#FriendsFriday58 Matthew Winston

What song always makes you dance? (We have a Spotify playlist!)

So many absolute dance floor fillers to choose from! What should I pick? I think I’ll go with Am I Wrong by Aanderson .Paak for the feel-good vibes.

Listen to the #FriendsFriday playlist on Spotify

What else are you working on at the moment? (Upcoming performances, exciting projects, holidays!)

Well, like everyone else, a lot of my work got cancelled or postponed last year due to Covid and things haven't really picked up fully for me yet, so there isn’t much to plug (other than the upcoming tour of Preppers). I did become a Dad last summer, and am currently working on keeping another human being alive as best I can. So far so good!

Any links? (Links to your work, your company website, Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud etc?)

You can find me on instagram at matthew.winston.dance, where I am less than prolific but getting better.

Meet more of the Casson & Friends team on Fridays with #FriendsFriday!

How have you been involved with Casson and Friends?

I started working with Casson and Friends in 2016, so a full five years ago now! My first project with the company was Night at the Theatre, a family show about three friends who sneak into an apparently empty theatre… with hilarious consequences. Tim always describes it as a site specific piece - it’s just that the site happens to be on stage in a theatre.

I’ve since been involved in a few different projects with Tim, including The Dance We Made and They Dance, but the meatiest has to be Preppers: a show about prepping and preparedness that we debuted in Bournemouth earlier this month. More tour dates are on the way - we’ll be coming to a bunker near you!

What do you love about dance?

I think my answer to this question has changed over time. When I was a teenager it was the sheer excitement of throwing myself around and the feeling that I was doing something unusual and cool - to be honest that probably hasn't entirely gone away! During my training I intellectualised my interest into something more academic. The body is central to the human experience, and given that the body is also central to dance I felt that perhaps it lent the art form a unique perspective, giving it something distinct to say about who and what we are as human beings. Now I just enjoy the opportunity to be centred in my physical self and enrich my knowledge of the body. Also I’m a massive show off and love getting paid to be the centre of attention.

Matthew with Lucy in #PREPPERSTheShow in our Bournemouth premiere.

Matthew performing at Night at the Theatre