FEATURE:
And Let My Body Catch Up
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993, readying herself for some trampoline work in the video for Rubberband Girl (from The Red Shoes)/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
The Importance of Dance and Movement When It Comes to the Extraordinary Legacy of Kate Bush
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MAYBE this has been specifically covered…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
but I think that people take various aspects of Kate Bush’s talent for granted. We often talk about her music, lyrics and her extraordinary voice. How so many artists have been influenced by her. We frame that around her innovation and sound. Rather than chart the history of Bush’s connection to dance and movement, I wanted to write why the physical side of Bush’s music is so important. When it comes to her legacy and explaining why she is so adored for her originality and brilliance, I do think that dance and movement is crucial. Not only how integral it is to her music and how she brings that out in her music videos. Think about the diversity of movement and the exceptional routines. Whether inspired by our choreographed by Anthony Van Laast, Robin Kovac or Lindsay Kemp, it always differed to what her contemporaries were doing. You can say that there are icons who were also phenomenal dancers and movement was a huge part of their work. Maybe Madonna? There is not a long list. Most of the best-loved musicians are remembered for their music and the routines and videos not so much. It may seem axiomatic to say Kate Bush id as phenomenal dancer, though we do not discuss and dissect the range of movements and how she brought something different to each video. Having such a broad catalogue, Bush could not replicate any Pop artist and do something basic and commercial. Think about her debut video for Wuthering Heights and that exceptional routine. Theatrical, intense but also quite alluring and sensual, I think a major reason why the song is so indelible and the video so lauded is because of the choreography. A routine that was devised by Robin Kovac, I think in collaboration with Kate Bush.
As a teenager, Bush did study mime and dance. She was guided formerly by Lindsay Kemp and more latterly Arlene Phillips. As Bush’s production and sonic world broadened and strengthened, you could see that come through in her videos. It is not only the videos where you feel this incredible sense of physicality and movement. Even in her photoshoots, often there was quite a lot of movement. Incredible and interesting poses. Early on, especially when promoting The Kick Inside, Bush saw herself primarily as a dancer, so that would come out in the photos. Think about some of those photos with Gered Mankowitz and how prominent movement was. Presenting this artist who was as much as a dancer as a musician. Consider the videos for Lionheart and Never for Ever. Hammer Horror and Wow both distinct and almost theatrical. Matching the songs, maybe that is a reductive word. They are both incredibly interesting routines and you can feel how important it was to Kate Bush to make sure the choreography brought something new from the song. If the video for Breathing and Army Dreamers (from Never for Ever) were less about movement, that is not to say the physical nature of the videos were not engaging and astonishing. I think a lot of Kate Bush’s legacy and her endurance stems from her bringing dance and movement into her music so prominently and inventively. Maybe Hounds of Love and The Sensual World’s videos are thew most astonishing and distinct examples of how these unique visuals and how captivating Kate Bush is hold as much power as the music itself. Suspended in Gaffa and Sat in Your Lap from The Dreaming. The latter starts with Bush on the floor and almost like a ragdoll on the floor, frantically rocking side to side. Hard to describe what she is doing. It is one of her most fascinating videos. So physical.
Moving through Hounds of Love, you can see another change. If The Dreaming was mor physical, intense or ‘quirky’, then Hounds of Love might be noted more for something more romantic or classic even. The beautiful routine and dance for Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). Bush in incredible form for The Big Sky. Even right from the start, Kate Bush was not an artist whose videos and the routines for them were about strictly matching the music or trying to copy what was around her. Most of the Pop artists I loved as a child and love now seem to pale into insignificance when put alongside Kate Bush. In the respect they don’t have that same intrigue, electricity and allure. Allure in the sense that you are drawn into the choreography and what Bush is doing. Also, a lot of Pop videos are about looking great and the aesthetics. For Bush, I think her videos were more performance pieces and filmic. Consider also the range of looks, costumes and stories. The Dreaming’s title track bears no connection to Hammer Horror, Babooshka, Rubberband Girl or Wuthering Heights. I did not even discuss Babooshka. The second single from Never for Ever, it is perhaps one of the finest examples of how she can use minimal movement but create something enormous. There is intensity in the chorus when she bursts to life as this sword-wielding warrior queen. Or someone liberated and fierce. The chorus is Bush in a black and veiled pretty much with a double bass. Using that as a prop or partner. It is fascinating. The white dress version of Wuthering Heights is spectral and classy all at once. So much happening with her eyes. The simple-yet-brilliant routine replicated every year for the Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever. Watch Them Heavy People. Whilst it may seem goofy and parody-worthy, it is so full of charm. You cannot help but adore Kate Bush! It is a live video, so the performance and chorography had to be bigger. However, it is never overblown. It is beautiful and bizarre watchable. Bush’s facial expressions and the eccentricity almost of what she and her dancers are doing!
