are loads of things to think about when wanting to look like a dancer on stage rather than an aerialist who is obviously attached to a rope.

We have been through many harnesses (full body and sit), tried several different pick-up points, and used up hundreds of metres of bungee cord to finally reach a tried and tested formula for any required effect that we may need for performance.

Trips to New Zealand helped us refine our requirements for the perfect bungee harness. We now make our own harnesses that are specifically for this type of work. They pick up at the back and allow the performers bungee to swing around from one side of the body to the other while dancing (allowing optimum range of movement).

During a performance, a dancer is on one end of the rope and a climber on the other (usually placed off-stage). This enables the dancer on stage to perform ground-based dance movement that is enhanced by the bungee: leaping out and upwards over the heads of the front rows of the audience or gently jumping the entire width of the stage with little or no effort at all.

“You know you are working together as a team (climber and performer) when the audience forget that the bungee is there at all. Jamie and I compare this technique with a contact duet: with the bungee symbolising my contact partner and Jamie controlling it with the rope”.

This specialised and highly crafted skill is integral to the company’s theatre-based work.

Initial support was offered through Choreodrome 2000, which was funded by The Place. This allowed us two days of research in The Robin Howard Theatre. On-going research both in the UK and USA has led to several theatre-based productions, international workshops and articles being written regarding its use within performance. Its real pulling factor is being able to simply watch dance movement that would otherwise be impossible without the use of the bungee.