Q&A with Chester Hayes

Collaboration is at the heart of the Roberts Institute of Art. As we continue to learn about what collaboration can be, we have asked a variety of cultural practitioners to discuss the way they live and work with others.

This week dance artist and choreographer Chester Hayes speak with us.

Top tip for how to work together well when you collaborate?

My top tip would be to understand how best you collaborate. Understand your way of working so you can give your fullest energy to the collaboration. I think it’s really important to understand and vocalise your own working needs and integrate the needs of your collaborators. Everyone has different needs when collaborating, some people’s greatest ideas come to them when they’re on their own. Those people benefit from finding space to explore independently within the collaboration. Conversely, others need to consider how they will facilitate face-to-face time to bounce ideas off one another.

Listening to one another’s needs and arranging your working structure accordingly allows you to be your most present for your collaboration.

How has the pandemic made you rethink relationships?

The pandemic has really taken the spontaneity out of socialising for me. Social occasions have understandably become so meticulously planned and I miss not knowing where you’ll end up on a Saturday night. I miss bumping into people! I don’t seem to bump into anyone where I live. I love the unexpected treat of bumping into familiar faces at The Glory on a Sunday night.

I have enjoyed the intimacy of socialising during the pandemic though—I’m quite a fan of a small dinner party. It’s nice seeing my friends get excited over a homemade potato gratin on a Saturday night. The pandemic has made people appreciate the simplest of social situations and that brings me a lot of joy. I’m cherishing my relationships more than ever and have realised that I don’t need lavish plans in order to enjoy the company of my favourite people.

Your dream collaboration?

My dream collaboration would be to work with Lucy Fizz. Lucy is one of the most captivating performers I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. Her love of dancing is infectious, each movement bursting with freedom and joy. Lucy is an international go-go dancing sensation and I feel so lucky to have danced with her in clubs and at festivals across Europe. Sharing stages with Lucy has always inspired me to let loose and dance from my heart. Despite dancing together for years, we are yet to create anything which exists beyond the nightclub dance-floor.

It’s beautiful when things exist only in the moment but I would love to investigate how Lucy’s movement could translate to choreography. I would be interested in how a movement language could be formed without losing any of the authenticity that Lucy exudes at 4am in a sweaty night-club.

Have you been able to find a way to replicate the proximity found in dancing together and DJing for a crowd?

To be honest, nothing has replicated this proximity for me. My favourite places are sweaty dance spaces. Be it a ballet class or a rave, I cherish them both.

I DJ because I love sharing these spaces with people and love that the music I play inspires people to move. I’ve played for a couple of live DJ streams in the last year from home, obviously they’re a very different experience, but they’ve made me realise how much I feed off the energy of dancing bodies when I play.

I love DJing when it feels like an exchange between dancers and DJ. One thrill I have recently stumbled upon is exposure to cold water! I’ve been taking daily cold showers for the last 6 weeks and recently swam in the sea in Brighton with Sophie Brain. We headed to the coast for my birthday and went for a 20 minute swim, the water was eight degrees. It sounds crazy but felt absolutely amazing.

Daily exposure to cold water has really helped my sleeping pattern. I had tried so many things to aid my sleep before this but nothing had worked for me. I really recommend it—it’s like conquering a fear on a daily basis. I’m hoping to adventure to the coast and swim in the sea more regularly over the next few months. It gives me such a thrill that I’ve been missing since the clubs closed.

Any tracks on repeat this year so far that have helped you feel more connected to others?

I’m gonna say ‘Roisin Murphy- Ancora Ancora Ancora (Severino & Nico De Ceglia remix)’. This song transports me to somewhere very sunny with an Aperol Spritz in hand. It has such a dreamy, Balearic vibe that builds and builds and builds. I love it. I’ve made an indulgent dance warm-up sequence to this track which I’ve been using in rehearsals to transport us to the White Isle for six and a half minutes.