Opening the inaugural POP! Festival (Portobello Open Process Festival) on 27th February is Corrie King. He’ll be sharing a new dance piece titled XXIV (24), this work in progress will feature a cast of 10 and explore the high-rise community. We caught up with Corrie briefly to ask him some quickfire questions about his art.
Favourite dancer (dead or alive):
It’s hard to choose! My favourite dancers are: Keone Madrid, Merce Cunningham, Akham Khan, Glenn Hudson, Hanna Robia Miller, Chris Martin, Larkin Poynton, Kevin Paradox, Martha Graham.
They all challenge limitations on how they should live, who they work with and their creativity. They truly make their own rules and are true artists and pioneers.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
“Figure out the journey… Get lost and find your way. Just come to terms that we will be here in the future… We are building” – Glenn Hudson, an artistic director and choreographer who is currently a big influence on my work.
The late Lincoln Fleary, a past mentor whose talents knew no bounds would just tell me to try my best.
Who is your favourite superhero, and why?
Spiderman, because he is a local guy who always has the odds stacked against him but he comes out on top. I felt like a bit of a spiderman when I was a kid!
What’s your favourite thing about being a choreographer?
Being able to travel and meet new people and my own journey of self-discovery. Choreography gives me the freedom to express myself and the power to change things through my art, or at least try to help. I am a rebel artist and my dad always says “never let anyone shut you up”.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about your work?
That it’s easy and fun and not a real job. People often underestimate the amount of time it takes to create, or think that my movement is dictated by the music. It takes a lot out of a choreographer to create new work – I could create myself into an early grave if I am not careful, it has a double-edged sword effect.
If you were stranded on a desert island, which two objects would you bring?
Music. My Nakama (my team, my family), I have my own group of creative beasts (dance rules everything around me) and they are the reason I can deal with life’s challenges and run 100mph towards something I would usually dislike doing. So I believe that being on a desert island with my family would be life without too many problems.
What is the last thing you liked on social media?
When I’m in creation mode I try not to engage with social media because my feed is full of art and I don’t want to be influenced. So I choose to ignore social media when I need to be in the first stages of artistic development.
Which artwork of yours are you the proudest of?
‘Club 27?’ A video project that can be found on My instagram and other social media platforms such as YouTube.
Give us three words that describe XXIV?
Graceful
Powerful
Human
What are you listening to today?
I’m listening to the XXIV soundtrack as it needs a very high level of attention and consistency with my art to connect with it. I’m also listening to “Where’s Juntao“, a local artist who I’d describe as a family member and a great artist who should be profiled.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?
There isn’t really a Plan B! There genuinely isn’t anything else that gives me the same mental and physical cleanse that movement creativity does. So maybe the answer is that I wouldn’t exist.
Discover Corrie King’s XXIV on Thursday 27th February, 7-8pm. Reserve your free ticket here.
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