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From the confines of a station waiting room, Charlotte Edmonds looks to dance as a physical representation of sensory overload

At the flick of a switch, everyday triggers can generate responses that manifest in mysterious ways – a growing normality in an age of overstimulation and neverending distraction. In dance short Goldfish, Charlotte Edmonds directs and choreographs a physical and artistic representation of sensory overload, set within the claustrophobic limits of a station waiting room.

A meditation on mental health and intrusive influences through the medium of dance, Goldfish features rising artist Aishwarya Raut of Rambert Dance Company and Edwin Louis, as the former’s tolerance for the invasive noises and interruptions around her crumbles. Channelling her internal struggles through expressive movement, we watch as her facade fades and the building emotions overcome her in a surge of electricity.

“Goldfish plunges into the mind of someone going through the motions and gasping to escape overconsumption within an ordinary space. The undulating curves and ripples, and electric currents running through the body forces us to see her in her rawest form.”

A former resident at The Royal Ballet, Edmonds evolved the film’s choreography from live performance, Generation Goldfish, premiered with the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich – who supported the film's creation along with Arts Council England. Playing on the concept of having the “attention span of a goldfish”, and influenced by the research of neuroscientist Crawford Winlove, Goldfish is a testament to mental and emotional grounding in testing moments, and the coping mechanisms we create to silence the noise that can threaten to overwhelm us in a time when racing thoughts and the conflict of external influence is an ever-present concern.

Director - Charlotte Edmonds 
Cinematographer - Kyle Macfadzean