HOLLOW

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET

MUSIC Il bell’Antonio, Tema III by Giovanni Sollima

DANCERS Emily Suzuki, Victor Prigent

In Stina Quagebeur’s contemporary duet Hollow, a couple contend with depression, and the confusion and displacement it causes between them. With fluid, continuous movement, their bodies intertwine, change direction and come into conflict. They are so close, and yet so far away. One is lost in a void, the other lost in their utter powerlessness to help.  

Hollow created for the ENB’s Emerging Dancer Competition 2020 was chosen to be performed as part of the BBC’s Dancing Nation Programme celebrating world class dance from leading UK companies. Based on a couple who contend with depression, and the confusion and displacement it causes between them. Hollow was also programmed as part of the Solstice performances by ENB at the Festival Hall in June 2021.

“Sometimes with a succession of short pieces, you can’t dig deep into emotional territory, but they manage it twice here. In Stina Quagebeur’s Hollow, where a woman locked in depression is slipping through her partner’s grasp. And in the duet from Dust…by Akram Khan” - The Guardian 

‘It is Stina Quagebeur’s Hollow for English National Ballet that really pulls at the heartstrings. Depicting a couple wrestling with depression – their eyes hardly meet as they tumble fluidly in and out of each other’s arms – it expertly encapsulates difficulties many have experienced while quarantining together.’ Emily May - The Stage 

DANCERS in Studio Rehearsal Emma Hawes, Fernando Carratalá Coloma