Scottish Ballet

Gold Prize winner for Best Original Music at the Kinsale Shark Awards 2021 (‘Annie’). 

For their inaugural Safe To Be Me Festival, Scottish Ballet commissioned six dance films that explore how movement and expression help performers embrace and overcome physical and emotional hardships. ‘The Shimmering Extraordinary’ series, produced by Nexus Studios and premiered on NOWNESS, was created by Emmy-nominated director Fx Goby, and addresses themes such as homophobia, racism and ableism.

The series begins with a performance by Saul Nash, a choreographer and designer regarded for his subversive sports attire inspired by the kinesis of the human body. In a powerful monologue, Nash discusses the obstacles he encountered pursuing a career in dance as a homosexual — concluding that styles such as voguing, popularised by LGBT groups in New York ballrooms in the ‘80s, ultimately provide him with a feeling of empowerment. 

Nash’s voiceover is backed by our contemporary blend of plucked harps, choral voices and gliding strings, enriching an ethereal atmosphere as he performs on a grassy plain at dusk.

Another film in the series follows dance artist Annie Edwards, who suffers from a physical disability called cartilage hair hypoplasia. She describes the sense of liberation she achieves through her own dancing, despite how it also exacerbates the physical pain she lives with on a day-to-day basis.

Performing against a background of white fabrics, her passionate, expressionistic dancing is as moving as it is captivating. We crafted an elegant piano piece fused with string pads and rousing vocals to complement the dancer’s inspiring personal reflections.