DFFUK: REVIEW: Living With Sin

Living With Sin – Lizzie J Klotz & Lucia Schweigert

Dance Film Festival UK

O2 Think Big Hub

Saturday 8^th August 2015

Living With Sin appears at first as an intimate encounter; the camera focuses intrusively on a woman’s skin, her hair, her shoulders, her face; revealing dustings of gold glitter. But as the work progresses, Lizzie J Klotz and Lucia Schweigert’s discussion of the Christian doctrine of original sin becomes clear.

Dancer Jonna Tideman’s crimson jumper layered over a red dress is striking in front of a bleak stone landscape. The colours seem to connote anger, frustration, guilt, despair, and above all, sin. All of which are easy to identify. Quick, flashing images of Tideman’s face, twisted with pain, fractures the scene- as she sits seemingly serene on stone steps.

Later, Tideman is seen dancing in long black robes, again filmed against a stark concrete landscape. She is positioned off-centre, often disappearing out of the frame all together. In fact, the colours, unconventional positioning and the disjointed sound of mbira cycles (African thumb piano) all seem to hint at the fragmentation of womanhood.

Indeed, the simultaneously introspective and frantic tone of Klotz and Schweigert’s work unites all experiences in one woman.

DFFUK: REVIEW: Vice Versa, an exchange of dance, through the eyes of children

Vice Versa – Hattie Worboys

Dance Film Festival UK

O2 Think Big Hub

Saturday 8^th August

Director, Hattie Worboy’s Vice Versa is an exciting exchange of dance, culture and heritage across the Atlantic between two groups of children- one from New Orleans and one from Hackney. The film displays a colourful comparison of life through the sincere eyes of children, who all have one thing in common- dancing.

While New Orleans appears vibrant, with the bright colours of carnival and warm sun, Hackney appears grey, fast-paced and distinctly urban. London music producer Miles Romans Hopcroft’s (aka WU LU) choice of UK Garage, House and Dubstep reflects the familiar images of concrete and rain.

Contrastingly, the Dixieland Jazz sounds of carnival reveal New Orleans’s rich street dance culture. The bright sunshine, vibrant colour and cheerful sound of trombones and trumpets create a stark contrast to Worboy’s representation of Hackney. The children shuffle, shake and jump in matching outfits in their respective towns.

While there are big differences in the mood and tone of the two cities, and in the children’s dance styles, both groups explore their identities through the freedom of expression. Finally, it seems that while the children are thousands of miles apart, the vitality and energy of their dances crosses the physical and emotional distance between them.

DFFUK: REVIEW: Descent: The Essence of Life and Death

Descent – Drew Cox & Antoine Marc

Dance Film Festival UK

O2 Think Big Hub

Saturday 8^th August 2015

Thick honey oozes from a man’s mouth, as he begins his gradual descent from life to death. Directors, Drew Cox and Antoine Marc explore themes of terminal illness and family support, which eases the torment of illness.  Overall, Descent is a dazzling work of both choreography and screendance.

Filmed in the iconic room of the feature film The King’s Speech (2010), Cox and Marc’s images are visually stunning. Descent is washed with shades of mustard and teal, which peal off the walls behind the dancers. The thick honey, seeping from the man’s mouth, seems to symbolise the loss of life, but also reveals the essence of life.

Moreover, shot in slow motion, the film captures the dancers in powerful, gravity-defying moments. They propel themselves into the air, displaying their rippling muscles and profound strength. Three men leap, cartwheeling their legs over their heads. Meanwhile a woman performs a moving solo, consuming the space, as she lunges, ripples and then hurls herself through the music.

Sumptuous floorwork and rich shifts of weight are as indulgent as the honey that continues to ooze from the man’s lips. With an emphasis on power and beauty, Marc’s choreography appears at once delicious and compelling.

REVIEW: Akram Khan & Israel Galván's TOROBAKA

Torobaka - Akram Khan & Israel Galván
Sadler's Wells
Tuesday 30th June 2015 

Using their respective backgrounds in Kathak and Flamenco dance, Akram Khan and Israel Galván come head-to-head (quite literally) in the return of Torobaka at Sadler's Wells. Torobaka, meaning "bull cow", is the coming together of two animals that are sacred to the dancers' two nations. Fundamentally, Torobaka is the coming together of two dance styles.

The work begins with Khan and Galván sitting on the edge of a large, deep pink circle, which acts as a sort of bullring for their duelling and wrestling. Khan whirls, throwing his arms above his head with the same luxurious quality as ever. Seville-born Galván moves with power and electricity, stamping his heels and cutting through the space with a perfectly poised torso.

The men take turns taking the stage, demonstrating the similarities between Kathak and Flamenco- complex rhythms, ferocious passion, and rapid stamping footwork. In fact, Galván's feet move so fast, they seem evocative of the fluttering wings of a hummingbird. Contrastingly, Khan's lines and movements are softened into recognisable South Asian curves.

Interestingly, the three musicians are almost equally as involved as the dancers. Two vocalists perform eclectic Andulsian folk songs and a man sits at the back playing the tabla (drum) and the sitar (stringed instrument). Despite the beauty and talent of the music, the excessive eclecticism begins to feel repetitive.

While Torobaka presents some exceptional talent and technique, both in the dancers and musicians, it does feel incomplete. It is definitely worth watching Khan and Galván tumble around each other, but it might be wise to approach it as a draft of that could evolve into something even more exciting.

