HERE MARKS THE SPOT
HERE MARKS THE SPOT is a film-based installation mapping out sights of queer identity. Projections of dancing figures appeared across Leeds - translating personal moments into public celebrations.
HMTS is comprised of four films, each telling a different individual’s story of LGBTQ+ identity.
I connected with members of Leeds’ LGBTQ+ community to hear their stories of queer joy experienced in communal places that are not explicitly recognised as queer. After responding to a call out, local people came together in a series of movement workshops to transform these stories into individual pieces of choreography.
Each film was projected at the individual’s location of queer joy. Together, these site-specific installations formed a trail of unexpected queer joy across the city. From a pottery class, to a woodland footpath, to a university union, each of these places hold a powerful memory for each participant, a memory they have been kind enough to share and which together expand ideas of where queerness can be found.
Reimagining what constitutes a queer space, HERE MARKS THE SPOT illuminated Leeds with movement, energy and light.
Originally developed with Compass Festival, Leeds, as part of Compass Festival 2024.
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Images by Jules Lister
‘For me, the stage has been the space where I can freely express myself. Performance has been my safe space and place of resistance. When I moved to the UK from Chile, my home country, last year to study in the Uni of Leeds, in some way I lost my queer spaces, in the sense that my friends and theatre and feminist collectives were far away. Most of my friends back home, especially the ones related to the performing arts are from the LGBTQ+ community as myself too. Arriving here, I ended up in a more heterosexual ambience, with lovely friends, but missing that side. And performing as well. I think around February a dear friend saw a poster calling people to audition for the new show of the Pantomime Society of the University of Leeds. She encouraged me to audition and although I’ve never done PANTO before I decided to give it a try. I join the show with an amazing group of people. Together we created a beautiful and trusting space – very LGBTQ+ friendly as most of us are queer. We rehearsed the show for a couple of months and there was a particular studio where we used to practice the musical numbers of the show: the Mango Studio in the University Union (LUU). In this space I was able to find a queer space again. Having this freedom with PANTO was very important for me. That is why this particular place has such an important meaning for me. I was able to connect from a different side and express from the body, dancing and performing, essential things for me. That studio and the PANTO society will always be a significant place of joy for me.’
- Abril Sandoval Espinoza
Interested in commissioning HERE MARKS THE SPOT in your local area? Click here to book in a call.
CREATIVES
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DIRECTOR
MELANIE WHITEHEAD SMITH
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PRODUCER
COMPASS LIVE ART
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DOP
ELLY WELFORD
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CHOREOGRAPHY
MELANIE WHITHEHEAD SMITH
IN COLLABORATION WITH
ABRIL SANDOVAL ESPIONOZA
ASHIF
BEVERLY
KIRSTY
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PERFORMERS
ABRIL SANDOVAL ESPIONOZA
ASHIF
BEVERLY
KIRSTY
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FILMING LOCATIONS
THE DANCE STUDIO LEEDS
YORKSHIRE DANCE