DANZ QUARTERLY No 10 December 2007

Reviews

Tempo 2007, NZ's Festival of Dance

Auckland

September - October 2007
Reviewed by Sue Cheesman

If good audience numbers at the performances I attended and the smorgasbord of events mark in part the success of a festival, then Auckland’s Tempo organisers hit the mark. Armed with a fest full of tickets, I was in for the long haul. Now an annual event, Tempo wisely gave exposure to a variety of groups and styles through the use of showcases.

There is something infectious when human beings make rhythms with their feet and this was celebrated at the end of "Loud", a percussive dance showcase where Irish, Tap, Indian and Flamenco combined. Multiple rhythms in counterpoint hit my ears and a cacophony of sound rained forth. Boyzdance performed three stylistically different routines of tap (oh, those gorgeous tap shoes).  The Flamenco was accompanied by a man playing a large wooden box, which created a range of fascinating sounds. The dancers, with a swirl of skirts in vibrant colours and upright stance, inhabited the movement as their hands twisted, clapped and turned. Heeled shoes stamped out the rhythms teasing and playing with tension and fiery energy. The Connolly School of Irish Dancing group of girls in short wigs strutted their stuff in lines, arms locked down, polished and precise. Lastly Vivek Kinra gave an exquisite performance with precise fingers sculpting the air from the strongly held poses of Bharta-Natyam style Indian dance.

A very different piece, "Whakairo", choreographed by Moss Patterson for Atamira Dance Collective, was not afraid to make a strong statement around family violence, striking a chord at the heart of humanity. The dance takes place beneath a beautiful but barbed steel whare that glistens in the light and witnesses the turmoil below. Moss uses much of the movement material seen before in his abstract works on kowhaiwhai patterns but this time for more concrete and narrative purposes. It is impossible to sustain the emotional fever pitch and maybe less is more as the balance and harmony are lost and the ensuing chaos dominates. I particularly noticed that Moss managed to interweave the dance and spoken word throughout the piece with one feeding the other. The performers were strong with each digging deep and delivering the story with commitment and passion, finally pointing towards a glimmer of hope.

They were a talented lot, these senior artists, in this year’s Old Yeller. The final short work featured a grand dame - teacher Dorothea Ashbridge, and ex Limbs dancer, Debbie McCulloch, treading the boards with grace and class, imbued from a lifetime of experience, much to the delight of all who watched.

Windy and rainy outside, I squeezed onto the bench seat with three other people in a caravan, and while drinking tea from china cups we choose our programme from the dance menu. The unusual performance piece, "Camper", by Alys Longley and Valerie Smith is full of kiwiana references and kitsch, including a pair of massaging slippers that dance their away across the floor to much hilarity. The performers dance on the bed, on the floor and outside this caravan adorned with twinkling lights. How does one fit two talking dancing adults in a wardrobe? With great difficulty! I was reminded of those great family holidays in the caravan and, through parody and pastiche, these two skilled performers gave us an opportunity to laugh at ourselves. A dance version of the Topp Twins perhaps!

“Terres D’Auras” (Fields of Auras), was a trilogy choreographed by Sthan Kabar-Louet and danced by Karbal Noumea Ballet from New Caledonia. From the front row I was visually struck by the variety of body types dancing powerfully and how the movement mapped each dancer’s body differently. The third section evolves from the pacific movement, costumes and voice of the traditional dance Pilou, to the more contemporary movement and sounds of the Kronos Quartet including a sensual duet, beautifully danced. Although the vocabulary was modernist and strongly influenced by Bejart, there was something very satisfying about seeing twelve performers on stage dancing full out for most of the two hours.

Another group from overseas, Corporacion Tango, also performed a trilogy - Heaven Earth and Hell. Wonderfully colour-coded in red and purple, I much preferred the Earth section with its recognisable traditional salon dancing and Milongas. The last section, full of the lifts, I found difficult to watch at times due to the lack of release in the upper body and the fumbling hand holds.

Not what I do, choreographed by Camille Sweney, is a clever and hilarious look at life on the farm.  Three dancers use very gestural language to capture some of stereotypical antics of farm life accompanied by excerpts from Fred Dagg songs. This great romp, performed with full-on gusto, was a delight to see.

Unfortunately, there were many more performances that caught my eye than the variety featured above. Tempo certainly succeeded in making its mark on this year's dance calendar.

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