Contemporary dance company Etched Dance Productions present Scribble Scape, their representation of physical graffiti that has them intricately weave themselves around St Kevin’s Arcade.

The company of six dancers use a tea set as their central theme and form a dance around it, transforming from everyday gestures to highly stylised movement to fully choreographed routine. This highly energetic performance showcases the performers dancing variously solo, in pairs and altogether, allowing for a wide range of visuals and ensuring that each member of the audience will have seen a slightly different show.

The performers’ use of the space is incredible. They rush continually up and down the stairs, ensuring that all levels are covered as well as climbing precariously around the balustrade and through the audience so you aren’t sure where to look next.

The small vignettes between pairs of dancers were interesting and often presented the most experimental dancing, but it was the moments when all six dancers came together that really allowed them to take flight and pull the audience along with them. Even when passersby walking through the arcade could have interrupted the routine, the dancers remained unperturbed and easily adapted to their surroundings.

The musical accompaniment, provided by keyboard and muted drums, was a real asset to the performance and helped to create a wonderful atmosphere in the surprisingly good acoustics of St Kevin’s Arcade. The creation of such an atmosphere when competing with a busy café and the traffic on K Road is no mean feat. Other sound effects are provided by the dancers, mostly naming different types of tea, but it is the music that really sets this piece off.

The real joy of this performance is its location and the brilliant way Etched Dance Productions have taken over the space. Getting dance and theatre performances out of the theatre and into the public arena is exactly what Fringe is all about and this is a perfect example. The performance is free and with a running time of only thirty minutes, everyone can afford to go and take in the show. Performances like this are an asset to the Fringe and to the Auckland arts scene as a whole – this is how to get people into the arts.

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Beautifully bright, sunny weather greeted me in Civic Square this lunchtime; I regretted not bringing my sunglasses. Just in front of the grassy area behind the MOB Building (101 Wakefield St), the six women of Etched Dance were doing pre-show warm-ups visible to the lunchtime crowd; their clothes all the colours of the fluoro highlighter rainbow.

The performers start the show in three pairs of two, making their way from the corners of the square and converging on the centre. We see hunchbacked, animal-like movements; graceful floating and plenty of blowing of bubbles. Bubbles remain a near-constant element in the show, providing a lot of fun to the audience – I would have liked to see the dancers interact with them more, instead of simply making them part of the scenery. 

A recurring theme through the short and sharp show is human interaction in pairs, with various tones from the friendly to the hostile. The moods of the pair are often amplified by the rest of the troupe, presenting many satisfyingly complete tableaux. Characterisations are full of fun and liveliness.

I admit to being no expert on dance, but if I had to categorise their vocabulary I would call it broadly contemporary, with strong influences from the popular music world. Naturally enough, movement is the primary focus of this performance, however there are some riveting uses of sound and vocalisation too (mostly non-verbal). The only accompanying soundtrack is the ambient noise of Civic Square, leaving plenty of space to appreciate the physical movement. 

Some of the transitions between sections are a little hard to follow, but there is good shape to the show and they finish on a high. Most enjoyable of all is the six dancers’ sense of fun and play: the clothes are bright; the themes are light; and they’re enjoying themselves. The odd moment in this world première performance was a bit unco-ordinated, but that will sort itself out as they become more comfortable with the environment of the square.

This is a free show, and at only 17 minutes long (not 30 minutes, as the Fringe website says) it’s the perfect excuse to get out of the office to see something fun and light. Scribble Scape is a delight to watch and Etched Dance is made up of six recent graduates – Sam Wood-Rawnsley, Jesse Quaid, Febe (Sarah) Holmes, Serene Lorimer, Elise Chan, Amy Mauvan – who are both talented and engaging. I wish them the best of weather for the remainder of their run. 
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