Vitalstatistix and Mobile States. Waterside - Port Adelaide. 9 May 2013
Driving through the almost deserted streets of Port Adelaide at 9pm, I had to remind myself that for the past fifty minutes, I had been totally captivated by a simple but evocative ritualised dance performance. A solo dancer accompanied by an onstage musician/singer with assistance from subtle lighting, back projection, soundscape and incense perform in the recently renovated Waterside Workers Hall, a world away from the dimly lit streets of ‘the Port’.
Opal Vapour begins with what appears to be a shrouded body on a simple rectangular box. Enter a second person slowly with a set of small bells, chanting. Over time, the shrouded body is unveiled; it comes to life, no longer a body but an exquisite human being whose dance space is the sandy surface of the rectangular box.
The audience is taken on a remarkably ritualised journey of discovery (both for the dancer on the box and for themselves) of a nether world of shadows, shapes and projected images until, womb like, the dancer finishes the voyage, played out by soft chanting and repetitive drumming of a hand held bodhrán drum.
Although inspired by Javanese ritual and invested with symbolism and elements of Wayang Kulit shadow puppet theatre, the performance at Waterside is a fusion of ancient and modern choreography, back projection and onstage chant, on stage musical accompaniment, and pre-recorded sound-scaping which gives a unique footprint to this cross between a performance and a visual art installation.
The director, choreographer and dance performer, Jade Dewi Tryas Tunggal, is a Javanese/ Australian dance artist. She brings a wonderfully transcending performance to the work; great insights. She has strong, flexible and sensuous movements and is totally in control of her instrument.
Ria Soemardjo is the creator of the live and pre-recorded composition and the onstage performer of her compositions. She is symbiotically linked to Tunggai through the entire fifty minute performance. Her hauntingly beautiful voice is memorable when she sings of the ghost life and the dancer’s shadow seems to float on a ghostly back projected river of blue.
Complementing the onstage performance is the work of the technical team, Paula van Beck, Amy Bagshaw and Kelly Ryal, who have developed a remarkable temple like atmosphere in which the production is suspended. The program notes reveal a larger team of collaborators than this review has space to make comment on.
A remarkable partnership between Vitalstatistix and Performing Lines to bring this Mobile States presentation of Opal Vapour to Waterside and those fortunate to be touched by this elegant dance fusion of ancient and modern.
Martin Christmas
When: 9 to 12 May
Where: Waterside, Port Adelaide
Bookings: trybooking.com
