Keep it safe – A Crowd Control Action

Keep it safe has received support from the Swedish Arts Council (Kulturrådet) because it can be performed during Corona.

People gathering at the starting point, excitement building up. Everyone is here to have fun, everyone committed to a unique experience. No one is alone, you meet your friends or find new faces in the crowd, ready to try or see something new. It’s a moving performance!

A moving performance, what to expect? What are the rules? Is it safe? What could be a total chaos is indeed a very organized and choreographed situation.

In the middle of the audience mass are safe havens of knowledge and organization: staff members dressed in bright yellow jackets. They know where anything is and when everything happens. They are there to help, even if they are standing on someone’s shoulders or dancing like maniacs. Once a yellow jacket, always a beacon of authority.

What if they know nothing? What if they organize the already organized or disorganize the disorganized?

And remember: Whatever you do, do NOT touch the rope!

Using dance, movement and object manipulation we create new logics and new spaces. We move from A to B and invite people to move with us.

We play with the flow of the audience questioning not only the rules and social norms of a crowd but also the concepts of group influence, individual choices and eagerness for fun.

In this busy environment and with only our bodies, a rope, a whistle and some traffic cones we aim to influence the movement, emotions and attention of a crowd.

What would happen to a performance if the crowd lost control?

“Keep it safe” is an interactive performance where we play with the flow and movement of a small crowd, testing the possibilities of the relation between audience and performers, welcoming and inviting interactions in a dynamic but safe environment.

“Keep it safe” is easy to adapt to very different settings and spaces such as school yards, gym halls, entrance halls, sports playgrounds, indoors and outdoors areas. It can also be adapted for different target groups.

Premiered during KOKO2020 in Norrtälje (Sweden).

Duration: about 35 minutes.

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