Humanhood company was founded in 2016 by Birmingham and Catalan born artists Rudi Cole and Julia Robert, and since the creation of their first duet the company is having a rapidly growing following both in the UK and International scene. Together, they have developed a unique symbiotic fluid movement language that lies at the core of their work, creating intricate choreographic patterns that merge into multilayered energetic shapes with flow and dynamism.
The research behind the work is rooted in physics and astrophysics as well as in their personal insight into Eastern mysticism, fascinated by the connections that lie between these seemingly different fields and how these shape our human experience of ourselves and reality.
Drawn by their interest in the cosmos and nature, Rudi and Julia collaborate with physicist William Chaplin, leader of the NASA Kepler Mission on asteroseismology (the study of stars) and professor at Birmingham University; challenging the dialogue and collaborative process between choreography and scientific research.
Based in Birmingham and Barcelona, the company presents compelling indoor and outdoor works to audiences from around the world, bringing its unique mixture of exceptional physicality, academic viewpoint and spiritual discovery.
Their work has toured around the world including Fira Tàrrega (Catalonia), SIDance (Seoul), Loja Artes Vivas (Ecuador), La Mercè (Barcelona), Sismògraf (Olot), Greenwich&Docklands International Festival (London), Norfolk&Norwich Festival (UK).
Outdoor duet ORBIS (2017), a contemporary ritual honouring the relationship between humankind and the Moon, was commissioned by Without Walls, Brighton Festival and Norfolk&Norwich Festival and toured extensively throughout the UK, Catalonia, Europe and Central America.
Their latest outdoor duet SPHERA (2020), brings the focus to the bright and luminous side of the Moon, performed with a complete white set. This production has evolved from and complements the darker ORBIS, performed with black capes on black astro turf.
YinYang is the culmination of this triptych, fusing SPHERA and ORBIS (bright/dark, male/female, yin/yang) into a large scale site specific/community project bringing local 60 dancers to perform with two of HUMANHOOD’s company dancers. This project will be re-staged in each performing city and will have the individual input from each local community.
Sadler’s Wells’ former Artistic Programmer Eva Martinez says: ‘Rudi and Julia have this special mix of artistic integrity, a signature style married to a truly compelling vision, and a hardworking ethos; they clearly build on the legacy of their predecessors Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkahoui and Hofesh Shechter. Yet as a new generation, they are doing something in their own terms, honing in on the communal and spiritual nature the experience of dance and asking us to join them.’
