Into the Mountain with Simone Kenyon – Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures
In this episode Jonathan Pitches and Jason König interview Simone Kenyon about her work as a practice researcher, performer, artist and producer.
We focus especially on her work as the choreographer and artistic creator of the place-sensitive performance piece Into the Mountain, inspired and informed by the lyrical and embodied prose of Nan Shepherd’s 1974 book, The Living Mountain. Building on six years of preparatory work Into the Mountain drew on the input of nearly 100 women, many of whom reside in the Cairngorm area, and merged guided walking practices with choreography, and a 22-piece choir singing a newly composed piece.
Image: Felicity Crawshaw. Into the Mountain (2019) by Simone Kenyon. Dancers: Jo Hellier, Nussatari, Caroline Reagh, Keren Smail and Petra Söör.
The episode begins with some discussion of Simone’s early experiences of walking and mountains growing up in Bradford, West Yorkshire and then in the Lake District.
We then discuss some of Simone’s earlier work on a range of outdoor walking art projects, for example her project in 2006 The Pennine Way: The Legs that Make Us with Tamara Ashley, and the way in which that helped to shape her conceptions of walking as an aesthetic practice.
The bulk of the episode then focuses on the Into the Mountain project. Simone talks about the influence of Nan Shepherd on the project and about her engagement with the bodily routines of climbing and mountaineering in her choreography. We discuss some of the practices and methodologies that lie at the heart of the project, for example the dance practice of ‘Body Weather’ and the way in which it helps to challenge conceptions of the separation between body and environment. Simone also talks about some of the practical challenges of the project: for example, negotiations with landowners in the Cairngorms.
Finally we look ahead to some possible future projects, and future prospects for rethinking human relationships with mountain landscapes and engaging with mountain communities in Scotland and beyond.
Image: Felicity Crawshaw. Into the Mountain (2019) by Simone Kenyon. Dancers: Jo Hellier, Nussatari, Caroline Reagh, Keren Smail and Petra Söör.
Support and Acknowledgement. Images: Felicity Crawshaw. Into the Mountain (2019) by Simone Kenyon. Dancers: Jo Hellier, Nussatari, Caroline Reagh, Keren Smail and Petra Söör. Into The Mountain is produced and commissioned by Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW) and co-commissioned by Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), City Moves Dance Agency, Dance North and Tramway. The project is also supported by Mountaineering Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council and Creative Scotland. See project website for further details: www.intothemountain.co.uk Lead artist, choreographer, researcher and project initiator: Simone Kenyon. Performed and devised by: Jo Hellier, Nussatari, Caroline Reagh, Keren Smail and Petra Söör. Guided walks facilitated and co-devised by: Margaret Kerr, Jean Langhorne, Saffy Setohy. Mountain leaders: Kathy Grindrod, Heather Morning, Sue Savege. Composer and voice director: Hanna Tuulikki. Choir leader and vocalist: Lucy Duncombe. Choir: Alison Bell, Frances Davis, Beatrice Fettes, Anna Filipek, Caroline Gatt, Sarah Hobbs, Norma Hunter, Julie Lawson, Lisa Lawson, Sandy Leahy, Rebecca Livesey-Wright, Margaret Moore, Adele Napier, Angela Patterson, Sheila Pettitt, Sandra Robertson, Catherine Rose, Hannah Swift, Shelia Waterhouse, Ailsa Williams, Victoria Woodcock. Education facilitators: Anna Fleming, Jo Hellier. Knitwear design: Jeni Allison. Trouser design: Hilltrek.
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For versions with transcripts or closed captions, view the Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures playlist on YouTube.
Sound editor: Zofia Guertin
Video editor: Mary Woodcock Kroble