The Things We’ve Lost, performed at the Royal Academy of Dance by the Baked Bean Charity, bravely illuminated a topic that, as a culture, people all too often avoid speaking about.
Through the theme of loss, the dancers gave a powerful and inspiring exploration into all the different ways something can be lost, showcasing the outcome of what was a two-and-a-half-year collaborative process of writing, workshopping and choreographing.
The dancers from the Baked Bean Charity, a south London-based performing arts and education charity for people with learning disabilities, showed strength and ambition in tackling such a personal topic.
Show director Lottie Monk-Porcel explained the performance came about organically as a result of a conversation on identity and how students had been shaped by people they had lost.
Monk-Porcel said: “We kind of realised that, actually, it’s hard to talk about grief and loss anyway, and I think people with learning disabilities are so often excluded from those conversations.”
The show began with the questions, ‘Have you ever lost something? Something you couldn’t get back? Have you ever lost your way, along an unfamiliar track?’ as the dancers emerged from the audience, a creative touch, helping to convey the sense in which loss is all around us.
Wayne McGregor opened the performance with an energising and powerful solo to Destiny’s Child Survivor, illuminating the interwoven nature of loss of confidence, loss of freedom, and perhaps scariest of all: loss of mind.
An exploration of the loss of independence as a woman unfolded through a powerful performance led by Schenay Codner.
Accompanied by a group of women, their dynamic movements revealed a strong connection between them.
Caroline Ogundeji and Charlie Greenwood starred in scenes surrounding lost love.
Transporting the audience to a Parisian-style vignette, they elegantly weaved their way through the other dancers, holding themselves with grace and poise.
Each interpretation of loss in the show was deeply personal, providing the audience with a brief opportunity to enter and resonate with the inner worlds of the performers.
Under the theme of grief and bereavement, the dancers shared intimate and personal stories dedicated to memories of their loved ones, showing an inspiring courage in being so vulnerable.
Nichola Grimstead shared her memories of a loved one who taught her ‘how to dance, be happy and be strong’, while McGregor discussed memories of seeing his brother every Sunday and playing computer games with him.
A great amount of work and research went into the performance as Monk-Porcel revealed they also worked with the Guys and St Thomas’s grief and bereavement department for this scene.
But as much as the show encouraged the audience to think about some difficult subjects, the Baked Beans also knew how to put a lighter spin on the theme of loss.
This scene was followed by an upbeat dance to Lizzo’s Where the hell my phone?, greeted by great laughter from the audience.
The loss of confidence particularly under COVID with soloist Charlotte Hall, was something everyone in the room could relate to, and the dancers importantly highlighted how people with learning disabilities were particularly affected.
The last few scenes were highly impactful as the dancers invited us to stand in their shoes and hear the voices of people speaking for them: “He can’t do that; She doesn’t like it; He won’t understand.”
With Emma Wilson leading the scene, the dancers compellingly demonstrated their lived experience of independence being undermined by people’s assumptions about their learning disabilities.
Nevertheless, the show ended with a focus not on loss, but an uplifting and inspiring assertion of positives: “I can read, I can paint, I can draw. I can write a letter. I can write a book. I can have my own relationships. I can make my own decisions. I can do anything I want. It is my life. Watch me.”
The group showed people can find strength and resilience in the process of losing something.
The show itself, Monk-Porcel explained, was a journey for the performers, in which they got more comfortable expressing themselves and using their voices.
She said: “I think so many of the group are just so much more confident now.
“It really felt like that, even backstage in the wings, it was just this kind of opening of collaboration and teamwork that came from everyone trusting each other with their stories and with their personal journeys.”
The dancers took the audience on a vivid journey through the landscape of loss and the performance ended with a standing ovation.
The choreography was superb, with the performers traversing multiple different dance styles and using the whole stage as their canvas for expressing themselves through movement.
Each dancer appeared at home on the stage, confidently sharing their stories and their passion for dance.
Through bringing loss into the spotlight, the Baked Beans encouraged those attending to dig up what they often burry away and helped to understand their perspective as dancers with learning disabilities, highlighting why it is so important to have a range of voices on the stage.
“We belong here,” one of the performers said when they first saw the space at the Royal Academy of Dance, Monk-Porcel said.
They are certainly right and there seems to be very exciting things ahead for the Baked Bean dancers.
The show was dedicated to loved ones the dancers have lost and they would no doubt be incredibly proud of what the group created.
Feature image: The Baked Bean Charity
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