I first met Jack Webb in 2009, outside Dance Base, after a show by Iona Kewney. I couldn't talk that much - Kewney remains my single favourite dancer - but Webb was articulate and engaging. We meet up for coffee now and again, and I rant at him about how criticism is an art form. He listens quietly, then reminds me that he is the one who debuted at New Territories this year, has been touring his improvisations around Scotland and is heading off to work with Via Negativa, a wonderful gang of Live Art mischief makers from Central Europe.
Before Webb takes on The Fringe - he has a show at Dance Base this year, I thought I could abuse our friendship one last time, and get an exclusive interview. He is rightly described as a rising star in the brochure, although I am not so sure about the quotes from other critics. It's not like I haven't praised him in reviews, and not just because I like him as a pal.
Vile: I was wondering how you ended up being a dancer. Remember when when we first met and bonded over Kewney? Up to that point, what was your dance history? Were you a ballet boy?
Webb: I have never been into ballet in the way that ballet boys are but I had my fair share of it whilst training. I discovered dance as a teenager through a local youth dance group and then I went to train at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance in Dundee and since then I've been doing all sorts of things but I've never been a ballet boy, no.
Vile: You have revealed an interest in both improvisation and physical theatre... the obvious question is to ask what is the relationship between the dance training you did and the improvisation? And where did the interest in physical theatre come from - and is it just dance with a smart name?
Webb: The training i did involved both of those things but I think I really discovered it off of my own back by going to see work that fed me and inspired me because dance schools will only teach you what they think you need to know which is different at every school and of course continually developing my skills by actually doing it. I wouldn't say that my work is physical theatre because I'm not sure what physical theatre actually is. I don't like to label things in this way, it limits the work.
Vile: The actual fringe piece. I have seen you improvising lately - and I know this piece isn't just an extension of that work... how far is this choreographed , how much do you respond in the moment, and where does the music fit in?
Webb: With this show at the Fringe, I haven't choreographed anything. There are movements, situations and places on stage that always happen, that forms some of the structure to guide me through the 20 minutes because without that I would be lost but other than that I am respnding in the moment and trying to be as curious as possible on stage. Immediacy is everything with this work. I'm a huge fan of Joe Quimby's work and I asked him if he would record something for me and he said yes. Music is a huge driving force for me. it excites me and feeds what I'm doing and a lot of the things on stage are in response to the sound.
Vile: In earlier works - It's a Grand Thing To Get Leave To Live) and The Bravest Thing You Can Do Is Be Still pieces, you were about staging and props as tools in dance. Is that still there, or are you getting back to the body?
Webb: Props are still there and I'll tell you why. In solo works, for me props and objects serve the purpose of replacing people in a way. They proivide me with something to engage with and also I feel that the work is about the visual aspect as well as the movement. Design of space, costume and colour play a huge part in this work at the Fringe.
Vile: What do you like outside of dance? Don't say the Fuck Buttons because I want to publish this interview where my mum might read it. But what outside of dance influences when you make work, and what do these influences bring to your work?
Music and sound for me is a huge driving force. And also colour. This show has been influenced a lot by the colours that are present on stage because it somehow effects my mood and presence when creating and performing.
Vile: How is your relationship with ballet these days? Where are you getting those funky new moves from?
Webb: I haven't been to a ballet class in almost one year so we haven't really been on speaking terms for a while although I appreciate ballet a lot, especially Forsythe's early works that were all about distorting the form and pushing the physicality to new places.
The funky moves? Certainly not from ballet.
Vile: And finally - how is Via Negativa going for you?
Webb: Via Negativa is the happiest and most productive company I have worked with for a long time. Bojan, the director of the company, pushes us a lot to go beyond ourselves and we spend a lot of time talking so I'm not there to dance, infact I am acting more than anything and we have to be merciless with our feedback to material that we all create. it's a simple idea but it works. I'm very happy to be working with them.
Webb: I have never been into ballet in the way that ballet boys are but I had my fair share of it whilst training. I discovered dance as a teenager through a local youth dance group and then I went to train at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance in Dundee and since then I've been doing all sorts of things but I've never been a ballet boy, no.
Vile: You have revealed an interest in both improvisation and physical theatre... the obvious question is to ask what is the relationship between the dance training you did and the improvisation? And where did the interest in physical theatre come from - and is it just dance with a smart name?
Webb: The training i did involved both of those things but I think I really discovered it off of my own back by going to see work that fed me and inspired me because dance schools will only teach you what they think you need to know which is different at every school and of course continually developing my skills by actually doing it. I wouldn't say that my work is physical theatre because I'm not sure what physical theatre actually is. I don't like to label things in this way, it limits the work.
Vile: The actual fringe piece. I have seen you improvising lately - and I know this piece isn't just an extension of that work... how far is this choreographed , how much do you respond in the moment, and where does the music fit in?
Webb: With this show at the Fringe, I haven't choreographed anything. There are movements, situations and places on stage that always happen, that forms some of the structure to guide me through the 20 minutes because without that I would be lost but other than that I am respnding in the moment and trying to be as curious as possible on stage. Immediacy is everything with this work. I'm a huge fan of Joe Quimby's work and I asked him if he would record something for me and he said yes. Music is a huge driving force for me. it excites me and feeds what I'm doing and a lot of the things on stage are in response to the sound.
Vile: In earlier works - It's a Grand Thing To Get Leave To Live) and The Bravest Thing You Can Do Is Be Still pieces, you were about staging and props as tools in dance. Is that still there, or are you getting back to the body?
Webb: Props are still there and I'll tell you why. In solo works, for me props and objects serve the purpose of replacing people in a way. They proivide me with something to engage with and also I feel that the work is about the visual aspect as well as the movement. Design of space, costume and colour play a huge part in this work at the Fringe.
Vile: What do you like outside of dance? Don't say the Fuck Buttons because I want to publish this interview where my mum might read it. But what outside of dance influences when you make work, and what do these influences bring to your work?
Music and sound for me is a huge driving force. And also colour. This show has been influenced a lot by the colours that are present on stage because it somehow effects my mood and presence when creating and performing.
Vile: How is your relationship with ballet these days? Where are you getting those funky new moves from?
Webb: I haven't been to a ballet class in almost one year so we haven't really been on speaking terms for a while although I appreciate ballet a lot, especially Forsythe's early works that were all about distorting the form and pushing the physicality to new places.
The funky moves? Certainly not from ballet.
Vile: And finally - how is Via Negativa going for you?
Webb: Via Negativa is the happiest and most productive company I have worked with for a long time. Bojan, the director of the company, pushes us a lot to go beyond ourselves and we spend a lot of time talking so I'm not there to dance, infact I am acting more than anything and we have to be merciless with our feedback to material that we all create. it's a simple idea but it works. I'm very happy to be working with them.
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