From Aotearoa New Zealand contemporary dance company Foster Group comes the world premiere of Double Goer – a characterful and compelling new dance show tracking the conflicts and kinships of two strikingly similar women.
An exploration of the German word ‘Doppelgänger’, Double Goer is a surreal and highly detailed contemporary choreography based on the Doppelgänger phenomenon and its associations with twinning and apparitions. Set within a terrain of hand-sculpted effigies, each woman engages in a physical battle for supremacy via acts of competition, wit, ridiculousness, and physical agility.
Double Goer is choreographed by Foster Group Artistic Director Sarah Foster-Sproull with dancers Tamsyn Russell and Rose Philpott, with music composed by Andrew Foster. Originally developed at Dance Base Edinburgh in 2018 and 2019, Double Goer in 2023 is the return to Edinburgh of two powerhouse dancers who promise to exert their skills, labour, and performance charm in an effort to decimate each other – all for your entertainment and through at least 400,000 dance moves.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show is?
Foster Group is one of New Zealand’s leading independent contemporary dance companies founded and led by Artistic Director, Sarah Foster-Sproull. We make provocative, engaging and visually compelling contemporary dance work, rich with beautiful imagery and physical rigour. Our work showcases strong, unique and diverse female performers and design collaborators.
Double Goer (the English translation of Doppelgänger) is a surreal and physically gruelling new dance
work that chronicles the meeting, battle, and potential demise of two strikingly similar women, Tamsyn Russell and Rose Philpott. Throughout this 50-minute dance show, the women battle for supremacy through acts of competition, wit, physical agility, and stamina in a terrain of intricately hand painted artefacts. Watch as two powerhouse dancers exert their physical labour, tricks, hustle, and feminine wiles in an effort to decimate each other for your entertainment.
Tell us about the creative team and process involved?
The creative team for Double Goer is small, consisting only of myself (Sarah Foster-Sproull), Tamsyn Russell and Rose Philpott, because we really wanted to tour this work internationally. I’m working with my best friends; I’ve known Tamsyn since I was a young dancer, and I’ve known Rose for over 10 years. I’ve chosen to work with them because we know each other incredibly well and they’re also phenomenal dancers and collaborators.
The music is written by my husband, who is also a set designer and dramaturg, and runs an amazing new catering business called Rough Kitchen. We’ve made this work over several years. Funded generously by Creative New Zealand, it’s been a labour of love and has had many lives. Because of COVID, we will premiere in Edinburgh.
The creative process involved getting into the studio, researching, making movement material in response to provocations, talking about what we’d made, having a few laughs, having staff drinks, getting back to the studio, making some more movement, talking about what we could cut, etc, etc. Such as the process for most of the work that I make.
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
This is our first Fringe experience, but not our first time in Edinburgh. Morag Deyes at Dance Base very generously supported some of the early developments of this work, so returning to Dance Base feels like returning to somewhere that feels like our home away from home. I am very excited about eating a bacon butty, drinking whiskey, and soaking up the atmosphere of the Fringe Festival.
There are over 3,000 shows at the Fringe. So, what sets your show apart?
Some dance shows have several moves. Some dance shows have more than several moves. Some dance shows have more than more than several moves. This dance show sets us apart from others because it has about 400,000 dance moves and two performers that try to outwit and win against each other through actions of competition, humour, vocalisation and choreographic snazzy-ness, over a punchy 50 minutes.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping for the audience to take away?
I hope that the audience leaves the show with a sense of optimism, a new view on what the world could be like, and that they take an opportunity to reflect on their relationships with the important women in their lives.
Your ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t there…
Everyone is welcome. However, I would prefer it if people who take themselves too seriously, or people that are right-wing stay away. If your preference is traditional classical ballet, I would also suggest that this might not be the show for you.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
We will be seeing as many shows as possible, prioritising first of all, our dance allies performing in the festival, and the other New Zealand performers that are bringing their works over. We want to see New Zealand thrive on the international stage, and we want to support the development of fantastic dance work being created internationally.
