Riverside Parramatta, Sydney,
27 October
youMOve Company is a youth company based in Western Sydney and directed by Kay Armstrong. The program consisted of five short works by guest choreographers Anton, Ian Colless, Kevin Privett, David Williams and Angela French. The assortment was cleverly interspersed with solo narratives spoken by the dancers, in which they shared their own stories, experiences, theories and belief, lending a cohesiveness to the program and enhancing the connection between performers and audience. All the speakers were eloquent and comfortable with the spoken word and their different personalities were revealed as they were by turns humorous, poignant, dramatic and thoughtful. Much of the choreography, while exploring different concepts and movement, shared a quintessentially bleak, introspective quality specific to contemporary dance. The dancers narratives gave wit and humour to the evening, without which it could have been all too serious.
In Boundaries, Ian Colless combined indigenous and contemporary dance to travel through Australia’s past, present and future - with mixed results. While some dancers performed the indigenous movement convincingly, others had not mastered what was probably a new and unfamiliar style for them. Dancer and rehearsal director Melinda Tyquin was one of the former and a standout in the work.
Kevin Privett’s By Looking allowed the dancers to display a smooth continuous sense of line contrasted with strong dynamics, fluid yet sharp. It was one of the most aesthetically pleasing works and enhanced by the simple costumes, black lace shift dresses over short aqua unitards.
Angela French’s solo work 3rd Time Over, choreographed and performed by herself, was a dramatic highlight which explored the frustration of reliving a memory over and over again. It started with a reference to classical port de bras, slowly moving each arm from 1st to 5th position and gradually increased in speed and intensity with the use of movement repetition providing a clear structure. She displayed a sensitive musicality and the ending, striking her stomach repeatedly, was particularly powerful.
In Last Place To Go choreographer David Williams depicted a relationship between man and woman fraught with jealousy, anger and frustration. Though this is a familiar concept, it was unusually well done. Amazingly, it was choreographed through skype contact between the dancers in Sydney and choreographer in Europe. The dancers, Anna Healey and Sean Marcs, slowly approached each other from opposite sides of the stage. They appeared to alternate controlling each other’s movements from a distance like puppets on strings, as if each was trying to mould the other into a better partner and fighting for the dominant role in the relationship. Both dancers were good but Anna Healey in particular had charisma, stage presence and dramatic ability in spades -- a dancer to look out for in the future.
The program closed with Multiplicity, a tightly synchronised, heavily stylised work which left the dancers no room for error. Accuracy was paramount. They rose to the challenge on a darkly lit stage, a cluster of bodies moving with mechanical detachment, repeatedly separating from the group only to coalesce again.
Overall "4Tell" was a well put together program. It’s a shame there were only four performances, probably due to funding constraints. The youMove Company is now in its third year and becoming a key part of the independent contemporary dance scene in Sydney. Keep an eye out for it.
- GERALDINE HIGGINSON