standingOUTstanding

There aren’t many dancers who bare their souls in Q&A sessions at the end of their solo shows. But then, there aren’t many dancers like Lucia August. "I’m turning 62 tomorrow," she tells us proudly in the third section of her triple bill. "And I haven’t gotten on a scale in 20 years."

August’s mission in standingOUTstanding is to try to inspire people to achieve their dreams, in the same way she was inspired to return to her childhood love of dancing in her fifties. Yes, the concept may sound a little motivational speaker-like. But there is nothing contrived or hokey about the way August goes about her quest, presenting two subtle, airy pieces that toy with narratives about breaking free.

She is warm and brim-full of conviction, both as a dancer and speaker, her presence at first suggesting poet rather than performer. She dresses in billowing silk, conducts the air with her arms while telling us a story, precisely curves out phrases and palms her full stops. 

"I really love that first piece," she tells us afterwards. "I dance for myself." Sometimes it shows. A dancer of tremendous joy, August occasionally disappears so deeply into her performance she seems to forget we are there. But this is all put right at the end of the show when, after a shy hiatus, the crowd pour out their hearts over how much it has meant to them to see her perform. "I’m 62 as well," says one woman, "and I’ve always wanted to dance."