REVIEW: Resolution!: Sigh, Pauline Raineri, Foskett-Piccolo Dance Company

Sat 31 Jan

The Place

Resolution!

Sigh Kasa

Pauline Raineri Si | Si

Foskett-Piccolo Dance Company Woven

I had a great deal of hope for Sigh tonight. A theatrical opening sees a performer gliding through a bright corridor of light with a Japanese oil-paper umbrella. Light hearted expressions of surprise with toothy smiles charm us. But sequences of desperate clutching, unrelenting longing gazes, and the ascension of the umbrella on a wire cable soon indicate the subject of dark obsession. Yet, despite the potential within Kasa’s themes, a solid connection between the dancers is needed for the themes to be fully realised.

In a narrow band of light, which illuminates only their bare legs, dancers Amy Foskett and Giovanna Piccolo flex, flick and pad their feet in slick unison. Pealing their t-shirts over their heads, Woven attempts to explore connections and relationships in the body. Again however, the message needs a little more direction and coherence before we can fully believe in the performance.

Finally, sandwiched between Kasa and Woven, French choreographer Pauline Raineri presents an incredibly honest investigation into the depths of despair and the reality of escape.  At the back of the dark, smoke filled stage dancer Erin O’Reilly is a writhing mass of unfurling arms and trembling limbs. Composer Louis Richard’s bleak landscape of static noise couples fittingly with O’Reilly’s lost expression. She tugs anxiously at her clothes and fingers, stumbling about the stage as she flees an inevitable confrontation. Si | Si is intensely experienced and lived by both soloist and audience. O’Reilly offers a performance with total conviction, which resonates profoundly with everyone.

Maya Pindar

See the official review posted on The Place's Resolution Review! Blog here: http://www.theplace.org.uk/blog/resolution-review-2016/sat-30-jan-foskett-piccolo-dance-companypauline-rainerisigh

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REVIEW: Feet Off The Ground Dance - Éter

Fri 22 Jan 2016

The Place

Resolution!

Feet Off The Ground Dance Éter

Feet Off The Ground Dance opened the night’s triple bill with an intense and exciting performance of Éter. Four women journey through a bleak landscape of gently pulsating lights and electrical whirring. Their organic contact improvisation sets them apart from the other acts of the night (which include Maria Lothe/Rachel Blomberg and Unity Dance Company UK). Being an all-female company, dancers Lucia Chocarro, Robyn Holder, Sophie Thorpe and Patricia Zafra prove that femininity and strength are synonymously connected.

Visually, Feet Off The Ground Dance are incredibly exciting to watch. They slip seamlessly from moments of unison to intricate pairings, intertwining limbs and locking foreheads. The tone changes as live musician Panos Chountoulidis’ score intensifies. The women are like beasts. We can see the exhaustion in their pained expressions, as they hunt and chase each other through the space.

Interestingly, it is a non-contact martial arts passage, which interrupts the flow of intimacy that closes the work. The sudden physical distance between the dancers rounds off Éter quite nicely- despite us wanting a little more from the work. Using repetition and Chountoulidis’ drilling score, Feet Off The Ground Dance create a truly powerful work that highlights and draws upon the dancers’ technical skill and obvious sense of drive.



Maya Pindar

REVIEW: Resolution! Lizzie J Klotz, Maria Fonseca & What is Written Dance Company

20th January 2016
The Place
Resolution!
Lizzie J Klotz To Suit
Maria Fonseca IDADE
What is Written Dance Company Dialect of War

On the face of it, To Suit is an amusing and playful discourse. Some engaging moments see Alys North and Charlie Dearnley stood still, crying out and shrieking- an allusion to Lizzie J Klotz’s investigation of animal courtship- which greatly amuses the audience. However, somewhere between putting two fingers up to the man and disco dancing to a Bach Brandenburg Concerto, Klotz seems to lose her way. To Suit has a great deal of potential, but needs a little more coherence.

 ‘I never sin halfway’ remarks Anne Burgi, as she admits to her guilty pleasures of ice cream and chocolate. And indeed Maria Fonseca’s refreshing examination of ageing in IDADE is thoroughly considered. Fonseca plays the role of a curious young woman, while Burgi muses on the revelations of maturity. The women are inseparable in their connection. They slip between crisp gestural phrases and quirky counterbalances, gently shifting one over the other’s shoulder or hip. Overall, IDADE is honest and frank in discussing the happiness and fear that comes with the inevitability of ageing.

With its fusions of contemporary and hip-hop, What is Written Dance Company’s provocative performance of Dialect of War ended the night on a high. An uncertain opening of flashing lights and jarring floorwork thankfully gave way to a high energy performance. Sia Gbamoi and Viviana Rocha move in crisp unison, executing percussive isolations muddled with loose-limbed, whirling arms. Shifts in lighting, pounding music and changing spatial formations create a well-rounded work. There is a sense of struggle, as the dancers push against their own exhaustion and the driving rhythm of David Devyne and Jean Pierre’s original score. The tone remains primal throughout, reflecting the strength communities call upon in the struggle for survival.


Maya Pindar



See the official review posted on The Place's Resolution Review! Blog here: http://www.theplace.org.uk/blog/resolution-review-2016/tues-19-jan-lizzie-j-klotzmaria-fonsecawhat-written-dance-company

#Res2016