PUSH (2009)

I saw one of the most beautiful expressions of motion ever on Sunday night.

My friend invited me along to a dance called "PUSH." He works for the theatre, saving me about $60.

I found her movements ever so precise and controlled, yet so fluid and natural. During one of the pieces (TWO), I felt a sense of awe and mystique similar to when I first saw "The Matrix." The mechanical and carefully calculated movements had a depth of intention and focus that I had never before witnessed in a dancer. It felt like I was watching 'Trinity' from the Matrix... in real life. I was transported to another dimension. The perfectly placed pauses in motion intensified the impact of each movement.

Here is a link to the solo "Two", one of the pieces in PUSH, Choreographed by Russel Maliphant.
This was filmed in 2005, you can imagine how much this piece has been refined after 3 or 4 years. One could actually FEEL the lines being created.

Two (Rise and Fall)

TEMPEST: Without a Body (2008)

Choreographer: Lemi Punifasio

An intense show from start to end, there were many unforgettable scenes.
The show starts with an abrupt explosion of sound – throwing the audience’s adrenaline and emotions into turmoil. It was like a tornado had hit the building – in fact, I actually thought the stage had exploded.
The sound and lighting throughout the show was eerie and evocative. I had never in my life been terrified and shocked to this level of intensity. Some people to the right of me left the venue about 15 minutes in, and did not return.
The space onstage was used sparsely, I could tell much thought had gone into the placement of elements (I speak of elements… the shapes and actions the performers created made them seem inhuman).

Scenes:
There were four scenes that really wowed me. I will give a description of them now.

Solo with Angel:
Moving ever so slowly, the angel crept around the stage – hunched over, seemingly without a purpose; without direction. There was a deafening silence that clung to the air.
With painstaking deliberation, the angel lifted its head and eyes. The eyes met the audience’s space. Forever seemed to unfold and then all of a sudden the angel let loose the most bone-freezing, unearthly scream. One could see the front five rows actually throw themselves back, stunned. It was like witnessing a shockwave hit the audience.

Liquid Human:
An exposed dancer wriggles backwards like a caterpillar or a worm. It appeared as though his muscles were liquid. The muscles rippled like waves.
Enter angel, screaming at irregular intervals. The angel is not happy. There is an enormous textured panel that hangs to the left of the stage. A deep red blood-like substance gradually stains the panel with light. The blood is wispy and layered. I think was a projection of blood moving around in a glass of thick, clear liquid.
The angel stops screaming. Violently, the liquid human writhes and seizes its way back along the bench – halting as it hung off the end of the bench, lifeless.
This reminded me how fish writhe and squirm when removed from their natural habitat. The scene was highly disturbing, yet captivating. I was intrigued and inspired.

Human animal:
This scene depicts a dancer shifting around the stage much like a deer or similar 4-legged creature. It reminded me a lot of the Tool music video Schism where two contortionists interact with each other on all fours. The dancer even swung his head to and fro as it walked.
The thing that disturbed me the most about the pacing movement was the way the dancer would bulge his lower back in and out – like a hump. Initially I thought it must have been a prosthetic attachment with animatronics inside. However, my eyes adjusted and revealed the truth to me.
I never thought humans were capable of such unusual movement. It was bizarre.

Smash:
Another dancer enters the stage, wielding a large plaster plaque. The dancer lifted it above his head, as if it was an offering to a higher being. Abruptly, the dancer brought it down upon his head. Smashed into a powder, the dancer was obscured by a cloud of white powder.
Then dancers began rushing in – hurling pieces of plaster on the ground around the dancer.

Sleep/Wake (2008)

The Playground

Conceptually and aesthetically this piece explored territory that I have either researched or wish to investigate and express through. Using a mixture of projected imagery, technology, liquids, airborne particles and light, Sleep/Wake moved me on many different levels.

Scenes:
Bed Sheets
Three dancers lie on a bed each. Initially, they move independently and in isolation to the other dancers. Twisting around the sheet of the bed, and sliding in and around the bed, the dancers moved with closed eyes. They appear to move from intuition and through their unconscious mind.


Pillow Feathers
The dancers thrash and maul a pillow, causing the contents to burst into a swirling cyclone of feathers. I find this eye catching and aesthetically similar to some ideas I will convey.


Moving Wall
A wall that drops up and down, which gives an illusion of a shift in perspective as the dancer moves with the wall. I like how the architecture is alive, and how the environment interacts with and influences the dancers’ decision making.


Tap Scene
Basin overflows, spreading water mixed with black food colouring over the floor. The tap is left on for the rest of the performance. The female dancers begin sliding around in the water.

The lighting reflects the water onto the surrounding walls, which gives a beautiful lushness to the stark scenery. The dancers begin interacting with the wall and throwing water around the place in a crazy organic manner.

The White Body (2008)

Choreographer: Ea Sola

This show resonated with me, as I had already attended both Ea Sola’s workshop and the conversation with her and Lemi Punifaso.

The performance was disjointed and provocative; Mechanical and robotic; Spastic and chaotic.
I really enjoyed these aspects of the dance. I found the props and lighting powerfully effective.

Scenes:
The Plastic Screen
In this scene the three dancers press against a huge transparent screen of plastic sheeting that hung across the stage. The dancers writhe and throw themselves upon the light drenched plastic. The plastic appears to replicate a vertical surface of water or some sort of gel. The chaotic ripples and waves obscure the dancers – who perform behind the screen.
Each touch causes a ripple that spreads across the screen. The lighting is soft hues of blue, purple and green… which add to the illusion of water. Contact with the sheet of plastic also throws a shadow over the point of contact… with the shadow fading the further the dancer was from the screen. The dancers behind the screen appear in soft focus – blurry with gentle pastel hues.

Manipulation
Motionless on the floor, the female dancer lies. The male dancer walks around her, lifting her limbs into various positions. The female dancer stiffens to hold each position – waiting for the next movement. It is like she is a manikin figure, at the mercy of the manipulator.

Solo Seizure
The third dancer – the second male, walks around the screen to the front of the stage. The lighting is bright and the dancer is exposed.
At this point the dancer begins a distorted and random sprawl of seizing. The arms appear to have a life of their own, like a storm had taken hold of each hand. The sound is loud, eerie and panicky.