Bodytorque - DNA June 18 2014

Bodytorque - DNA June 18 2014

State Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne.

This is the first time that the Australian Ballet has presented their Bodytorque season in Melbourne. The theme this year was DNA and five works were presented with varying degrees of success.

"CORPUS CALLOSUM" choreographed by Richard Cilli with music by James Wade and costumes by Monica Morales was easily the highlight of the evening.

This piece had the best flow and segues between movements.  Visually it made sense like an animated science explanation of DNA.  The groupings and relationships created a variety of shapes and images.  At times it was like we were looking under a microscope with the ripple effect of moves.

This work seemed to be the most polished of the evening with their precision and finish to the choreography. It did not appear to be just a series of impressive groupings or tricks but instead showed us a depth of choreographic understanding to keep the audience intrigued.

"I CANNOT KNOW" with  choreography and costume design by Joshua Consandine  and music by  George Lentz showcased an Alice In Wonderland style adventure.  Starting in silence before the main curtain our "Alice" type character reveals a galaxy of moving images.  They could be stars, moons or comets.  It was like a variation of the above animated science explanation of DNA, each moving in their own unique manner.

The dancers wore beautiful black and sparkling unitards which glistened against the blue lit back curtain.  These costumes made an instant impact that wanted you to watch these bodies move.

The choreography varied at times and really showcased the dancer's strengths.  This was evident in Chengwu Guo's brilliantly executed and explosive jetes and sautes.   Yes it made you sit up and take notice that he created dynamic shifts in attention but to the detriment that his impressive solos were jarring and incongruent to the rest of the choreography. 

I loved the partner work and worry there is not always a natural flow to create the final beautiful image of various challenging lifts.  Some of the lifts or images are created at the expense of the choreography.  What I really admire is the ability of Joshua Consandine to create such innovative lifts and images.

"SAME VEIN" choreography and costume design by Alice Topp with music by Sergei Rachmaninov began with a soloist toying with a pair of antlers and creating various images.

The media artist Brendan Harwood provided a swirling kaleidoscope of images.  This to me was where the real dancing occurred and distracted from the physical dancers.  I thought there was too much reliance on the multi media as at times it was hard to see the dancers against the rear backdrop and due to the lighting design.

The "fluffy" costumes were impracticable as "fluff "was falling off and could be dangerous if a dancer slipped on them.  These costumes were designed for impact and not for the rigours of dance wear.

The stillness moments or freezes were shaky and needed more composure.  This was the work that I thought needed more refinement to the choreography - when I  could see it against the competing multi-media backdrop.

Act Two began with "CONTROL" choreographed by Richard House and music by Gabriel Faure and costumes by Kat Chan.  This was supported by Graham Silver's lighting design of green spotlights and white fluorescent lights that created a pulse and a dance of images.

This work showed us variations of what is to be in control and when out of control.  It was like a visualisation of Martin Seligman's master work "What You Can Change and What You Can't."  I loved how one partner controlled the other in off-balance positions.  It showed the reliance on each of the dancers.  This was evident in the over-extended pointe-work and the exaggerated shifts in their centre of balance.

The men wore black shorts while the women wore black leotards with various designs. The most impressive costume was Ingrid Gow's costume that had a horizontal cream stripe across her upper chest and a stripe down the  side of her body. The choreography seemed to be made to highlight this costume superbly.  The most impressive image was when her stripes were highlighted in a seamless extension of her arabesque penche en-pointe.  They showed to great dramatic effect - either the strip on her chest or along her side depending on whether she was in epaulment or not.  The lines were perfect and the image is imbedded in my mind.  Even though the other women's costumes looked great, it was a shame that they did not create such a holistic image in concert with the choreography. 

I thought this piece was so well rehearsed and danced beautifully with poise, grace and respect for their partner.

"EXTRO" choreography and costume design by Timothy Harbour was danced to harpsichord music by Henrik Mikolaj Gorecki.   This work was like a ballet class with enchaiments joined together with some linking phrases. 

At times, due to some of the groupings, this reminded me of a ballet class version of the "Jets" and "Sharks" from "West Side Story."  Also with the repeated and explosive developpe with arms through fourth  reminded me of the opening sequence of the above movie.   This overused phrase had wrists flapping inconsistently with both the men and the women.

This piece was like a historical musical visualisation by Ruth St Dennis.  The men seemed to be like Ted Shawn with their crawling positions.  The men seemed to be the introverts when they were in the crouching and crawling positions similar to Hofesh Shechtor's "Political Mother."

The harpsichord music and the groupings reminded me both the music of Phillip Glass' and the frantic pace of Twyla Tharps' "In The Upper Room."

The finale image was powerful with the support of the focused triangular shaped lighting was like an advertisement for "So You Think You Can Dance Australia."

