Eve Mutso and Joel Brown, dancers
EVE: I was a leading dancer with Scottish Ballet for 13 years and left in 2016. I've been working with US-born dancer Joel Brown on a project called 111 which combines aerial performance and contemporary dance with a hint of classical ballet.
We met five years ago at a workshop led by choreographer Marc Brew through Scottish Ballet and Indepen-dance in Glasgow. Joel wasn't part of the piece but was visiting and joined in our creative movement research. We kept in touch and when Joel moved to London in 2015, we began talking about working together.
I'm from Tallinn in Estonia and Joel is from Salt Lake City in Utah. It is a beautiful testament to Scotland that an Estonian and an American who met in Glasgow produced this piece. Something about Scotland brings out different creative juices in us.
The idea of doing circus arts has always both fascinated and scared me. In ballet, I only left the ground when jumping or being partnered. It was interesting to find strength I never knew I had while battling my fear of heights.
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I've had injuries and Joel has had injuries. Picking yourself up after being broken is what makes us who we are. Injuries often make dancers stronger. We search to find ways to work through it. Pain can be an indicator to stop, but then you start battling with your brain: "How much can I handle? How do I make this work?" You learn to use it as a tool.
Classical dance never shows how much we suffer through the training and repetitive nature of rehearsals. As dancers we must always make it look beautiful and effortless, but we are all carrying scars. In 111, we draw on many things: two different bodies, backgrounds and training, experiences and journeys, hardships and injuries.
JOEL: Dance is very much in my family. My mum was a dancer and my dad was a gymnast. My great aunt Virginia Tanner was quite a famous dancer who started the professional dance and children's dance scene in Salt Lake City. I'm a third-generation dancer. I'm one of seven kids and we are all dancers and movers to some extent.
I was in a car accident aged nine and a spinal cord injury left me paralysed from the chest down. Before the accident I was athletic and although I danced as a child, I much preferred sport. In 2012, I joined AXIS Dance Company in California and then Candoco Dance Company in London four years ago.
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We named the show 111 because our joke is that Eve moves as if she has 100 vertebrae and my spine is fused so I only have 11. When we started talking about working together, I did a writing exercise where I sent Eve a series of notes about everything from music and religion. Through working on 111, I have discovered an even deeper passion for dance.
111 is at Emerald Theatre, Greenside @ Nicolson Square, Edinburgh, 12.30pm, from Monday until August 24. Visit greensidevenue.co.uk
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