Australian Dance Theatre 'Held'
Performance Reviews || Monday, 2 April, 2007
The first week in spring and the Edinburgh theatre world has been awakened from its winter season by a positively blooming programme of dance.
Last week saw visits from Scottish Dance Theatre, Australian Dance Theatre and Henri Oguike Dance Company.
From the traditional contemporary to the experimental, it could not have been more diverse. I am always assured that with SDT, not only will I see some beautiful dancing, but my brain will be stretched. However, I was eager to see something new.
With the arrival of Australian Dance Theatre, I expected to be wowed by their athleticism and titillated by their fearless and sexy show (if the previews were anything to go by).
'Held' is a collaboration with photographer Lois Greenfield. Capturing moments of the dance using a digital camera and projecting them instantly on to the stage is an exciting concept. The camera can stop time; record a moment, a breathtaking pose that your eye could not possibly register in the transitions of movement.
The unfortunate drawback of this is your eye is drawn to watching the captured images on the giant screens and away from the dancers. But hang on, the pumping music, the athletic dancers, the giant leaps, the testosterone fuelled combat-style interactions, the costumes, not to mention the hair, fight for my attention. So I try to concentrate on that. However I can’t help but think that the dancers are the subjects and not the objects of this piece.
Asked whether they felt the choreography was compromised for photography, the company disagreed. They insisted the dance came first but the repetitive jumps, movement lost in strobe lighting and the designer costumes all contributed to the feeling I was observing a shoot for Vogue magazine.
In a way, I could have enjoyed an insight in to a photographer at work, but I came to watch dance. The dancers themselves are highly skilled and I felt that they deserved more.
One dance company where I felt the dancers got my full attention, despite also mixing media, was Henri Oguike. His collaboration with musician Iain Ballamy demonstrated beautifully how sound can stimulate the performance. The music integrates seamlessly throughout all of his work, directly influences movement and brings out a playful sense of humour.
His dancers are a joy to watch and were given choreography that demonstrated that our bodies are creative instruments too.
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