July 12, 2007
Siobhan Davies Dance performs Two Quartets, each with a fundamentally different approach to structure. The first group of dancers are barefoot wearing black and white tie-dyed loose-fitting linen and continue with fast-paced running and stopping throughout the piece. The simplicity of the form makes this accessible to the audience but at the same time challenging as no narrative is offered. The primitive vocabulary of movement is dictated by the formal structure of the piece that ultimately serves to add value to each movement used. As the dancers start and stop, often in response to the verbal commands added to Matteo Fargion’s music, there are moments where the dancers resemble the physicality of monochromatic piano keys. In this strictly ordered piece, there is palpable concentration between the dancers particularly where the command, ‘Stop’ sees them retreat to the four corners of the stage. There is an emotional response to be gained by simply watching the kinetic energy of the piece although this is likely to be highly personal. For me the repetitive nature of weaving patterns is evocative of timeless rural walks amongst monoliths particularly as the company repeat movements as if over different textures of surface. Whilst the challenge for the audience is interpretation, these highly trained dancers face the challenge of developing a work that is beyond the comfort zone of their professional training.
Returning to our seats from the interval, a previously empty stage is now dotted with illuminated free-standing rectangular screens. The company in the second quartet retreat behind these and walk behind them projecting out a transparent image. The dancers in developing this second piece follow an almost opposite route than that of the earlier piece. Emotional journeys and personal stories are explored and the very nature of human expression of emotion is studied before a structure is devised. The successful structure shows individuals experiencing a similar event in different ways. As the piece progresses the individuals on their own emotional journey interact. The narrative is so engulfing at times it is easy to forget that this is the medium of dance and not theatre. This thoroughly engaging work ends with Deborah Saxon executing a mixture of human mannerisms with all the tall clean lines of dance alone centre stage, in repetition. Such is the quality of truth this company has unearthed, there is a feeling of looking in the mirror at your inner most self as Saxon finishes an evening which is both up close and personal.
Returning to our seats from the interval, a previously empty stage is now dotted with illuminated free-standing rectangular screens. The company in the second quartet retreat behind these and walk behind them projecting out a transparent image. The dancers in developing this second piece follow an almost opposite route than that of the earlier piece. Emotional journeys and personal stories are explored and the very nature of human expression of emotion is studied before a structure is devised. The successful structure shows individuals experiencing a similar event in different ways. As the piece progresses the individuals on their own emotional journey interact. The narrative is so engulfing at times it is easy to forget that this is the medium of dance and not theatre. This thoroughly engaging work ends with Deborah Saxon executing a mixture of human mannerisms with all the tall clean lines of dance alone centre stage, in repetition. Such is the quality of truth this company has unearthed, there is a feeling of looking in the mirror at your inner most self as Saxon finishes an evening which is both up close and personal.