Billy Cowie works principally in the area of dance, installation and screen dance.
The dance starts with four self-manipulating transitions performed with the left hand – turning the body by the shoulder, turning the head, pushing in the stomach and lifting the right arm – all producing a sense of helplessness.
The last of the transitions also prepares the first visual metaphor – the poem is about suicide from falling, and when the arm now representing the person has been raised above the head, it is dramatically released to allow it to fall slowly. Towards the end of its descent, the movement is inflected with small ornamental transitions as if it were buffeted by the wind. In the second section, the dancer becomes the slowly falling body putting the shoulders back and arching the body. The third section repeats the first visual metaphor, but this time with the right leg raised and then released to fall slowly. The final section reprises the falling body section but now standing on one leg where the microbalance adjustments of the dancer enhance the falling, out-of-control image.