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DANZ QUARTERLY Issue No 13
No 13 – October, November, December 2008
Reviews: DanceSpeak 08
Mary Hopewell Theatre, Dunedin
2-3 April 2008
Reviewed by Bronwyn Judge
I’ve always thought that if text is required for dance to speak it is in some way a
failure. However by introducing her film, ‘Anima’, Ali East allowed us to sense the excitement of a choreographer out of the studio and set free in the natural environment. The film considered the naked body of Lyne Pringle as landscape eloquently merging folds of skin with undulating hills and seascape.
’Skin Window’, by Val Smith, was performed within a disturbing sound envelope containing snippets of conversation that were difficult to decipher. The significance of the dancer winding her arms behind her back, albeit with extraordinary facility, was left for the audience to puzzle over.
With dance and word, Lyne Pringle engagingly related her experiences of competition
dancing, her old tutus strewn across the stage like artifacts. Kilda Northcott
appeared as her teacher Lily, swinging a large stick with focused intent. Was this symbolic of creating a rod for her own back, as we learnt that the strain of teaching left Lily in a psychiatric hospital? When this work is finished and honed as a full production, the audience may be more enlightened.
The duet by Elle Loui August and Joshua Rutter in its present form lacked development but the grace of execution promised something better with further work. In contrast the shifting energy and dynamics of the duet of Kristian Larsen and partner, changed from a solo in the programme, was engrossing to watch.
The final dance by Felicity Molloy emanated a sustained meditative quality. Overall the evening gave the impression of dancers going out into the gloaming searching for ideas that once caught were lost again rather than fully developed. Ideas too esoteric to be comprehended easily by an audience even with accompanying text.
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