Company Kafig: "Correria Agwa", Spring Dance Festival -
Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera house, 30 August -
A chance meeting between French choreographer Mourad Merzouki and eleven young Brazilian dancers at the Lyon Biennale of Dance in 2006 provided the impetus for the subsequent development of the two works Correria and Agwa. Here they were presented as a double bill with a short interval in between and stylistically the movement was an athletic fusion of varied genres from samba, hip hop, acrobatics and capoeira to street dance. The music was also a fusion of styles, including South American rhythms, electronic and song. The English translations of Correria and Agwa are ‘running’ and ‘water’ respectively and there was a clear visual link between the work and the title in both cases. Danced by a cast of eleven young men this was an exuberant performance with energy levels maintained at a high level until the end. They were quirkier and more comical than was indicated by the ripped abs and intense gaze of their advertisements, with a self-effacing sense of humour that was easy to appreciate.
In Correria Merzouki’s choreography creates visual balance through the spatial arrangement of dancers. This was the more serious work of the two with the dancers dressed plainly in black trousers, white shirts and sneakers. The limited palette of the costumes was matched by a stark lighting design from Yoann Tivoli, which highlighted the dancers’ movement while rendering the perimeter of the stage a dark void-like space. A running motif with arms pumping was clearly recognisable throughout the work, as was being crouched low in a starting blocks position. The all-male cast partnered each other well when required, showing strength and versatility in their duo work. The atmosphere was balanced by a comedic element that returned in the latter section after zany striped knee socks were added to the costume.
The second work Agwa builds steadily to a climax and is much more colourful and brightly lit than the former. It begins with a duo for two dancers who stand in a small space amidst towers of plastic cups. Just as they wind to a close, the cups are knocked to the floor by other dancers running across the stage and rearranged surprisingly quickly into eleven neat rows mirroring the number of performers. They danced in and around, up and down the rows without knocking any over and one talented soloist with gymnastic skills performed a series of back-flips through this minefield. It closes with a powerful image - one dancer executes a series of hands-free head spins while the rest throw their collected cups into the air. They fall noisily like heavy raindrops landing as he continues turning undisturbed.
The performers took their bows in a series of what appeared to be planned encores where each dancer stepped away from the group to highlight their individual skills. It was here that there was a mismatch between their style of performance and the traditional layout of the theatre. I think it would have sat better in the Studio than the Drama Theatre although the smaller audience capacity of the Studio may have ruled that out. At any rate the fourth wall was well and truly broken as the dancers openly played to the audience on an unabashed mission to amuse and entertain. All good fun.... and there’s nothing wrong with that.
- GERALDINE HIGGINSON