Leigh Warren & Dancers present Pari passu…touch

17 May 2012
Adelaide Festival Centre – In Space until May 26.

Purchase tickets at BASS

Leigh Warren’s latest dance work comprises three distinct chapters, each bound to the other by the notion of “equal footing” or “moving together”: pari passu (Latin, not French). Interactive multimedia technology describes and accentuates movement in a new way, whilst an exploration of human touch has the dancers connecting and disconnecting in turn.

Part one (titled random) showcases the lucid touchscreens which dominate Mary Moore’s set design. A seamlessly-tiled image of slate stone is stretched and morphed by some unseen force. Using their bodies the dancers are able to manipulate the projected images, to wondrous effect. Four silhouettes lined up against the screen play a game of Chinese whispers by movement. Prismatic bolts of energy connect them: a phrase begun by one dancer is continued, expanded upon or disregarded as it’s passed down the line. Fluid movement is translated into geometric shapes as a dynamic system of connect-the-dots forms, tracing arms and hands, legs and feet.

Where random demonstrates what the cool touchscreens are capable of, tangled is all about the dancers. Jesse Martin and Bec Jones partner up, delivering a pas de deux that’s sparking with fiery sensual energy. It’s great to see Lisa Griffiths again after her recent performance in Side To One. Although I preferred her partnership with Craig Bary in that previous production, here partnered with Timothy Farrar she again displays her incredible control and technique.

The third part, aptly named synchronic, brings all four dancers into militaristic unison. There’s a hypnotic repetition of beat, in the soundtrack and choreography. At best it feels neo-tribal, conjuring up a trance like state from the dancers whilst a projected vortex swirls unremittingly. Unfortunately the solo breakouts disrupt this mood, dissipating the powerful groundswell of kinetic energy that’s built up by the group.

The importance of the projection and music design of this piece cannot be understated, and here Adam Synnott excels. Transitions between the three parts are work mostly due to his contribution. Overall I didn’t find the work uniformly satisfying, but this could well be due to my individual taste. By its nature the structuring of this work allows for a diversity of expression, and while somewhat episodic this also ensures there’s something for everyone to engage with.

Ellipsis

Gareth Hart, EllipsisGreen tea and wireless headphones, two things that I’ve never been given at a dance performance. It’s dark and I’m sitting in the Queen’s Theatre. Without the headphones on, I can’t hear anything. The entire audience sits in silence, waiting. Drinking green tea. The use of the headphones initially makes me feel totally disconnected from the performer, but in a few short minutes, I’m drawn in. There are no other distractions and it seems as if he is performing directly to me and only me. It’s as if there’s no one else in the entire theatre.

The dancer performs inside a box, to the beautiful sounds of traditional Japanese music. He looks a little like a bird trapped in a cage. But then it changes…

He’s no longer a bird. The audio changes. It’s mechanical, robotic, slightly industrial. The dancers movements hypnotic, rhythmic, repetitive. Is he a robot?  The performance seems as if it could be a commentary on the automated soulless mass production factories where most of the things that we consume come from. Does the box represent work? There’s a pause, and the robotic dancer steps out of the box. In the dark, there are words. Words of beauty, the robot has a soul. Creativity and beauty exist in the midst of mechanical automation.

I’m a little confused. Am I reading something into this performance that isn’t there? There’s no wrong opinion or interpretation of art is there?

Gareth Hart performs Ellipsis, a solo 30 minute interpretative improvised dance performance at the Queen’s Theatre until Sunday 11 March. Follow Gareth on twitter @art_gareth and let him know what you thought of his show.

Eventyr: a garden story

Eventyr: a garden story, set in the beautiful backdrop of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, is the story of a girl who finds herself in a crazed garden. On her journey through the garden she encounters, tipsy flowers, mad robbers, and helpful birds that either help or hinder her escape from the madness.

