By Paul Ransom
Having evolved from a competition to an invite only showcase, Dance Creation now represents a cross section of emerging Australian choreographic and dance talent; and the 2008 model was simply superb.
If I was expecting a hodge-podge of blandly derivative works, I witnessed a beautiful evening of engaging, creative and emotional dance. Naturally, the choreography wore some of its influences a bit too obviously on its sleeve but in saying that I’m really just nit-picking, because the simple fact of the matter is that Dance Creation 2008 proved that contemporary/classic dance performance in this country is in very capable hands.
Right from the outset, with Tim O’Donnell’s energetic, mime influenced Behind Door Number One we were plunged into a side-lit world of brilliant shapes. Performed superbly by final year students from WAAPA, O’Donnell’s work set the tone.
Tim Harbour’s subtler and more sombre Ignis, with its religious music and themes, erred more on the ballet side with beautiful interplay between female delicacy and male strength.
Likewise, Kim McCarthy’s sparse and sometimes geometric Sum of Us used religious music, (Bach’s ‘St Matthew’s Passion’), to create an intense and taut world. By dispensing with the wing curtains and utilising statuesque tableaux, McCarthy got space into his work.
And space was very much to the fore in Wakako Asano Kuhara’s brilliant Earthbound. With a specially commissioned work played live onstage and just four dancers, it was a super subtle and elegant exercise in precision and delicacy. With its obvious Asian minimalist aesthetic it was clearly the most restrained work of the night
To finish with, Reed Luplau’s edgy, aggressive and erotic
Go also used four dancers and stripped the stage bare. This had the effect of isolating the characters in a kind of vastness, as the two couples battled and re-combined in this energetic and melancholy meditation on loss.. |
