Helen Hall

Collecting Moments

Photo of Helen performing Collecting Moments, at the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, during the Bounce Arts Festival. Helen is wearing a pale orange top and black trousers, that seem to blend into the background. The image captures Helen dancing mid flow. It shows her from the back. Her left foot looks turned in, as if she is about to spin. Her arms are outstretched, and her back twists as she looks towards her right hand.
Photo Credit: Paul Moore

We are often encouraged to ‘live in the moment’. But what happens if we try to capture that moment, then step back into it? Is it ever the same? Or, in the very process of looking back and sharing the experience, does it become something else, something new?  

Collecting Moments explores these ideas as it reflects on a moment captured in time. The work began as an exploration of how a moment of dance might be captured—not just through movement, but through multiple artistic lenses. Helen invited a group of artists to inhabit the space together and respond intuitively to the act of dancing. Throughout the day, she improvised alongside a violinist; a painter sketched fleeting gestures; a photographer caught transient moments; a songwriter gathered fragments of language; a sound designer recorded the textures of the room; and a videographer creatively captured moments. A group of artists responding to one another in real time.

Collecting Moments  reflects on this day – a day that was full of creativity and was also long awaited after lockdown. In her reflections, Helen uses the sights and sounds gathered on that day to create Collecting Moments. Does she hold on, or let go?

Photo of Helen performing Collecting Moments,, at the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, during the Bounce Arts Festival. It shows Helen, wearing a pale orange top and black trousers, crouching down, drawing on a large sheet of paper. At the back of the stage, we see a huge projection screen, showing a video of a previous time Helen danced. She is trying to draw the movements and lines she sees as she watches the giant video projection.
Photo Credit: Paul Moore

Show Credits

  • Concept, creation, and choreography: ​​​Helen Hall
  • Performer:​ ​​​​​​Helen Hall
  • Creative & choreographic mentor/ rehearsal direction: ​Suzannah McCreight
  • Sound design: ​​​​​​George Sloan
  • Violinist (live recordings):​​​ ​​​Bronagh Broderick
  • Musical composition (end track): ​​​​Katie Richardson
  • Video projection within live performance ​​​Helen Hall
  • Projected artwork: ​​​​​​Jamie Maison Harper 
  • Lighting: Gareth Doran
Photo of Helen performing Collecting Moments, at the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, during the Bounce Arts Festival. Helen is wearing a pale orange top and black trousers, that seem to blend into the background. The photo catches her in mid flow of movement. One hand is on her head. She stands behind six sheets of paper. At one part of the performance, Helen had asked audience members to ‘draw’ her right hand as it moved. She then collected their drawings and now uses then to improvise new movement. This part of the show changes every performance.
Photo Credit: Paul Moore

This work was created as part of a commission from University of Atypical, for their Bounce Festival 2021

Showcased at Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast, and also The Nerve Centre, Derry, 2021.