 I enjoyed this work though felt it could do with some refining and polish of some arm positions and purity of group line formations.

Overall, three out of five good works and two that need a bit of work. 

Let us hope that Bodytorque is a regular event that is shown in more cities annually.  This will give an opportunity for these new works to be seen by more audiences and give the dancers an opportunity to showcase new choreographers.  I think that Bodytorque should be a part of the Australian Ballet's season and would be the perfect vehicle for a second arm to their touring arm.

 

 

Wicked Review June 5 2014

Wicked Review June 5 2014

We saw "Wicked" at the Regent Theatre on Thursday June 5 2014 and loved it. Jemma Rix is sensational as Elphaba and Lucy Durack is superb as the ditzy blonde Galinda/Glinda. I thought it was better than when I originally saw it in 2008.

It was also good to hear a few cast members who were flat in other musicals in the last twelve months, were in tune last night. You have to give them credit with eight shows a week they looked fresh.

Maggie Kirkpatrick as Madame Morrible is pointed and authorative.

Edward Grey plays an admirable Boq without any of the Australian Idol fanfare.  This is in total contrast to his very camp hairdresser from "Legally Blonde."

Reg Livermore played the Wizard with agility of body and with a more aged voice.

Emily Cascarino played Nessarone with a lovely pure voice that brought out her coldness.

Steve Danielsen played Flyero with aplomb but I wanted more stillness in his confidence.  Though the duet "As Long As Your Mine" with Jemma Rix was sublime.

Nathan Carter as Doctor Dillamond was played with the right amount of caper and lovely control of his bleating.

Matt Holly played Chistery with agility and assurance of character. This may appear a thankless role but he played Gregory Maguire's intent magnificently.

The ensemble singing and dancing was confident and assured. 

If you have not read the book then I do recommend reading anything by Gregory Maguire. He is such a wordsmith and I am in awe at his skill. How the creators condensed his book into such a fine musical is beyond me. Congratulations on a good show.

Chroma Australian Ballet June 11 2014

Chroma Australian Ballet June 11 2014

I saw The Australian Ballet perform "Chroma" and must say it is one of the best contemporary mixed bills I have ever seen.  They danced the very difficult "Chroma" by Wayne McGregor with great skill and artistry.  The undulating ripples of the upper body puts a lot on the dancer's core.  Still in awe of their terrific agility and technique. 

Stephen Baynes' new work "Art To Sky" I felt paid homage to John Cranko because of his group formations and pas de deux.  The lighting plot was sensitive and highlighted his choreography without dominating.

Jiri Kylians' works never seem to fail and it was great to see "Petit Morte" and "Sechs Tanze" again.  The control and skill of the men with their swords was near perfection as they had to swing, roll and flip and  these inanimate partners. The "hide and seek" reveal of the black curtain exposed a few dancers and lost some of the magic when you know that it can be done seamlessly to appear like a magic trick.  The second time was better when the girls and the swords disappeared.  Not a quibble but admiration to show these dancers are creating magic with their dedication to their art.

"Sech Tanze" is such a fun work and they had the audience in the palm of their hand.

 The tallest male in "Petit Mort" who deserves special mention as his partnering skills were impeccable.  He had such control of his partner and handled her like a delicate rose as if he were not only the florist arranging her but also the vase to showcase her.  I think it is Charles Thompson but apologies as he was the tallest man in this ballet.  He is a male to watch in the future.  I hope he does not just get used for the huge "lugging and lifting" ballets were they need the strongest to carry the woman.  This young man deserves more than that with his magnificent technique.

Give me a contemporary mixed bill any time as you get more dancing per minute than a narrative ballet.  Congratulations to The Australian Ballet.  Hopefully you will bring back "Caravans" by Louise Falco and also pay homage to Ross Stretton, Gailene Stock and Kelvin Coe who danced it originally in Australia.

 

Pilobolus - Shadow Land

Pilobolus - Shadow Land

I saw "Shadow Land" by Pilobolus Dance Theater at The State Theatre on Saturday May 31st 2014 and loved it. For those who have not booked in other Australian cities I recommend it.

It was great to see such a diverse audience last night and they loved it.

What used to be Melbourne Festival fare has now educated audiences to have this as a mainstream dance event. Well done to the producers as I have waited since 1977 to see them live in Melbourne, and I was not disappointed.

This is the first full length work by Pilobolus.  They are an athletic group of dancers who combine so many elements of gymnastics, dance, theatre, shadow-play, and shadow puppetry to create a visual feast.  It is like a dance version of the "The Black Theatre of Prague" that I have seen three times. 

