Alexander Whitley Dance Company - Overflow

Following the screening of acclaimed work 8 Minutes on the Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage, New Wave Associate Alexander Whitley returns to stage with a new work which delves into what it means to be human in the era of big data.

Overflow features a dazzling kinetic light sculpture by Children of the Light with creative technologists Fenyce, costumes by fashion artist Ana Rajcevic and a new score by composer Rival Consoles, who has created music, experimenting with “ambient soundscapes, industrial textures, and high-octane club energy” (Pitchfork), for the Netflix series Black Mirror.

Digital technology, now a seemingly indispensable part of modern life, is radically transforming how we experience and act in the world. Overflow considers how our desires, fantasies and vulnerabilities are powerfully influenced by social platforms and explores what lurks beneath our compulsions to check, share and like. “The mounting pile of data does nothing to answer the simple question ‘Who am I?’” Byung-Chul Han.

“Behavioural data, mined from human experience, is now the primary commodity in a communication system designed to know everything about us while remaining unknowable to us. Recording our every click and ‘like’ in order to predict and modify our behaviour, our ability to act freely and our relationship to the future are fundamentally changed. In making Overflow, I’ve drawn inspiration from a wealth of fascinating writing exposing the social, political and psychological transformations we are experiencing in the era of big data and considered the impact this is having on personal autonomy and collective action.” Alexander Whitley.