A work for ‘cellos and water sounds. Written for and performed by Anton Lukoszevieze. Water sounds from Fewston Reservoir and Adel Dam Nature Reserve.

'dancing in the wash'

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Programme note:

Water offers rigidity to plants, carves landscapes, and nurtures both human and non-human beings. But this aquatic life-giver is not a stable entity: it flitters and dances between states of liquid, gas, and ice. These states are always moved towards, but upon their arrival, the motion of changing to another is already underway. Indeed, even within larger bodies of water that might seem contained, such as reservoirs and lakes, water is rarely stable but lining up the next line of flight: this substance that is so crucial to shaping experience—to the point that it becomes embedded in its definition—is in a state of permanent liminality.

Indeed, in much mythology, these bodies of water are understood as portals to other worlds that are often guarded by gatekeeper spirits. However, if water might not be understood as a stable entity—rather a substance that highlights and propagates a sprawling web of transient connections—this potential for teleportation and transformation might be embedded in the world and world-making activities.

This piece uses the ’cello to draw attention this transitory process that prioritises ongoing transition over destinations, and imagines this potential of portals to be omnipresent but often ungraspable. Importantly, stability is always aimed towards—dancing on the precipice of becoming—but collapses as it emerges. One might be guided by spirits to look through portals to alternatives, but as they’re moved towards, they transition from the visible and aural ‘real’ to the imaginary.