LINK Dance Company: “Surge” -
West Australian Ballet Centre Studio, 16 October –
With a company of eight female dancers, the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts' (WAAPA) pre-professional dance group LINK presented “Surge”, a triple bill of absorbing contemporary dance works. The lack of male dancers offered challenges and opportunities, which were met creatively and in impressive fashion by the dancers and three choreographers who integrated spoken and sung text with inventive choreographic language and skilful and daring partnering.
Choreographer Matt Cornell's Epic8 (ie epic to the power of eight, which perhaps should have come with an explanatory note for the mathematically-challenged amongst us in the audience), opened the program. The work begins to the sounds of Autre Ne Veut's “Play by Play”, and a female voice singing lyrics such as "I'm all alone... I need you now.... don't leave me alone", as a dimly lit, almost motionless figure crouches on the stage. She is joined by the other seven dancers, all dressed in simple tunic style tops and tight pants. Their confident, powerful movement and partnering and combative skills belie the song's lyrics, suggesting they are now strong and independent. Corin Ileto's "Mornings" and WAAPA composition student Sam Garrone's choral work "Koriaha" are effectively added to the recorded music mix, as well as an a cappella updated version of "O Fortuna" sung by the women. Epic8 's sections of stillness work well but are a little too long, and some of the work's concepts are difficult to fully appreciate in one performance.
The Miranda Warning, choreographed by Liesel Zink, with recorded music by Mike Willmett, takes its title from legislation that a person under arrest has the right to remain silent. It begins with the eight casually dressed dancers making sharp and decisive choreographed arm and hand gestures while eyeballing the audience before hastening about with intent to a relentless electronic beat, the women again showing strength in partnering. One female starts a brilliantly performed tirade about perceived ills in the world, voicing her opinions and shouting in frustration "I'm not satisfied.... not finished yet" as others try to hustle her away. One collapses and is assisted, and unity and providing support to each other seem thematic. Another flails and, despite the endeavours of the group, becomes frantic and out-of-control, her audible and distressing rhythmic breathing continuing as the lights fade, leaving many ideas in abeyance, and thoughts as to how the work reflects its title.
Michael Whaites's perceptive and very entertaining work Life Cycle, with recorded music by William Basinski, GoGo Penguin and Tchaikovsky, concluded the evening. By torchlight, a lone figure (a third-year WAAPA dance student ‘volunteer’) makes her way to an exercise bike and proceeds to pedal throughout the 30-minute piece. Starting in the semi-gloom, what follows could be a visualisation of the wandering mind and random musings of an exercise fanatic grinding out the lonely miles. A laugh-out-loud comic scene sees a shopping channel hostess-type spruiking a weird assortment of used, useless items which are presented to the audience for appraisal. Scenes of dancing about to jazzy strains follow and converge into jogging 'in the zone', relaxing into flowing undulations to calming classical sounds, shouting and cheering as if at a sporting event, and exhaustion after extreme athleticism, as the lone cyclist pedals ever onwards and the lights slowly dim.
The versatile LINK dancers - Madeleine Bird, Aimee Brown, Sarah Chaffey, Rachel Forster-Jones, Kate Jenkins, Emily Malone, Amy Thieme and Zoe Wozniak - worked tirelessly and with great collaborative spirit throughout "Surge", while also impressively displaying their individuality and diverse strengths.
- Margaret Mercer