Infinity Dance, 2019

Infinity Dance is a part of artist Aimee Marshall’s Cave of Infinity project. The performance is inspired by a mirrored painting adorned with abstract imagery, drawing from the earliest known Homo sapiens' cave paintings. Marshall’s work incorporates markings, drawings, and symbols found in caves and on rock faces across Argentina, Borneo, the Western Desert of Egypt, Indonesia, Central India, and the Horn of Africa. These ancient visual languages act as a form of communication, telling stories of daily rituals and collective experiences.

The circle dance, a recurring motif in artefacts from the 12th to 16th centuries, serves as a historical and cultural cornerstone for the performance. Historically, these dances strengthened communities, marked significant occasions, and played an integral role in spiritual ceremonies, fostering a profound sense of unity and ‘togetherness.’

In Infinity Dance, Marshall seeks to merge the ritualistic movements of these ancient circle dances with contemporary interpretations of traditional behaviors—such as online beauty tutorials, celebrity culture, plastic surgery, and online dating. The performers’ movements intertwine with the abstract markings of the painting, creating a portal that connects humanity’s earliest expressions of ritual with their modern incarnations.

In March 2019, Marshall invited Laura Hemming-Lowe to collaborate on the choreography and production of the performance. Over two months, they worked together to blend ceremonial group dancing and global movement traditions with the modern, tech-driven culture of individualism and vanity.

Hemming-Lowe, drawing on her training in Contemporary Theatre and Dance, guided performers through a series of physical exercises rooted in the practices of 21st-century movement pioneers such as Jacques Lecoq, Jerzy Grotowski, and Rudolf Laban. These exercises, inspired by the themes of ritual and gesture in Marshall’s concept, culminated in a dynamic fusion of improvised movement, devised by the performers, and carefully choreographed ritualistic circle motifs.

By Aimee Valentine Marshall in collaboration with Laura Hemming-Lowe