Ghost Peloton at Yorkshire Festival

Posted on May 12, 2014

On May 16 and 17, a glowing parade of cyclists will perform a “ghost peloton” at Waides Yard in Leeds. Phoenix Dance Theatre is among the collaborators in the choreographed live event, which fuses endurance sport, dance and public art.

Ghost Peloton is part of Yorkshire Festival 2014, the first cultural festival in the history of the Tour de France. The celebrated cycling race, now 111 years old, will start in the UK this year, with the Grand Départ – the first two days of the race – hosted by Yorkshire. A “peloton” is the main group of riders in a road bicycle race. In this instance, the peloton will glow in the dark.

Directed by Angus Farquhar of Glasgow-based public arts organisation NVA, and choreographed by Sharon Watson, artistic director of Phoenix Dance Theatre, the Ghost Peloton sees 30 synchronised cyclists, dressed in LED light suits, with a film projection of illuminated dancers and a BMX stunt cyclist. Each cyclist, bike and performer will be lit up by Phil Supple’s lighting design, using NVA’s bespoke LED light suits. The film also shows the ghost peloton riding through iconic locations along the Yorkshire Tour de France route. Spectators can also arrive by bike, pedalling along three national cycle network routes converging on Waides Yard in the city centre.

For more information, see http://nvaspeedoflight.org.uk/page/119/Live+event

Photograph: Tim Smith

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.