The premise is charming, aimed at children, Eventyr- a garden story has all the elements to keep them entertained; a character they can relate to, silliness, adventure, movement and villains more comical than scary

The location in the Botanic Gardens is used to its full advantage, a rope weaves the audience through the performance, it alternately guides, defines the performance space or forms characters. It’s a clever device that really helps to draw the audience into the piece, keep them moving and guessing. Between being admitted into gardens after hours and following the rope along secluded the paths, Eventyr gives you a sense of adventure right from the start, where will the rope lead us? what lurks in the gardens after everyone leaves for the day?

While I enjoyed this show, I can’t help but feel that it needs either an earlier time slot to appeal to the young audiences or content that speaks to a wider range of ages. However moments of sublime silliness, such as the scene with the tipsy flowers spouting coloured nectar, will undoubtedly appeal to all.

Unfortunately the timing of Eventyr coincided with a certain car race held nearby. The performers dealt valiantly against the droning of engines, but aspects of the show were drowned out as the sounds intruded. It’s a little hard to get lost in a story and the gardens with cars doing laps less than 2km away. The fact that the show succeeded in engaging the audience despite this intrusion speaks to what it could achieve if the gardens were its more tranquil setting.

Spiriting people through the Botanic Gardens until March 7, Eventyr is a local production, produced by Beg, Borrow and Stea.

Proximity

The Australian Dance Theatre under Garry Stewart never ceases to push boundaries and surprise audiences. Proximity is no exception. Using video Proximity expands on concepts explored in Held of perceptions of reality, where photographs of the dancers were projected immediately onto screens.

Proximity explores perception, the neurobiological and scientific understanding of how we interpret the world around us as well as how we emotionally and philosophically perceive ourselves. In this regard Stewart expands on the previous works Worldhood and Be Yourself .

Yes it’s complex, but I was so engrossed in the performance that I didn’t have the opportunity to examine patterns and threads between science, dance and philosophy. It is only after you have seen the piece that the full impact, connotations and ideas really strike you.

The video, projected on three large screens suspended at the back of the stage, is manipulated by French video engineer and programmer Thomas Pachoud to form kaleidoscopes, webs and phantasms of the dancers.

Movements and expressions that would otherwise be lost in the vast space of the stage and theatre are magnified and amplified on video captured by the dancers themselves. The audience can see how a dancer is able to express with every joint in his finger, or the emotions of joy on dancers’ faces as they work on a particularly fun part. Regardless of where you are sitting in the theatre none of the action is lost to you.

It’s a show that probably needs a repeat viewing, the first to just take in the richness of the performance and technology, the second to attempt to deconstruct the science, philosophy and emotions of perception.

Visually it is spectacular, at times so overwhelming in its complexity and at others so simple. The mix of colours, movement and images provides a visual feast that I just wanted to gorge on.

There are only four more performances of Proximity as part of the 2012  Adelaide Festival, there is also an Auslan interpreted version on March 1.

Where Did It All Go Right?

WARNING: This show contains partial nudity, strobe lighting and… pop music!

Meet the Irish dancing troupe, Ponydance! They’re not at all like the Michael Flatley kind: they’re cheeky, energetic and incredibly flexible.

Paula O’Reilly calls the shots (well at least her character does): she welcomes you as you enter, dictates rules for audience and performer alike and interrupts as she sees fit. Duane Watters, is the quiet, unassuming DJ. Oona Doherty (also dubbed “Double O Heaven”) is gracefully sexy, and often partners with the “Boi”, Lorcan O’Neill, to perform some sensual sequences.

The essence of their show, Where Did It All Go Right?, explores the situations and characters that young people come across when out for a night on the town today. Seems things aren’t so different over there in Belfast… There’s still that girl who bounds clumsily about the dancefloor, that couple who may as well be having upright intercourse and that “maniac”!

I admit that I have difficulty appreciating the technical form or interpreting the meanings of modern dance, but here, the meanings could not be clearer. The Ponydance crew combine their talents as dancers with a sprinkling of comedy, a touch of audience participation and their passion for their artform. The result: a fun engaging 35 minute show, that is over all too quickly. Truly, Where Did It All Go Right? is a comedic dancing delight.

Ponydance are performing at the Stag Hotel (how apt!) and King’s Hotel until Thursday 8 March 2012 as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Tickets available here.