Adelaide Fringe

Adelaide Fringe Reviews
Black Coffee Move Through Life Dance Company with the Charlie Horst Jazz Orchestra By Deborah Searle Black Coffee was an adventurous undertaking for Adelaide’s Move Through Life Dance Company. Collaborating with live jazz band Charlie Horst Jazz Orchestra, the dancers created a 1950’s jazz club brew. The atmosphere at Marion Cultural Centre’s Domain Theatre was cool and vibrant. From the moment I stepped into the theatre, it felt as though I had stepped back in time. The ushers were in costume and character, the bar staff were dressed to fit, and there was even a classic ‘cigarette sales girl’ selling programs and snacks. A lucky few got close to the action with table seating, further creating the jazz club feel. Black Coffee centered around jazz club dancers, their lives and 1950’s culture. The dance pieces were mostly fun and entertaining. Showpiece 1 by Effie Saloniklis had all the glitz and glamour one would expect from a jazz club and was a great start to the night. Although the classic jazz style of dance remained relatively the same throughout the performances, each piece was quite unique, showing the differences in the many choreographers of Move Through Life. Almost every piece was choreographed by a company dancer, a testament to how Move Through Life develops and nurtures its troupe. Cooking, cleaning, sequins and glamour by Kirsty Duncan was danced solely to radio broadcasts from the 1950’s. It was a very interesting piece, giving the audience an insight into the world at the time. A challenge for the dancers, with no music and only voices, the dancers worked well together to portray their characters. Dancer Kelly Moritz was a stand out. Her acting, plus dancing performance in What about what I want Charlie? was fantastic. Choreographer Daniel Turbill created an engaging dance theatre piece which had Moritz, with guest actor Eddie Morrison, having a heated discussion in the audience and then dancing down the aisle to finally reach the stage. Having the dancers centimeters from the audience really drew us in and gave life to the performers’ emotions.
	Move Through Life Dance Company. Karen Humphreys, Dave Blackmore, Paul Richardson, Joel Anderson & Steve Long. Photo: Raw Studio

	A Spoonfull of Reflections

Throughout Black Coffee the dancers stayed true to their characters and oozed style and pizzazz. Dancer Karen Humphreys, who featured frequently throughout the program, was well casted for the work, displaying 50’s style and quality dancing in every movement.

Collaborating with the large Charlie Horst Jazz Orchestra must have been a challenge for the company, but this wasn’t evident to the audience. The band was amazing. Singers Simone Lee and Sandy Milburn were outstanding and the music was fun, sexy and well chosen. The band helped set the scene for Black Coffee and had the whole audience engaged.

The finale, choreographed by Melissa Hill was cheeky, exuberant and a hit with the audience. It was an entertaining end to an enjoyable night. Sold out, and for good reason, Black Coffee is a clever concept, executed with all the sass, cheek and fun you would expect from a 1950’s jazz club.

For further information about Move Through Life visit: www.movethroughlife.org.au

A Spoonful of Reflections
HartBEAT Dance Project

By Paul Ransom

Sometimes the concept outstrips the delivery, ambition outpaces ability. A Spoonful of Reflections was a case in point.

With its adventurous blending of contemporary dance, visual arts and a non-traditional use of space, Spoonful could have been a dangerously interesting example of what the Adelaide Fringe Festival does best. Instead, it was patchy. Indeed, the term ‘pro-am’ fits the bill nicely, with a palpable gap in the prowess of the dancers and a decidedly inconsistent level of choreography and execution.

By choosing to focus her narrative on relationships, artistic director Vikky Wilson had every chance of connecting with her audience. Her audacious decision to repeat many of the ‘scenes’ and motifs with slight variations added a layer of abstract sheen to the proceedings, and in doing so she stretched her cast physically and her audience intellectually. (Didn’t we just? Is this? Should we?)

Unfortunately for Wilson there were several moments of uninspired, rather obvious choreography and far too many weak, unpunctuated movements on behalf of her dancers. Whilst Lily Tatlow-Lord was strong and balletic, with beautiful lines and timing, the rest of the six member ensemble was either merely okay or plain underdone. The result was a low energy, unconvincing performance, one in which even the dancers seemed unsure.

And this despite the fact that the show ran close to ninety minutes without a break; with the entire cast clearly being worked hard. Even if we can be critical of their dancing, we cannot fault their fitness and commitment.

Neither can we be unkind about HartBEAT’s commitment to utilising a non-theatre setting and to blurring the lines between performance and exhibition. With Aaron Shuppan’s often evocative photographs adorning the walls of the basement space, offset by stringently minimalist lighting, Spoonful of Reflections was at times an eerie essay about the life journey through various relationships and our often confused memories of them.

However, the final impression was one of potential not having been realised. Even though Vikky Wilson created a clear through line unifying the fourteen short pieces, Spoonful unfortunately came off feeling a little clunky.

Mine yours yours mine and ours
AC Arts

By Jo McDonald

Simplicity, humour and impeccable timing are the words that spring to mind when I think of “Mine Yours Yours Mine and Ours” (MYYMO), choreographed by Brooke Stamp and performed by nine third year dance students from AC Arts. I can’t tell you how long this piece was, all I can say is that I was engaged, and kept hoping it wouldn’t finish. Until finally, when it did, I was ready. The way the piece ended was ingenious, with Thomas Greenfield, determined but exhausted, finally ceasing a relentless repetition. The vertical pattern from downstage to upstage and back began with first one, then another until finally all dancers playfully galloped and leapt. Then one by one they dropped out and began something else, with only Greenfield continuing until the fatigued end.

The piece was simple in everything but it’s choreography, from the simple white dresses and overalls that costumed the dancers in the first half, to the luminous spherical lamp shades of various sizes that hung above the stage. The lighting was mostly uncomplicated side and down lights, generally white except for various colour washes that filled the cyclorama at times. The sound featured an eclectic sound track by Sascha Budimski that ranged from a decades-old pop song to abstract noise, interspersed with natural sounds such as silence, breathing and the dancers’ vocalisations.

MYYMO began with a number of small group sections, performed simultaneously or in canon - ambiguous enough to allow the viewer to interpret as they wished. This is clearly what the choreography was about – individual story and interpretation. But it was half way through, when the dancers began to walk offstage, removing their costumes (to the delighted titters of the women in the row behind me) that the humour began. Reclad, the dancers eventually formed a line front of the stage, calling loosely linked words, transmitted with rapid-fire speed down the line. Rhythm, repetition and exuberance made this section effervescent, joyful and nostalgic all in one. This was followed by the joyous gallops and leaps that led to the end of the piece.

MYYMO is a delightful piece, well structured, engaging and fun. The movement itself is executed beautifully, although not brilliantly, and put together well. But it is the timing and humour that make this piece work. I would look forward to seeing a further development of this work.