Interplay

Interplay L’Chaim. Image by Wendell Teodoro

Interplay presents an exciting triple bill to celebrate Sydney Dance’s 45^th year. The first two works of this performance in particular highlight the current ensemble of the dancers’ extraordinary technique. At times, they appear boneless. Each work demands a different atmosphere and style, yet all three complement each other wonderfully. 

The opening work, the world premiere of Bonachela’s ‘2 in D minor’ is dazzling and superb. Technically, the dancing is sensational, and talk about a sizzling, singing line! It is a mesmerising work that captivates. There is no real set, as such, just a black box and overhead light. Sometimes, the light creates squares on the floor. Musically, the performance is in effect divided into two, and features guest violinist, Veronique Serret, of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in a tremendous collaboration, interacting on stage with the dancers – possibly their puppet mistress and/or mirror – and Nick Wales’s electronic fragments. The dancers appear to move and breathe through the music, totally enmeshed in it .

From the very beginning, this work is given a blistering performance. Bonachela uses ballet as his base, but with a twist. His fiendishly difficult work demands a laser-sharp line, fluid arms, incredibly soft jumps and ‘ballon’. There are some astonishing solos, a delightful and most unusual male pas de deux, a terrific series of trios and quartets and fine ensemble work with possible hints of Indian sculpture towards the end. In one solo, the dancer is like a fleet show pony with delicate feet and a fabulous soft jump. In another, the dancers mimic undulating sea creatures.

Another viewing of Godani’s spiky, ‘Raw Models’, (last seen in 2011) reminds me of how unsettling it is. His snappy lighting adds to the sense of mystery. It is set in a confining, bleak, black box allowing us to concentrate on the dazzling, athletic dancing. 48nord’s electronic soundtrack throbs, crashes, beeps and hums. Godani’s very demanding choreography is curved yet fractured and angular at certain points.

The opening sequence is spiky and spider-like, leading seamlessly to a fluid series of solos, duets and trios. The dancers are all in black costumes. Holly Doyle and Jessica Thompson have a fabulous sinuous duet and Andrew Crawford and Charmene Yap are stunning in their glittering duet which stops the show. The men’s duet ( Thomas Bradley and Cass Mortimer Eipper) is challenging and nifty too. Thomas Bradley has a mesmerizing frieze-like solo towards the end, demanding great suppleness and flexibility and which makes me think of Nijinsky’s ‘Faune’. It is a fractured, splintered work that is chilling, and rather overwhelming, with its powerful intensity.

For me, the third work, ‘L’Chaim’ (‘To life’) is the least successful and somewhat disappointing. It asks questions about being a dancer and why professional dancers to what they do. However, it is almost messy, with an improvised feel. Trying to squeeze too much in, they unfortunately just miss the mark (although I must admit the audience, especially the younger members, do seem to greatly enjoy it).

It begins suddenly, explosively and powerfully with the company going joyfully full-out, but, at one point, includes tearful sobbing. Zoe Coombs Marr is a disembodied voice (in some ways like an artistic or rehearsal director) asking various intensely probing questions such as: ‘Who’s the youngest?’; ‘Do you have a word for what you’re doing now?’; ‘What is your higher purpose in this dance?’ Breathless, the dancers attempt to answer as best they can while in the middle of dancing and keeping up with the rest of the ensemble (very tricky!) In some ways, this perhaps makes it similar to Ekman’s ‘Cacti’.

Obarzanek’s choreography combines very difficult, athletic contemporary dance movements with Israeli folk dance steps and also some everyday movements, creating a unique, quirky vocabulary, with constant shifts  in direction, speed and dynamics. Emphasis is placed on rhythm and percussion – hand claps, stamping – and in the infectious folk dance music. Coombs Marr eventually makes her way through the audience and to the stage, and the end is a joyous finale of group acceptance and the love of dance.                    

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Interplay

Sydney Theatre, The Wharf, Hickson Rd
www.sydneydancecompany.com
15 March – 5 April

Canberra Theatre Centre
10 – 12 April
Southbank Theatre, Melbourne
30 April – 10 May