Sydney Dance Company. Her Majesty’s Theatre. 6 Aug 2015
De Novo (Latin): “from the beginning, afresh, anew”.
Sydney Dance Company’s new suite of three works, by three different choreographers, collectively embodies the essence of ‘De Novo’
With choreography by Artistic Director Rafael Bonachela, Larissa McGowan and Alexander Ekman, Sydney Dance Company gifts their audience with an evening of pure playtime for the curious of mind, romantically inclined, and pop culture enthusiast.
What it means to ‘emerge’, to reveal, grounds all three works. Topical subjects are played with afresh. How things are perceived to be is imagined anew.
The opening work, Bonachela’s Emergence, proves a rich experience in three phases.
Benjamin Cisterne’s lighting and Dion Lee’s costumes synchronise impressively with the subtle range in Bonachela’s choreography, which is centred on the body and emotive expression. The unified whole is beautiful and canny.
The first phase finds dancers wearing a striking mix of black and white, lit by thin mobile tubes of bright white. Classical form, lifts, and duets infuse the piece with a romantic air. Dancers are turned and lifted to the white side and back to the black in a series of passionate duets. One is enchanted as the svelte forms of dancers’ bodies are suddenly revealed and then hidden again. The gorgeously revealed human forms give both light and costume designs breath-taking purpose.
The costumes remain for phase two and it seems Lee’s design might constrict the choreography, but it is not so. The lighting shifts to warm yellow, and throws into relief both white and black; the dancers’ bodies are more fully revealed.
Choreographically, Bonachela moves to contemporary mode. The lighting change, combined with free flowing, warm and energetic glides, company tableaux and duets, offers a lovely sense of freedom and openness. The striking juxtaposition to the emotional intensity of phase one’s sense of “now you see it, now you don’t” is refreshing.
Bonachela’s third phase finds the company in black leotards with differing grey graphic designs. The previous phase had edged closer to a sense of full ‘revelation’. These more muted colours seem a reversion. Is it? There is a choreographic focus on strict adherence to line and form and turns draw one’s eyes to both the costume graphics and body shape, without really offering a sense of where the work’s journey has gone. Back to the beginning, perhaps?
McGowan’s Fanatic, a reimagining of cult sci-fi films Alien and Predator, is obviously a massive fan boy/girl audience moment given its enthusiastic reception.
Partnering with dramaturg Sam Haren, sound constructor Steve Mayhew, and lighting designer Benjamin Cisterne, McGowan throws down a gutsy, hard-core, comic 15 minutes of pure pop culture bliss.
Focussed on the character Ripley and pivotal film scenes, McGowan lovingly tears them apart and rebuilds them, bending character’s bodies using sharp, stop/start, angled moves cued to Mayhew’s sound effects and spoken lines. Cisterne’s sharp lighting references the movies’ darkest moments.
Fanatic has the audience with them. Haren’s contribution ensures a sharp and punchy dramatic structure, taking McGowan’s piece to another level entirely. The opening night audience is in thrall, accepting the work’s interpretation of the films as totally authentic. That is McGowan and team’s big achievement.
The final work, Ekman’s Cacti, roundly rails against how and why art is critically perceived. The choreography displays a tremendously bright, sharp and biting, cerebral sense of humour.
High art evaluation and criticism is mockingly examined in the nicest, most richly entertaining way. What better way to play with such ideas than to use a string quartet playing onstage?
Cacti has its roots more in music theatre than contemporary dance, though of course, it is the contemporary approach grounding the work.
Ekman co-designed the set with Thomas Visser. It consists of square blocks used as pedestals. On each pedestal crouches a dancer, costumed by Ekman in black coolie cap, body stocking and black coolie trousers.
His dancers make wonderful statues and film stars - not to mention a fantastic music theatre vaudeville hall dance corp, as the string quartet play around them.
The pedestal boxes come into their own as Cacti progresses; morphing from pedestal to painting canvas, to small screen to dressing box, to postmodern architectural construct.
Ekman and Visser combine to produce a work criticising the static nature of art perception which is lapped up by an appreciative, knowing audience.
David O’Brien
When: 6 to 8 Aug
Where: Her Majesty’s Theatre
Bookings: Closed
