Recorded conversations about the making of the project were sliced and edited and the blooper/silly moments that arose from the sessions integrated to form I Like This. The dancers comment on what they do or don’t like and what feels comfortable – or not – to wear and perform. The witty script (speech is very important in this show) is great fun.
Choreographically this is a blend of various styles – mostly modern/contemporary, but also mime, ballet, even Irish dancing. With regards to the modern/contemporary work there is a lot of use of isolation techniques (e.g. of shoulders, of wrists and hands, of the head) that is in some ways similar to the work of Fargion and Burrows. Sometimes there are small repeated phrases of movement. In one section the performers were like plants or rippling underwater creatures. Sometimes they danced in the dark, a sudden spotlight catching a fleeting glimpse of their movement. There are lots of allusions to vampires, zombies, horror stories and B-grade movies of the 1950’s.
In various sections the dancers moved in slow motion or pretended to be zombies (or Dementors, perhaps). The hard plastic chairs that are part of the set are also briefly incorporated into the choreography (hidden behind, peered over, and so on ). There is some excellent unison work, with the dancers making robotic gestures mirroring their words, at times stuttering, Max Headroom-like. There are some very funny trio sections too, including a hilarious section where a vampish, Frank-N-Furter like creator manipulates his two creatures, setting off chains of phrases of movement which lead to what is almost a clothed orgy. Much fun.
The lighting in I Like This is also choreographed and is critical to the performance. There are frequent snappy blackouts (which by the end of the evening I found gave me a headache). Four or so large handheld portable lamps are used and manipulated by the cast (eerie lighting from underneath the face, for example) the cables being connected to the sound system. In one section the lights are whirled like a bull-roarer or sword (a fast action sequence) and at other times used to pierce the gloom establishing the atmosphere (the storm sequence at the end, for example, is excellently done). Before the storm we hear Philip Glass’ ‘Metamorphosis’ and in another section there are loud pulsating and rhythmic electronic beeps and hums.
The show is performed with great exuberance, split second timing and impeccable precision. The under 35’s in the audience particularly loved it. While solid, it could have been tightened a fraction and the repetition edited out. Perhaps it should be viewed more as a ‘performance piece’ rather than a ‘dance’ work.
Rating: Three stars
Chunky Move’s I Like This
Direction and Photography: Antony Hamilton and Byron Perry
Lighting and Sound: Antony Hamilton and Byron Perry
Costume Designer: Paula Levis
Performers: Kristy Ayre, Antony Hamilton, Byron Perry, Lee Serle, Joseph Simons
Production Manager: Sophie Kurylowicz
Running time: 50 minutes (approx) no interval
Sydney Opera House
August 24 – 28
