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DANZ QUARTERLY Issue 17
October, November, December 2009
REVIEW
Made In New Zealand
Footnote Dance Company
Sky City Theatre
Auckland
30 May 2009
Reviewed by Sue Cheesman
The Footnote ‘Made in New Zealand 2009’ programme, showcasing a range of works from emerging to more established New Zealand choreographers, was danced with assurance by the 2009 Footnote dancers.
Carry the Boy, choreographed by Katie Burton,dealt with traditional gender roles which I could only partly identify. The piece felt like a first draft with more yet to be mined from the idea.
A second season of Nest, by Raewyn Hill, was still as compelling this time round, with different nuances expressed by a change of cast. Inspired by Raewyn’s observation in Hong Kong, of men taking their caged birds to the park to socialise them, the work explored the relationship between the keeper and the kept. It posed the question – ‘Is freedom obtainable within this relationship?’
Modernist choreographer, Michael Parmenter, is making forays into improvisation as a performance product and I don’t Mind saw him stepping outside the tried and tested ‘lift and falling’ partner work he is renowned for. I felt as though I was viewing the process through a window and it reminded me of the many ‘touch and move’ composition tasks I have encountered. Jesse Wikiriwhi and Frances Christeller rose to the challenge; and performing the piece well, they left us with revealed traces of a relationship.
Malia Johnston, with Crash Test Dummies, explored varying forces upon the body, coupled with an effective sound score by Eden Mulholland. The predominant floor patterns of channels crossing the stage from right to left, and vice versa, gave a strong foundation to the choreographic ideas. A satisfying conclusion to this piece involved dancers crossing a shaft of light in sustained and fluid motion, then finishing curled up, side by side. Particularly noticeable in the last section were the same movements translated differently on the male performers’ contrasting body types.
In Quick unpick, choreographer, Sarah Foster, stated that this was a tribute to her Grandma’s embroidery skills. Clever use of coloured elastic created strong lines for soloist dancer Sarah Knox to weave through, reminding me of the dexterity needed to negotiate the laser beams in a heist or a complicated piece of embroidery. This was a strong work to conclude the programme.
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