“...this film is a real celebration of people coming back together, difference and how we can all start to look ahead after a difficult year.”
It seems his fire isn’t burning any longer, it’s extinguished.
A young man. Stalked by his inner demons, burdened by a lost imagination for the future and alienated by the isolation of the current world. Before it’s too late, he seeks an escape to a time when he was younger, more playful…uncaged.
Through the raw, self-expression of dance, he is transported to a place to reconnect with the freedom, peace and simplicity of his youth. A place that allows for ultimate self-expression and release, with limited restrictions or obstacles. A place to think clearly.
BURNOUT is a new short dance film made in collaboration with up-and-coming hip-hop artist Joshua Nash, filmmaker Gemma Pons, and teenage dance students from Unlimited Dance Company in North Devon. It explores the struggles of today’s youth, the complexities of the pandemic’s enforced isolation and the impact it has had on our mental health.
Articulating the frustration of isolation, felt by many over the last year, this raw, strong and emotional dance-film highlights the importance of space, time and reflection as tools to better support our young people’s wellbeing and mental health. It showcases the need for people to connect with our natural environment to improve wellbeing within our communities and recharge. BURNOUT uses Krump, a dance style popularised on the streets of Los Angeles in the 2000s and characterised by free, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement to aid the expression of raw emotion.
Filmed on location in London and Woolacombe beach in Devon, BURNOUT juxtaposes the urban city and the stunning rural North Devon coast, blending together physical movement from three professional adult dancers and eighteen youth dancers.
The Devon dancers learnt the choreography remotely over Zoom, with London based Nash, during lockdown 3.0. Together they performed it for the very first time as a combined group on the expansive beach at Woolacombe, when it was filmed on 6 June 2021.
‘Krump is an art form which is still quite new within the hip-hop dance world, so having the opportunity to share it with young people who live in Devon and might not have done anything like this before has been really special. As well as tackling the subject of mental health, which is more relevant now than ever, this film is a real celebration of people coming back together, difference and how we can all start to look ahead after a difficult year.” – Joshua ‘Vendetta’ Nash
‘We’re thrilled to be one of only 18 dance films from across the world selected for the 2021 LA Dance Shorts film festival. It’s incredibly exciting to think that our four minute film, which delivers important messaging and is the product of seven months of hard work, will actually be screened in LA! We’re taking this dance style back to its roots, and with it a piece of North Devon.’ Claire Ayres - Creative Producer, Beaford
Commissioned by Beaford and The Rural Touring Dance Initiative in partnership with Joshua ‘Vendetta’ Nash and Gemma Pons.
Choreography: Joshua ‘Vendetta’ Nash
Music: Torben Lars Sylvest
Film & Edit: Gemma Pons
Featuring Joshua Nash, Shangomola Edunjobi, Jordan Douglas and Elite & Company from Unlimited Dance Company - Annie Adam, Bella Ayres, Betsy Nicholls Bristow, Britney Smith, Elowen Reynolds, Georgie Bawden, Isabelle Dibble, Jasmine Turner, Jessica Cardew, Joley Walker, Kayleigh Laird, Lily Moore, Mabel Waters, Madeline Moore, Molly Thomas, Liv Nicholls, Rosie Russell, Summer Madge
With thanks to
Claire Smith, Project Manager RTDI
Reece McMahon, Freelance Arts Producer
Christina Dionysopoulou, Company Producer
Viviana Rocha, Assistant Producer
Sarah and Ellie, Unlimited Dance Company
Film location permissions granted by Parkin Estates and National Trust.
Gallery of images captured by HOWABOUTDAVE Photography during filming on location at Woolacombe Beach.