Forget the story as it is so basic and familiar to you already.  It is more like a dreamscape. Let the story wash over you like a hallucinogenic.  A teenage girl longs for her independence and prepares for bed.   She wakes to see her shadow and travels on a journey of discovery.  She turns into a Dog Girl.

If "Shadow Land" was produced in the late 1960s or early 1970s  it would have audiences synthetically marvelling as they did with the film "2001 A Space Odyssey."

I agree with Chloe Smethurst from The Age newspaper (May 31st 2014, page 39) who called the narrative "clunky."  Yes - so what?  Don't worry about the story - enjoy their skill and artistry to create a piece of physical theatre. It is like a bad nightmare. Nothing new here.  So what!

The skill and timing of the dancers is sublime.  Blink and you may miss a visual treat.  Sometimes I had to look twice to recognise some of the images, like those "perception tests" that can be used by Human Resources Departments.

I loved the variety of the segues between scenes.  They used fade- ins, framing techniques, rolling in and out, lighting techniques, screens revolving, and dance to seamlessly direct our attention where it should be.

The circus/freak-show sequence reminded me of a poor cousin to "Pippin" which is currently playing on Broadway (and should play here.)  What Pilobolus performed in this sequence was not the strongest choreographic aspect of the show.  It seemed like a string of tricks to showcase the individual performers that was in keeping with the story.

One of my favourite scenes was the Dog Girl riding in the car with the scenery passing before our eyes. Then they turned around they showed a different perspective of the same scene.  Always moving forward and not being static in their choreographic ideas.  I will not highlight each moment as that would spoil the fun of watching the hitchhiking Dog Girl's journey.

Watch the Dog Girl and how she uses her hands to create ears, tongues and other body parts.  It requires good balance and skill to also hold onto her swag and create two ears.  If she dropped that swag it would spoil the illusion.  Thankfully she does not spoil this illusion.

I loved the simple story and the transitions particularly in the opening sequences whereby we are educated as to how the effects and the shadow play will be produced.  They used two main screens with the larger screen being raised and lowered like a traditional theatre curtain while the smaller screen was wheeled forward and backwards and also used like a revolving stage set.  They also incorporate into the story a lesson in how the shadows are formed, and, how the dancers' location to the light source can determine the size and dynamics of the shadow.

They also used three mobile screens to create the illusion of the full moon passing and then the rising sun. The fluidity of the dancers carrying the  lights and the screens created another illusion of pure joy and simplicity.

The simple and effective use of two large cards to create V shape transitions was majestic.  I loved how you could see how the dancers created these illusions - if you knew where to look.  That is the secret - do not take your eyes off their every move.  Watch everything to see how the ensemble cast change roles from dancer to either puppeteer, lighting or props technician.

There were so many clever uses of lighting, props, staging and choreography.  The dancers were not only responsible to recreate the choreography of movement, but also of the entire set, costumes, props and lights.

The "steps over the backs of other dancers" sequence is such a cliche that was so often used by Sydney Dance Company and also very effectively with stools to climb mountains in "The Three Lives of Lucy Cabrol" (Theater de Complicite). But here we are witnessing one of the 20th Century originators/re-definers of the physical theatre.  Pilobolus are masters of the physical and pay homage to Balinese Shadow Puppets and also to Alwin Nikolais and his use of lights and costumes. ( I was so lucky to have witnessed Alwin Nikolais twice in 1986, and to now see his influence of dance and theatre on Pilobolus.)

I loved the sections broken up between the shadow theatre and the pure physical theatre.  This gave us a respite from just watching the shadow theatre so that we would appreciate their skill in bite size chunks.  They use the five second rule to their advantage.

The finale to the encore is obviously choreographed for each city that Pilobolus visits to the new anthem for New York City: "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys.  It is a clever and memorable finish to personalise and to thank their host city.  It was great to see the cast spell out "Melbourne" with their bodies and hear a resounding cheer of recognition and appreciation from the audience.

I would love Pilobolus to create a short video of these "finale encores" of all of the cities they have visited.

It was  so refreshing to see a non-traditional-dance audience as the majority.  It seemed such a General Public audience and they loved it.  This goes to show that what was once avante-garde dance presented by the Melbourne Festival or Fringe Festival has paved the way to become standard programming fare. Television shows like "So You Think You Can Dance" have also educated audiences to what is possible in physical theatre. It also shows historically that Pilobolus have paved the way for other physical theatre companies like Cirque de Solei etc.

This show is now so accepted as mainstream fare and will hopefully pave the way for audiences to experiment and be tempted to see other contemporary dance companies and assist in the programming decisions at the Arts Centre Melbourne.

Bravo I say to Pilobolus for their dedication since 1971.

I hope you come back soon.

Check out Pilobolus website as they have an extensive touring programme and will be appearing at The Joyce Theater in NYC in July to August 10th 2014.

June 7 2014