Jonathan Burrows - Influences and Influenced

Influences and Influenced

The critic Judith Mackrell has described aspects of Burrows’ style as emanating from the influences of folk-dance, classicism and more weighted postmodern dance movement.

Burrows describes Riverside Studios, run by David Gothard as influential in his early career. Gothard drew together important artists and Burrows would see Samuel Beckett and Dario Fo around the theatre, and John Cage and Merce Cunningham duets were performed there. After seeing them in the early 1980s, American post modern dance, especially the Judson Church generation of choreographers from New York, such as David Gordon, Steve Paxton, Trisha Brown, and Lucinda Childs and also Douglas Dunn and their Contact improvisation began to influence his thinking. He also began performing for Rosemary Butcher.

He also lists Bronislava Nijinska, specifically Les Noces.

Burrows’ long-time colloborator Matteo Fargion studied composition with the composer Kevin Volans. Burrows consequently chose also to study with Volans, and the ideas which came out of this time are still important to Burrows’ work, and a source of connection between Burrows and Fargion. Both Sitting Duet is the translation of a score of a piece of music by American composer Morton Feldman, an important figure in music, and with whom Volans was friends.

Burrows learnt traditional English Morris dancing at White Lodge Royal Ballet School, and both he and critics have named this as another possible source of influence in his style. Burrows has commented that he looked for a new way of moving that he could manage better than ballet. He met this desire in contact improvisation and release work, but also in folk dances, such as the Bampton Dancers of Oxford. Burrows comments, “I like the traditional men’s dances from England. The dancers had this weird quality of absurdity mixed with profound dignity.”

Burrows has through his work and teaching and mentoring, been an influence on other successful choreographers.