February 17, 2011
I left this exuberant showcase of dancing and musical talent with a spring in my step, and it's only February. It must have been good.
A collaboration between Oxford University Dance Society and Freefall Dance, and part of the Dancin' Oxford Festival, Platform packed 12 separate dance performances into a running time of just under 90 minutes. Unsurprisingly, there was never a dull moment, and I suspect that mine weren't the only feet tapping.
A wide range of dance was offered, from the obscure to the more conventional; there really was something for everybody here. The more obscure routines were less successful in my view, largely because of the considerable challenges involved in presenting complex ideas through dance in a small space. One such routine, entitled "I Am Not Like You, Cock-a-Doodle-Do", was explained as follows in the programme notes: “This piece illustrates the irony of humans' belief that we are superior to all other life forms”. Well, what I saw was two dancers with orange feathers attached to their wrists and bottoms. This particular number was cock-a-doodle-don't for me, unfortunately.
Cock-a-doodles apart, there was much to enjoy in a show of astonishing breadth and depth. The routine based upon the Bond films was good fun, as was "On the Train", although I sat up in my comfy seat when the “station announcer” referred to a train leaving Oxford from Platform 11.
The highlight of the evening for me was the penultimate performance, "On Chesil Beach", based on the novel by Ian McEwen and performed by Rachel Dedman and Joel Phillimore. Dedman and Phillimore were both superb, brilliantly conveying the twists and turns of a long relationship in dance form.
Other high spots were Amelie Chan's dancing in "Took You Two Years to Win My Heart", and Abigail Culshaw and Beckie Ryan in "Stolen Heartbeat".
It was good to see the O'Reilly Theatre healthily full for Platform, and the audience gave a well-deserved thumbs' up to what was, on the whole, a great evening's entertainment.
A collaboration between Oxford University Dance Society and Freefall Dance, and part of the Dancin' Oxford Festival, Platform packed 12 separate dance performances into a running time of just under 90 minutes. Unsurprisingly, there was never a dull moment, and I suspect that mine weren't the only feet tapping.
A wide range of dance was offered, from the obscure to the more conventional; there really was something for everybody here. The more obscure routines were less successful in my view, largely because of the considerable challenges involved in presenting complex ideas through dance in a small space. One such routine, entitled "I Am Not Like You, Cock-a-Doodle-Do", was explained as follows in the programme notes: “This piece illustrates the irony of humans' belief that we are superior to all other life forms”. Well, what I saw was two dancers with orange feathers attached to their wrists and bottoms. This particular number was cock-a-doodle-don't for me, unfortunately.
Cock-a-doodles apart, there was much to enjoy in a show of astonishing breadth and depth. The routine based upon the Bond films was good fun, as was "On the Train", although I sat up in my comfy seat when the “station announcer” referred to a train leaving Oxford from Platform 11.
The highlight of the evening for me was the penultimate performance, "On Chesil Beach", based on the novel by Ian McEwen and performed by Rachel Dedman and Joel Phillimore. Dedman and Phillimore were both superb, brilliantly conveying the twists and turns of a long relationship in dance form.
Other high spots were Amelie Chan's dancing in "Took You Two Years to Win My Heart", and Abigail Culshaw and Beckie Ryan in "Stolen Heartbeat".
It was good to see the O'Reilly Theatre healthily full for Platform, and the audience gave a well-deserved thumbs' up to what was, on the whole, a great evening's entertainment.