Shaun Parker & Company: The Yard

Shaun Parker & Company: The Yard -
Parramatta Riverside Theatre, 28 August -

The Yard is a highly collaborative piece of dance theatre and the result of a three-year development process between choreographer Shaun Parker and the high school students from Western Sydney who perform in it. The opportunity to work together came from Captivate, a performing arts initiative run by the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta.  Consequently this showing at Riverside Theatre had the celebratory feel of a homecoming with congratulatory speeches from Riverside and Captivate management figures before the performance began.

Choreographer Shaun Parker designed the minimal set with a steel slide upstage right and a bench seat downstage left.  In place of a backdrop the exposed bricks of the theatre itself were clearly visible but atmospherically bathed in electric blue light that shifted to red as the work built to a climax towards the end.  An electro-acoustic score composed specifically for The Yard by Nick Wales integrated the sound of a school bell into the score and provided a strong dynamic beat for the dominant movement style, hip hop.  The idea of different tribes or groups was expressed through costume as the dancers were casually dressed in a mixture of school uniforms reflecting the range of high schools they actually attend.

The work explores the group dynamics of behaviour in the playground covering themes such as bullying, loneliness, survival, diversity and unity in a series of vignettes that relate directly to the cast of thirty students from ethnically diverse backgrounds.  Although approximately 80% came to the project with no formal dance training/experience the cast as a whole combined a lot of raw talent with a professional approach. 

Choreographically there were a number of highlights including a fight scene where what starts off as a bit of pushing and shoving between several rapidly escalates into a full-scale group brawl.  It managed to capture the energy, spontaneity and unpredictability of the real thing while it was reassuringly clear no one was actually hurt.  A recurring and menacing motif was that of the group closing in or moving around one or two individuals in a circular pattern, masking them from the audience’s view.

Although there was a lovely contemporary style duet performed well by two girls who obviously had formal dance training, overall the girls were not as visible and were seen in shorter, more heavily synchronised sections.  It was the boys who really stood out in scenes that were lengthier, more physically daring and interactive, allowing them to perform as individuals and stand out from the group.  There was some great teamwork with assisted flips and acrobatic tricks whilst one young man in particular stood out for his astonishing ability to balance objects on his head (first a soccer ball, then a chair and finally a pogo stick!) These props were also integrated into the dance scenes giving them a boisterous sense of play and locating the dancers firmly in the playground or “yard” of the title.

- GERALDINE HIGGINSON