Dances For A Small Stage Australia. Lisa Lonero Allen and Rachel Kennedy. 19 Feb 2016

 

Thrilling describes the significant achievement that is Dances for A Small Stage Australia.

 

It is rare for live music to be composed and performed live on stage for contemporary work, let alone for five pieces in the same program. So solid is the conceptual base to each piece, they stand on their own with great strength and clarity, strong enough to hold further development over time.

 

Zebra Crossing: A Journey Within choreographed by Lisa Lonero Allen, with music for violin performed by Frank Giles proved a perfect grand opening statement.

Carlie Angel is incredibly powerful in Zebra stripe pantsuit costume with black and white Mohawk and face makeup. Angel punches out with sharp body moves and absolute, passionate control Lonero’s sophisticated, smooth choreographic mix of leaps, sweeps and gestures of command given to dancers Cazna Brass and Margot John. Giles’ deft mixing of his classically styled composition using effects pedals clothes movement with an extra complementing layer of dulcet grace. Giles’ contribution ensures the piece is a gripping, heartfelt and a complete experience as Angel transforms from a desperately seeking freedom creature, into something else entirely.

 

Muse, choreographed by Daniel Jaber and Madeline Edwards with music composed for Cello by Jakub Janokowski proved the evening’s big tease.

The relationship between artist and muse is a much studied and loved one. Jaber’s choreography seeks to celebrate not just Edwards as his creative muse pieces from Jaber’s body of work, but the relationship between dancer and musician too.

 

While knowing the entirety of choreographic pieces chosen would’ve been a bonus (I have sadly missed some) make no mistake, of the nine vignettes offered, those pairing Edwards with musician Jankowski are brilliantly inspired and tremendously exciting.

 

Edward’s interaction with Jankowski while on the floor, or around him as he plays, offers a powerfully electric expression of the invisible spirit of communication and response between artists. Janokowski stirringly plays highly modernist riffs off the Cello. Edwards’ legs and body respond to it. Jankowski responds back.

 

Muse holds a spirited exploration of creative passion that’s going to be all the more complex and powerful after further development.

 

Conversations blends flamenco dance with traditional and non-traditional guitar score. Choreography and performance is by Emily Mayes with guitar by Casper Hawksley.

 

Alike to Muse, Conversations works on the relationship between musician and dancer, where different stylistic backgrounds come into contact.

 

It’s quite intriguing to note how well a non-traditional guitar score can work with flamenco dance and vice versa. Conversations moves in and out of the traditional/non-traditional over the course of the work without any sense anything is seriously amiss at all. At each phase of dance and music, Mayes approaches then retreats from Hawksley, while making it clear they are slowly but surely getting closer to each other, understanding a little more of what the other does.

 

As an experiment, Conversations offers quite a challenge and in terms of the work to date, enough has been done to suggest moving gear up to crazy brave in a rehearsal studio is now warranted.

 

Phrenic brings Carlie Angel’s choreography to the stage, with Beatrice Hanna’s live score for violin, and another level of dance excellence.

Angel’s choreography for Phrenic revealed an impressive, awe inspiring ability in the most complicated, difficult manner possible.

Suspended mid air by a series of rope loops allowing Angel to turn, rise and drop in such a manner she could be performing a circus arabesque or seem as sleeping on an invisible bed in the air, Phrenic shows off phenomenal choreographic talent.

 

Angel’s elegantly smooth air based air dance serves the goal of giving expression to how to find physical and emotional relaxation while caught up in situations we do not want to be caught up and held by.

It’s an emotional piece in which Angel’s body strives for a peace it’s clearly not getting as she fights, relents, and fights again. Slowly but surely, Angel reaches high, only to descend low again. That she’s caught up in a tangle, her body in a state of capture, fuels the energy of the work greatly superbly accompanied by Hanna’s gentle heart wrenching score.

 

No More Silent Nights closed the evening with much humour and warmth. Directed by Rachel Kennedy with choreography by Kennedy and dancers, the music comes from Rebecca Gayther-Moore on keyboard.

Welcome to motherhood is the theme. Dancers Lisa Lonero Allen and child dancer Charlotte Stratton-Smith offer up a happy heart-warming series of vignettes in which Lonero Allen as Mother and Stratton-Smith as daughter run through the happy and difficult moments of bringing a child up.

 

It’s a loving work, in which choreography has been created allowing young Stratton-Smith an equal weight of work with Lonero Allen meeting the physical capabilities her youth allows, and she excels herself as dancer and creative partner with Lonero Allen.

 

Tantrums, happy play times, doubts and fears all get an airing. There’s always a resolution and happy hope in the air as traipse lightly sweet choreography finds Lonero Allen and Stratton-Smith bouncing bubbly across the dance floor, accompanied by Kennedy singing songs off stage lyrics which add a lovely lullaby feel to the work.

 

David O’Brien

 

When: 19 to 28 Feb

Where: Stomping Ground Studio

Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au