REVIEW: FOOTPRINT DANCE FESTIVAL: Overlooking Looking in Courtney Draddy's 'Ma'

Barefoot
Footprint Dance Festival
Lulham Studio
University of Roehampton
Thursday 14th May 2015

Undergraduate BA Dance Studies student Courtney Draddy presented her dissertation choreography, Ma on Footprint Dance Festival's Thursday night Barefoot performances. Ma, meaning the space between two structures of compositional elements in Japanese, explores the nature of seeing and experiencing. Interestingly, what is seen by the dancers and what the audience chooses to see are just as important as each other. Draddy creates a work that questions both how and what the audience sees.

Draddy creates a stark white landscape, reminiscent of the Japanese dance form of Butoh. The three dancers are painted white: their arms, legs, feet, hands, necks and faces streaked with white paint. Only their eyes are revealed. In addition, the dancers are dressed simply, wearing plain white vest tops and loose fitting, sheer white skirts. The lack of colour seems to strip the dancers of identity or individuality, creating a 'blank canvas' for Draddy. Yet, amongst the bleakness of the setting, a large circle on the floor is created using red string, creating a harsh contrast to the white landscape.

As well as connecting through the movement, the dancers appear to use eye contact to sustain connection. They sit and watch one another, catch each other's eyes, inspect each other's bodies, while scrutinising their own limbs. This intense 'looking' consumes Ma, captivating the audience and drawing them in from the outset.

The dancers move slowly and deliberately, calculating each movement with precision. The dancers move slowly with a sense of regality, before sudden bursts of energy shift the trio more frantically. Flexed feet and angular arm lines, with sustained transfers of weight exemplify Draddy's careful construction of the work. Additionally, delicious contact work sees the dancers connecting using their heads, backs, arms and necks as they carefully slide, lean and roll across one another. The organic quality of the movement reflects Draddy's deep and profound choreographic research. Ma is not a lighthearted or breezy work of dance.

As the work draws to a close, dancer Emily Robinson slowly picks up the red string, wrapping it carefully around her arm. The crimson string against her white skin is a striking reminder of Draddy's construction (or indeed, deconstruction) of landscape and identity. Ma demands that the audience stop and fully experience Draddy's internal and intense world of movement, without watching passively. Draddy comments on the everyday-habit of looking, but failing to see.

REVIEW: FOOTPRINT DANCE FESTIVAL: Shaun Dillon - Hiraeth

Dance Worldwide
Footprint Dance Festival
Michaelis Theatre
University of Roehampton
Tuesday 12th May 2015

Opening Tuesday's evening of Dance Worldwide at Michaelis Theatre was Roehampton alumni Shaun Dillon's moving solo Hiraeth. Exploring themes of homesickness, grief, nostalgia and aggression, Hiraeth is a brutally honest examination of Dillon's childhood.

The stage begins dark, with Dillon sitting cross legged in silence. Glinting behind him, shattered plates are strewed roughly in a semi-circle centre-stage right. A large black duffel bag lies in the shadow downstage right- literally, personal baggage. Dillon performs a series of gestures, slowly pointing to the sky and then to his heart, opening his hands, bring his hand to a salute, and finally thumping his chest with an increasing sense of aggression.

The tone of the work intensifies as the sound of children's whispers fills the auditorium. Dillon sifts through the shattered plates, as if looking for some kid of meaning or explanation. Composer Jonny Colgan's music score escalates as Dillon turns to face his shadow on the cyc. He thrashes, punches, kicks and paces, sweeping his arms in rage, as if arguing with his shadow.

The music quietens, leaving Dillon standing under a spot light, staring thoughtfully into the audience. A prerecorded speech reveals the dark story of his 13th birthday. He describes a vehement argument between his parents, only to be interrupted by a deafening scream. It is at this point that it becomes undoubtedly clear that Hiraeth is a stark insight into Dillon's childhood.

Suddenly, the clatter of broken china is heard as Dillon stumbles trying to reassemble the broken plates. The desperation and urgency in Dillon's actions appear child-like, yet also seem to have a certain familiarity as if he has tried desperately to grapple with these feelings for years.

Finally, Dillon collects his black duffel bag from the front of the stage. Flinging the weight of the bag over his shoulder, Dillon walks slowly offstage, with a hopeful look of belief across his face.

REVIEW: FOOTPRINT DANCE FESTIVAL: Feet Off The Ground Dance's 'Passenger'

Barefoot

Footprint Dance Festival

Michaelis Theatre

University of Roehampton

Thursday 14th May 2015

Ending Footprint Dance Festival’s Barefoot performances was a dazzling performance by Feet Off The Ground Dance. Having graduated from London Contemporary Dance School in 2013, the collective use their training in Contact Improvisation extensively in choreography. Passenger uses Contact Improvisation to explore notions of femininity and strength.

Assisted by a live musician onstage, four women seize the space, lunging, running, rolling and falling. The dancers support one another using juicy transfers of weight and making unpredictable changes of direction. Syrupy floorwork seamlessly shifts the women's weight from back, to shins, to hands as they slip across the space. Live music played by Ashley Molloy-South sets a strong sense of rhythm and pace, establishing the high energy of the work from the outset.

The dancers physically manipulate and alter one another’s movements, direction and speed, demonstrating the power of the individual and of the group. Catching dancer Sophie Thorpe, as she suspends and falls back, the group take her weight, drag her to the other side of the space and carefully lay her down. Passenger seems to be a manifestation of the coexistence of strength and support that exists within the relationships between women. While there are obvious moments of manipulation and control, there are also instances of group support that seem to thread throughout the work.

Effortless and athletic jumps, lifts and transfers of weight reveal the dancers’ first class training from London Contemporary Dance School. However, it is the dancers’ complete conviction and belief in the choreography that captures and draws the audience in from the moment it begins.