Billy Maxwell Taylor / Eira Dance Theatre

Join me in a space of rest.

“When alone in the fields, with no one to see them, they would hop, skip and jump, touching the ground as lightly as possible and crying “We are bubbles of Earth! Bubbles of Earth! Bubbles of Earth!” – Flora Thompson, Lark Rise to Candleford (1945)

Billy Maxwell Taylor’s patient installation offers 10 minutes of stillness in the busyness, harmonising a soundscape of youth and childhood with calming tea.

Created as part of MA Expanded Dance Practice at London Contemporary Dance School.

Artistic Statement

A young boy lived near a brook, which he played in with his wellies on.

An uncertain teenager stared at screens and saw many men in suits.

A young man saw the city and was wrapped in walls, learning.

A still-young man listened to the sea, alone, dreaming worlds.

A man lives in the cycle of trains, shoulder to shoulder each morning, learning.

A being returns to the sea, together, retracing a world.

Billy Maxwell Taylor searches for stillness in the busyness. Observing the increased burnout in Western society, Billy strives to cultivate space to rest, reflect, connect and listen. In movement, soundscapes and poetic text, he curates worlds of tranquility and vitality.

He sees his practice existing at the intersection between workplace wellbeing and ecological sustainability, acknowledging their deep interrelatedness. Drawing on principles of deep ecology, his creations often begin as patient site-responsive encounters across forests, beaches, gardens and cityscapes, finding resonances between space and self.

These processes are framed around ‘inch-wide, mile-deep’ contemplation into topics such as fragmented memory, the seasonality of being and burnout as weathering.