DANZ QUARTERLY - Issue No 9: October, November, December 2007

Exhibition review:
To dance - photographs by Ruth Ames

Well-lit Gallery, Marco Studio, Great North Road, Auckland
June 2007

Reviewed by Jennifer De Leon

In this exhibition Ruth Ames presented a beautiful collection of dance photographs; remarkable for the breadth of mood, style and sheer movement captured in her images.
 
The opening evening of the exhibition showed Ruth’s photographs to advantage and the double studio provided an intimate performance space.

The extensive photograph selection contained clear-cut images of dancers who were instantly recognisable,
through to impressionistic frames that spoke of movement with the dancer lightly hinted at - Breath of Life (Soul Speed), Dancing With Light (Poyema Dance Company), Dance the Rhythm (Chance to Dance ); Touching the Sky (Becca Wood), and gorgeous demonstrations of youth - Move On (Unitec Dance Students).

These images, and the opening celebrations, could perhaps be summed up in one word – generous, and the
evening a presentation of accomplishment and skill.

Ruth chose three groups of performers to bring her photographs to life. The Auckland Academy of Dance trained by Chrissy Cameron - a group of young classical dancers - performed excerpts from Paquita, choreography after Marius Petipa and re-staged by Chrissy. The dancing was technically clean and elegant and the performers were well coached in presentation quality.

The second group, Poyema Dance Company, was directed and choreographed by Jennifer De Leon. Three very accomplished dancers performed Comme Il Fau, a work that premiered at last year’s Auckland dance festival Tempo°. This joyous neo-classical/contemporary work flowed on well from the earlier classical offering, demonstrating skill and finesse.

The final group of the evening was the Bulgarian Roses led by Sonya Arabajieva. This large and vibrant group danced Wedding horo, aRatchenisa and Shopskidance. Sequenced steps, tricky timing and floor patterns, hand-clapping, calling and stamping of feet, combined with gorgeous costumes and huge smiles provided an audience treat! For the final dance, the Pravo horo, the leader of the group encouraged the audience to get up and join in. So for a time, there was a throng of happy dancing people, eliciting huge appreciation from the audience - a most fitting way to end the evening.

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