Totentanz by Shotput

What if, when we die, we don't need to balance our accounts? What if, instead, we need to make a dance? A dance of death. 

Totentanz is a live show and community photographic project that approaches death with dark humour and an open heart.  

Two performers in a dance-hall setting try to create the perfect dance of death - and fail each time. Over the course of an hour they try out different shapes, different styles, different (sometimes glittering) costumes - trying and failing, laughing, kicking, and screaming, all in an effort to make the perfect totentanz. The photographic project sees communities around Scotland share stories and create images that chart the thin border between death and life. 

This is an intimate performance, with the audience immersed in the dance-hall designed by Shotput associate artists Anna Yates and Emma Jones, surrounded by the  exhibition of photographs created around Scotland, with Cat Myers original music vibrating through the floor. 

A work-in-progress was performed as part of Dance International Glasgow at Tramway in October 2021. The performance was accompanied by a photographic exhibition by Brian Hartley, made in collaboration with members of the Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre community. 

Totentanz was originally commissioned by Dance Base Scotland, Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre and Tramway as part of #LoveDanceScotland. Supported by the Scottish Government’s Performing Arts Venue Relief Fund through Creative Scotland. 

The full creation and Scottish tour is supported through Creative Scotland’s Touring Fund. 

Age Recommendation: 12+
Running Time: 75 mins (approx)