This review was originally written for The Public Reviews and the review can be accessed here.
Accessed from The Public Reviews(http://www.thepublicreviews.com)
Alexander Whitley brings his dance company to perform the double
bill, The Grit in the Oyster and The
Measures Taken to
Leeds. The programme opens with The
Grit in the Oyster set
to Thomas Adès’ Piano Quintet and Sadler Wells commissioned this for Adès’ See the Music. Hear the Dance. The classical music feeds
well into Whitley’s choreography with the three dancers interpreting the fast
tempo and intense music.
The musical arrangement has a tango like passionate feel; the
dancers, one male and two female, appear to be in a love triangle with an
involvement of pushing and pulling, intertwined with vicarious movements and
emotive body language expressions. The dancers interpret physically and
intricately to the music and the simple staging is used well.
The Measures Taken is reputed to be “visually striking and
kinetically charged” and it certainly lives up to its reputation. The
piece is created jointly with Marshmallows Laser Feast and lasers are indeed
used effectively – diagonally, horizontally and vertically symbolising how
technology dominates people’s lives.
The visuals have a good relationship with the five dancers who
navigate figuratively their personal relationships with technology and Rutger
Zuydervelt’s music works in unison with Whitley’s choreography. Some of
the scenes show how far technology can go in humanity and the dancers’ physical
movements, such as the robotic sequence towards the end, show these frustrations
and restrictions; the clever use of digital projection and the dramatic
soundscapes. Certainly an enjoyable and unique production.
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