REVIEW: Hannah Spain's 'Shift. And now I'm smaller'

Student Dance Platform

Michaelis Theatre

University of Roehampton

Sunday 3^rd May 2015

Hannah Spain’s Shift. And now I’m smaller is a clever exploration of space and mass on stage. Set to Ultraista’s Gold Dayz (Maribou State Remix), the work is both hypnotic and relentless.

Spilling and melting into the space, Hannah Spain’s dancers already seem to embody the hypnotic music from the outset. Forming a long, tight line that seems to loosely resemble some kind of tentacle-encrusted insect, the dancers swing their arms and whirl their heads. Already, Spain is playing with the varying ways that space can be used and understood by both dancer and spectator.

Interestingly, Spain opts to emphasise the shadows of her dancers on the cyclorama, which adds another dimension to her choreography. The dancers exit to leave soloist Chelsea Croft to perform a short phrase of grounded turns, back bends and sustained suspensions. Yet, her two shadows, slipping and pushing across the cyclorama behind her, create the feeling that she is not alone on stage. They also serve to add a certain amount of strength and power, since they allow the audience to experience Croft’s movement from a different perspective and through a different lens.

Finally, with its expansive movement, quick changes of level and tight spatial formations, Spain’s choreography is brimming with relentless energy. Shift. And now I’m smaller appears like a canvas of bodies, which Spain carefully constructs and deconstructs in front of the audience. Ending cyclically, the dancers find themselves back in the long, tight line from the opening. As the lights dim, they begin to crumble and break away, slipping back offstage, as they did four minutes earlier.

REVIEW: Maisie Sadgrove's 'Lotus Eater'

Student Dance Platform

Michaelis Theatre

University of Roehampton

Sunday 3^rd May 2015

Maisie Sadgrove’s bold choreography was executed with strength and power by her dancers’ full-bodied performance. Set to Mura Masa’s Japanese electronica, Lotus Eater was a dark monochrome world of self-assertion and power.

Although Lotus Eater is described as an exploration of purity within movement, inspired by the power of the lotus flower in Buddhist and Hindu beliefs, the references to Buddhism and Hinduism did not seem to emerge as prevalent ideas.

Nevertheless, themes of strength and power were clearly visible in Sadgrove’s wide stances, deep lunges and striking lines. Riddled with rippling torsos and long unfurling arms, Lotus Eater oozed with energy and weight. The choreography allowed the dancers to assume a sense of authority and assertion as they executed both delicate hand gestures and powerful, explosive movement.

Moreover, Sadgrove’s simple yet effective choreography clearly reflected the idea of purity. With little choreographic embellishments or over-exaggeration, Lotus Eater remained clean and ‘un-cluttered’, which added a sense of style and finesse to Sadgrove’s choreography.

Despite the power and strength of both Sadgrove’s choreography and of her dancers, Lotus Eater felt like unfinished business. The work seemed to finish abruptly, leaving the audience wanting more. Having said that, Lotus Eater has a great amount of potential to go further. With deeper exploration of the lotus imagery, and some refinement of the religious references, Lotus Eater could be a significantly robust and compelling work.

REVIEW: Jazz Andrew's 'Let Her Go'

Student Dance Platform

Michaelis Theatre

University of Roehampton

Sunday 3^rd May 2015

Thrown into a shadowy realm of sunburnt silhouettes and sunsets, Jazz Andrew’s Let Her Go seems to sum up the pain and tenderness of young love. While Passenger’s folk-pop Underwater Bride reflects on keeping everything ‘locked into memory’, Andrew’s intricate gestural detail and ebbing momentum also appears like a tape of childhood memories.

Typically of Andrews, her carefully constructed formations reflect the elegant orchestration of her dancers’ bodies, as they roll, fall and twist. Their arms unfurl, thrashing and clutching at the air. All eight dancers move with precision and clear, calm intention- a manifestation of Andrews’ confidence in the themes and emotion behind her work.

Although Let Her Go uses a great deal of unison, moments of solo, canon and stillness create different stories for each dancer. Dancing alone in one corner of the stage, as others watch on, each individual seems nostalgic of a time before, as if longing for someone or something. Simultaneous acceptance and anguish also seems to be a theme that threads through Let Her Go.

Overall, Andrews’ Let Her Go is a moving piece of dance that especially reaches out to young adults. Andrews’ choreographic commitment to the imagery of Passenger’s lyrics further emphasises the themes of loss, pain and longing within the stories of each dancer. With references to these universal struggles, Andrews’ choreography c

REVIEW: Molly Simpson's 'She Said: What?'

Student Dance Platform

Michaelis Theatre

University of Roehampton

Sunday 3^rd May 2015

Set to Kate Nash’s charming love song Birds, Molly Simpson’s light-hearted tap routine was a fun, feel good opening to the Student Dance Platform. As the audience enter the theatre, dancer Louise Ware sits casually using her mobile, with a bright pink rucksack strapped to her back. As the lights dim, nine other dancers, dressed in pretty floral skirts join her on stage, standing in staggered lines on individual coloured square mats.

While adding a certain quirkiness to Simpson’s She said: What?, the dancers’ physical restriction to the mats seemed to stop them from executing the movement as fully as they could have done. Yet, the quick changes of level from being upright to suddenly low and grounded was greatly refreshing.

A conversation between Ware and the other dancers follows Nash’s lyrics, reminding us of the sincerity of Nash’s love song and the narrative unfolding in front of the audience. One dancer breaks away from the others and mimes along to Nash, ‘you look well nice’, emphasising Simpson’s quirky choreography.

Despite the complexity of the steps, overall the movement was slow and relaxed. Nash’s touching Birds added an element of girly sincerity to the work. With the addition of dim lighting and shadows that seem to obscure the dancers’ faces, Simpson effectively creates a summery evening feel.