|
Links
Articles
News
Reviews
Amateur
Theatre
Contact
Other
Resources
|
Fringe 2007 Reviews (30)
Global
Dance Base
***(*)
For a show entitled Global surprisingly few parts of the world
are represented here. In this five piece show, two sections are given
over to Scottish Pria Shrikumar's traditional Indian dance, which, whilst
both beautiful and invigorating, could have been time spent showcasing
another country's talent. This said, Shrikumar's opening pieceDevi
is a stunning start to a varied and stimulating programme.
In light which shifts through golds and deep reds, Shrikumar enacts
the dance of the Goddess, to music which changes beat and tempo from
stately to lively rhythms, sometimes beaten out by the stomping of her
feet and the bells on her ankles. Shrikumar is a commanding performer
with a wonderful face to watch take on the story of the dance, and her
expressive hands add poise and detail. The second of her pieces, Thrillana
is faster paced and livelier but loses none of the first's grace.
In between, like a layer of chantilly cream, sits lyrical Korean Company
Seo. In a two part sequence, Jukyung Kang appears first in loose black
silk, her face partly covered by a red mask. Alternating between curling
fluidity and angular freezes, she seems to take on the appearance of
a giant graceful spider, all the while backed by a reverberating operatic
solo on Seokmoon Chang's soundtrack. The second part sees her joined
by Vanessa Cailhol for a balletic duet set to Albinoni. Clad in rich
pastel colours, and framed by soft lighting and a white cloth backdrop,
the two have a bond somewhere between competition and intimacy as they
lilt, pause and stretch in harmony. There seems to be little more substance
than beauty in this enigmatic piece. However that is surely no cause
for complaint.
Danish Kitt Johnson's evolutionary dance, Rankefod, is a strange
evocation of the origin of species, opening with the startling effect
of Johnson lit to look like she has stumps for arms and no head. Johnson
shifts through an insect-like buzz and flap through to an ominous predatory
being. Whilst an astonishingly precise performer, this piece has an
unresolved feel to it, which makes its programming as last in the show
feel a tad strange.
American Steve Pelton, however, supplies the show's outstanding piece,
in A hundred Miles. In a dark fabric forest, dim light makes
the shadow of a man's form in a delicate chiffon dress only just visible.
Exploring the boundaries of gender and coming-of-age, Pelton enacts
the role of a lonesome young woman, shifting between anxious pauses,
ecstatic whirls and tentative hitching up of her skirts. His chosen
soundtrack of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Peter, Paul & Mary is
heartfelt and soulful, and it's clear from Pelton's body and face that
he feels every word and note. This piece, with its moody fairytale quality,
speaks on all levels of bodily celebration and insecurity from grown
men to young ladies.
Lucy Ribchester
Hip Hop Scotch
Moving Circles
Dance Base
***
Moving Circles hit the right note with their lively fusion of hip hop,
breakdancing, scratching, human beatbox and bagpipes. Setting out with
the aim of exploring the origins of Scottish music and dance alongside
that of the 1970s African American hip hop movement, they succeed in
blending their love of beats with their cultural roots, all hailing,
as they do, from Scotland.
From a rather slow beginning, where the four dancers all take the form
of a Saltire to the sound of pipes and DJ, this stylish work uses short
films interspersed between live sequences, to dip into the music they
wish to explore, showing firstly the similarities between bagpipe battle
in the glens with break-dance-offs in the Bronx, before going on to
ally ceilidhs and block parties as ways of bringing people together
through music and dance.
Featuring the talents of piper Anand 'Bo Selecta' Bhopal, who, in addition
to appearing with the group, frequently performs Indian/Scottish fusion,
and live beatboxer Scott 'Vonny' Vaughn, who pulls off an endearing
and impressive sketch involving a hopscotch pad, the live sequences
are without a doubt the most engaging. The four dancers have a boundless
energy, as they flick and rotate their seemingly weightless bodies on
every axis, and a cheeky edge is given by their camouflage kilts and
Saltire smalls in the 'B-boy 2 step', a ceilidh dance which would give
most highlanders a heart attack.
It's a pity that the balance of live performance to pre-recorded multimedia
is not swayed a little more in favour of the live, nevertheless this
talented young group should be an inspiration to teenagers interested
stamping their own identity on the hip hop form.
Lucy Ribchester
Timeless
Dance Base
****
There is surely no better way in which to illustrate the passing of
time, and its effects (or lack of them), than by showcasing performers
from all generations, which, in this striking trio of pieces, is pulled
off perfectly.
Choreographer and dancer Diana Payne-Myers may be 79, but has been
coaxed back from retirement many a time by fellow dancer Matthew Hawkins.
The result in this first chapter of the triple bill is a cerebral series
of meditations, where the performers, in perfect harmony, mirror, lead
and compliment one another. Occasionally breaking into pastiche of variety
dance or mime, the movement is backed by a soundtrack which shifts between
music and recorded monologue; first hers, of their first meeting, and
then presumably his, a list of book and magazine titles and people.
Designed to be a series of brain teasers for the mind, this gentle opening
was a prime example of the grace and elegance of aging.
Coleman Lemieux and Compagnie's Suddenly Last Winter is a masterful
exploration of male bonding, set to Gavin Bryers's simple but gorgeous
re-working of melancholy folk-ish ditty 'Jesus's love never found me'
in constant repetition. Gradually, dancers Andrew Giday and Ryan Boorne
begin to balance and rotate using one another as support, and as instruments
join the a capella voice, their movement swells into tumbling,
muscular dependency, as they loll over one another's shoulders and roll
on the ground. Both dancers seem to encompass and convey a range of
emotions all at once, and this soulful uplifting piece plumbs the depths
a relationship can accomplish over the passage of time.
Going backwards through time, the final piece, 13, features
the young sons of choreographer Beth Cassani in a charming duet which
continues the theme of masculinity through coming-of-age. In a vaudeville
opening, the two boys, with fox masks clamped to the back of their heads,
perform a cheekily snarling routine in perfect unity. The stage is divided
into two boxes by white chalk, and at the peripheries sit a flowerpot,
a shaving table and an ermine cloak, later used as props. Pulled off
with mature panache, the pair then deliver simultaneous monologues about
the nature of beards and play-fighting. While one shaves with a cut
throat razor, the other enacts a larger-than-life death scene. It is
fitting that this cherubic pair round off the show with time and timelessness
as its theme, as they are no doubt set to be stars of the future.
Lucy Ribchester
Next
page - - - Index
|
