FANTASTIC, ENGAGING THEATRE |
 |
) Footnote Forte Solo Series 09 Choreographers: Sarah Foster, Kristian Larsen, Michael Parmenter, Malia Johnston, Maria Dabrowska Footnote Dance Directed by Deirdre Tarrant at Circa Two | Museum Hotel | Hooch Bar, Wellington From 7 Oct 2009 to 9 Oct 2009 Reviewed by Lyne Pringle, 9 Oct 2009 |
Each year Footnote Dance Company invites choreographers to contribute to the Footnote Forte season. This year things have been downscaled in response to the economic squeeze and 6 solos are being presented by the 6 dancers of the company in collaboration with 6 choreographers - an ingenious way to keep the momentum and innovation of the company rolling.
Whether company director Deirdre Tarrant was responsible for the choice of choreographers or whether the dancers decided, the creative partnerships have resulted in happy marriages, with each of the solos capitalizing on the particular attributes of these fabulous dancers.
Some works have creative flesh that sit easily on the bones whilst others have yet to get more fully under the skin. No doubt this will happen with more performances.
A welcome feature of this buzzy and intimate evening is the setting of two of the works in venues outside of a theatre i.e. the Museum Hotel and Hooch Bar. This means a trek through the rain from Circa Theatre and an interval sipping wine, eating cake and looking at great art in the Museum Hotel. It's fun and adds to the uniqueness of the occasion.
Circa Two is not a great venue for dance and I miss a lot of floor choreography as a result - it seems sensible to set things further back on the stage where this is the case.
Some of the key moments in Michael Parmenter's work Somebody's Darling - about an unknown person buried in Millar's Flat Central Otago - are missed because of the sightline issue. The Douglas Lilburn score Elegy has a visceral quality and the poems by Alistair Te Ariki Campbell are melded beautifully to it. I long for a less muddy and louder rendering in this space in order to fully match the visuals on stage.
As always Michael Parmenter's artistic choices and research are impeccable as he gives us another work that explores his favourite themes of love loss and yearning, this time immersed in the dynamic and sometimes unforgiving wilderness of Otago.
There are serendipitous factors in the fabric of the work. Francis Christeller, wearing his whakapapa, dances with style and conviction and with time will find the living and breathing body of this poignant work, which begins to come alive when he sings.
A complex playfulness pervades the collaboration between choreographer Kristian Larsen (debuting with Footnote) and dancer Claire Lissaman as new facets of her performance are revealed in the work Adze, which is dedicated to composer /improviser /performer Phil Dadson. One of the most striking elements in this piece is the use of voice to murmur, sigh and accompany the movement. A gag of blowing out imaginary candles is carried through adding a sense of lightness but these tentative vocal riffs could be more fully explored. Music is by Josh Rutter.
Claire Lissaman's clear and articulate body smiles and relishes tricky movements that twist and spurt through the space to reveal a unique choreographic mind.
Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, is conjured onstage by Anita Hunziker's dancing and choreography from Sarah Foster to Ladyhawke's early musical adventures in Firecracker. A sense of wild exhilaration glues the choreographic phrases together as Hunziker pushes herself to the edge of frenzied 'teenage' exhaustion. Here the juice between choreographer and dancer really flows in pure movement poems with sexy ripples, thigh slaps impossibly fast turns, impolite angles, untidy hair and distinctive mudras.
Last up at Circa is another Footnote debutante, Ross McCormack. In conjunction with Jeremy Poi, he creates Stealth, using graffiti and the hip hop milieu, in particular the work of Darryl Thompson (DLT) and Jeremy's own tag as a source of inspiration for movement.
There is a clever use of a wall signifying the artist's connection with a surface as Jeremy Poi navigates a journey that evokes tension and change. He is a strident, powerful force in the space and there was a palpable sense of something deeply personal being expressed resulting in a real connection with the audience.
An ingenious use of paint gives an earthy primeval feel to the closing sequences of the dance as this individual plays out his battle to music by Jody Lloyd.
At the Museum Hotel we squash into a small space to witness a light movement show that brings to life Len Lye. Choreographer Malia Johnson operates a slide projector as dancer Jesse Wikiwhiri cavorts convincingly as a Lye look-alike. The work begins with his shadow and we are constantly teased between a shadow and a body - I am reminded how much more interesting shadows are than the real thing; thankfully the creators know this.
Malia Johnson continues to dazzle with her creative mind and output. This work successfully evokes the kooky kinetic world of Len Lye and I look forward to seeing where the ideas of a 'man as a screen' lead, there is much potential here. Long time collaborator Eden Mullholland provides the appropriate music.
Last up is another debutante, Maria Dabrowska, also with music by Eden Mullholland. Now we are even cosier in Hooch Bar on Courtenay Place, gathered around a hoop suspended in the air. Dancer Sarah Knox is impressive in her mastery of this apparatus as she whips her way through very technical choreography. Her legs whistle past our ears and I feel close enough to almost hear the contractions of her muscles. She is a great dancer, precise, rigorous and strong.
It is pleasing to experience Maria Dabrowska's choreography on her body this intimately. Stark explores Freda Stark - now there's a legend. This work attempts to evoke a 'firefly' a 'gold tinkerbell'. I see a glorious dancer but the spirit of Freda is somehow lacking for me, there is something too precise about it - I want it to be messier to have a hair or two out of place then maybe the character would emerge.
Fantastic, engaging theatre nevertheless and I leave the Footnote Forte series satiated. Bravo for another great initiative from the Footnote team, catch it if you can!
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News.
See also reviews by:
Jennifer Shennan (The Dominion Post);
David Zeitner-Smith