I love Bush almost being more an actor than a dancer for videos such as Hounds of Love. Even so, it is the way she moves and perhaps a more subtle performance. The perfect combinations of her outfits, the set and routines for songs where there is more energy and frenzy. Eat the Music from The Red Shoes or Love and Anger from The Sensual World. Again, compare them to Moments of Pleasure or King of the Mountain. I love some of her more eccentric live performances where she was on international T.V. and the backdrop was quite odd and didn’t for the song. How that side of things added yet another layer and dynamic. The incredible routines for 1979’s The Tour of Life and 2014’s Before the Dawn. For The Tour of Life, Bush would often have to be carried off stage at the very end because of exhaustion. The physical demands of what she helped conceive all contribute to this respect and endless admiration people have for her. She no doubt inspired other huge Poop artists who followed. I do want to bring in a few features that add to my argument. Or provide different takes. This is what AnOther observed in a 2017 feature:
“Bush’s appreciation for dramatic flair where her music was concerned spilled over into her sartorial choices, often to stunning results. Far from existing as separate entities, Bush’s musical and sartorial experimentation were in constant conversation, resulting in the creation of her very own visual universe. Her striking features paired with her pre-Raphaelite curls served as the template to an ever-shifting array of eclectic looks: she never shied away from bold colours (think blood reds and electric blues), extreme silhouettes (she frequently donned kimonos and gender-bending pantsuits), and a healthy dose of pure theatricality. It’s not hard to see why designers – from the late Alexander McQueen to Gucci – have frequently turned to Bush for inspiration over the past few decades, whether by setting their runway shows to her music or by referencing her surreally romantic ethos in their collections”.
Bush taking creative control of her career early on and wanted to guide the videos, aesthetic and so many different aspects. She could create and craft this world of her own, without being directed by T.V. stations, the label or what was expected of a Pop artist of her time. Even if she danced less at certain times in her career and let that slip, that is not to say there was a lack of mobility and movement. However, it is when Bush was bonding with dance and exploring her physicality in unique ways that endures to this day. This is what Far Out Magazine wrote in their feature from last year:
“At every turn, Bush’s career has gone hand in hand with movement. At the start, it was all on stage as her early tours were never just concerts; they were experiences with dancers surrounding her for full choreographed sections. Even during her comeback in 2014 for the Before The Dawn shows, they were elaborate performances that were more theatre than anything else. After the touring was done, Bush’s music videos became so essential to her legacy, with dance routines always being at the heart of it as the singer displayed her incredible skill in that world, a skill she’s honed just as carefully and passionately as her musical ability.
It is impossible to untangle the two as movement informs her output at each step. But when tracing right back to the start, to that moment right before the world knew her name when that £3000 was in her hand, it feels like the decision to walk into Kemp’s studio and hand it over to him was the making of the Kate Bush the world knows as those classes taught her how to perform and how to present herself, unlocking the vision for the star she would become to match the music she’d made”.
Dancer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui wrote an article for The Guardian and explained why he loves Kate Bush. Look around today and you can see so many different artist across multiple genres inspired by Bush and her dance and movement. How she could release these very different-sounding singles and have these routines and choreography that are so special, unforgettable and visceral. Far beyond the ordinary:
“You hear most pop musicians sing, and there's a kind of detachment. But with Kate, you feel she's completely present. She's a storyteller: her songs are full of characters, almost like small novels. There's humour in them, too – she's funny as well as sensual. She can sound like a seductress, a mother, a man, or Elvis. Some people laugh at her because it all seems so bizarre, but I always felt she was magical. There's such pressure in pop for people to behave or look a certain way, an endemic sexism; there's not much room for female performers to be who they really are. But with Kate, you feel that's exactly what she is.
I wasn't really into dance when I was younger. It's partly because of her that I began to care about it. I found out she studied with Lindsay Kemp and was influenced by many different kinds of choreography. When I was 17 or 18, I improvised a lot of dance to her work and, in college, set some choreography to a section of Waking the Witch. I realised that the way she moves helps her to be in touch with her voice – she can't stand still when she's singing. Voice is a kind of movement: you're moving the space inside of you, releasing certain things with your breathing. She made me aware of that, and it's something I've used in my own work”.
I don’t think we talk about Kate Bush’s legacy and her incredible influence in terms of dance and choreography. Whether it is the shifts in terms of budget and scope between the early videos and later ones. I think the simplicity of some of those early videos is actually more powerful and impactful! The phenomenal live performances and how that has inspired artists to this day. Even photo shoots, where you might see her in full flight or adopting these interesting moves and poses. All blended together through the decades, you can see how important and instrumental movement and dance was and is to Kate Bush. I wanted to show my love, affection and respect for…
THE Rubberband Girl.