Kyle Page and Amber Haines performing Syncing Feeling.
Contemporary dance company Dancenorth perform all too rarely in Brisbane, so their current touring production as part of their 30th Anniversary season was keenly anticipated. They presented a double bill of two new works: Alisdair Macindoe’s A Pre-Emptive Requiem For Mother Nature and Syncing Feeling by Kyle Page and Amber Haines.
Melbourne-based dancer, composer and choreographer, Macindoe, takes as his premise the marriage of the organic natural world with physical phenomena, the aim being to demonstrate how the body moves in relation to the environment.
The dimly-lit opening with the four dancers emerging slowly from the back of the stage had an ethereal and eerie quality, as they moved slowly and with great precision across the stage, their increasingly freeze-frame moments providing both jarring and soothing rhythms. The monotony of the repetition, which intensified as the work progressed, gave a feeling that the dancers were locked in space, as well as in other natural environments on land and sea.
Macindoe’s interest in technology was shown off to advantage with his projection design, showing images of the dancers’ movements on a front clear scrim. These projections harmonised with the dancers’ actual movements, providing a three-dimensional hologramic effect. Assisted by simple but effective costuming, also designed by Macindoe, and evocative lighting by Govin Rubin, the visual palate was stunningly effective.
Unfortunately the choreography, while at times interesting and certainly challenging, was overall disappointingly pedestrian, derivative of many other similar pieces with its staccato movements and ho-hum puppetry images. The choreography also failed to ignite with the glorious music of Goreki’s third symphony, often seeming at odds with it, as if the music was chosen regardless of what was happening on the stage.
Ultimately the concept was better than the delivery and execution, despite good visuals, although the four dancers, Harrison Hall, Mason Kelly, Jenni Large and Ashley Mclellan, were all superb and displayed enormous rigour and control in their fluid performances.
The quirkily named Syncing Feeling was both choreographed and performed by Dancenorth’s new Artistic Director, Kyle Page, and his Artistic Assistant, Amber Haines. Based on an exploration of cognitive processes, predominantly the age-old theme of exploring human relationships, decoding another person’s actions, feelings and emotions, this work offered a good narrative and some interesting observations.
The opening section showed Page depicting water, a river perhaps, with the help of a silk cloth while the second section showed both dancers moving under the cloth. Visually agreeable, both sections seemed curiously disconnected to what followed and were puzzling inclusions.
Wearing beautifully designed white jumpsuits of a silky, flexible material, the dancers produced vigorous and almost non-stop virtuosic performances after the initial introductionary sections. The choreography displayed fast tumbles, spins, jumps and contorted movements on and across the floor. Additionally there were moments of emotional connection with both dancers locked into various clinches and embraces, from which one or the other would extricate themselves. This was repeated in many configurations as they explored the complex world of relationships.
A key scene showed the performers seeming to smell and sniff each other in the manner of animals, noisily sucking in breath and then connecting their lips to various parts of their partner’s body. This resulted in the inevitable full-frontal kiss with Page entwining Haines with his arms, she retreating and then coming back into the clinch and encircling him. Amusing but with a distinct poignancy.
Syncing Feeling is a delightful, economic dance work that offered every opportunity to show off considerable acrobatic and movement skills. The performers’ work, both as partners and as a duet, was exceptional.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
In Two Minds
Dancenorth
A Pre-emptive Requiem for Mother Nature by Alisdair Macindoe
Syncing Feeling by Kyle Page and Amber Haines
Brisbane Powerhouse
Wednesday 26 August 2015 ​
