Refractions — Manchester Collective
1. Refractions © Alma Haser. Image courtesy of Manchester Collective.jpg
23–24 6 plain (16x9).jpg
Neon at Bridgewater Hall for Manchester Classical © Chris Payne (2).jpg
 

Clark x Manchester Collective x Melanie Lane

 

REFRACTIONS

 

Manchester & London
25—26 April 2025

 

What if everything that came from the past was influenced by the future? 

Enter a musical time warp where sound resonates across the ages. Manchester Collective teams up with electronic musician Clark and choreographer Melanie Lane for a dizzying performance merging the worlds of contemporary dance, classical and experimental music.

Linear time is a story we tell ourselves. But what if we rewrote it? In Refractions, medieval and baroque music crashes against modern electronica. Dancers call upon rituals from both ancient and alien civilisations. 

Creative director and violinist Rakhi Singh maps constellations between music that lives light years apart. Conceived as one continuous aural and visual experience, Refractions moves through planes of emotions: explosive drama dissipates into moments of calm, disorder collapses into joyous rapture.

At a young age, Clark abandoned his violin for a drum machine. His career has embraced the full spectrum of electronic – from hard-hitting techno to soft ambient and found sound. Refractions uncovers the classical traces hidden all along, with Clark joining the Collective strings and piano ensemble live to perform brand-new arrangements of his work.  

Music and movement are forever intertwined. Melanie Lane’s visceral choreography takes flight as a trio of dancers travels forwards to inhabit imaginary new worlds. Chaos and harmony, darkness and light, speed and stillness punctuate this journey. 

Suspend yourself in time and let go. Alternate realities await.

Refractions is produced by Manchester Collective and is co-commissioned with Southbank Centre and The Bridgewater Hall, with support from Jonathan and Ariella Green

Dates

25 Apr – Manchester – Bridgewater Hall – Book →
26 Apr – London – Southbank Centre – Book →

Check times, ticket prices and access info via the booking links. Please note that this performance contains flashing lights.

Approximate runtime: 90 mins

Artistic Team

Rakhi Singh creative direction, violin
Clark electronics
Melanie Lane choreography
Manchester Collective

Main image: Alma Haser

 

PART OF

24/25

 
 
 

“Beauty and brutality, blistering noise and otherworldly calm”

PITCHFORK, SUS DOG BY CLARK

A patchwork of styles that shouldn’t work together but, by some mysterious alchemy, absolutely do”

THE TIMES, LAD BY MANCHESTER COLLECTIVE

 
 

Experimental programming.
Engaging performances.
Radical human experiences.