A bright future
Deirdre Tarrant
One Way, New Zealand School of Dance Student Choreographic Season, At Te Whaea, May 22, Reviewed by Deirdre Tarrant.
AN empty space, dimly lit with a scaffolding structure.
The stage fills with students in a melange of style and clothing. Retro is popular both on and off the stage and it was interesting to see this fashion parade of young dancers.
The continuous structure, in which eleven works ran together using both sound and movement links worked well.
It was clear where each new choreographer’s voice took command. The dancers are looking great and have a strong technical mastery and sense of stage statement.
That said, some of them need to develop their release techniques and to make the floor their friend as they hurl themselves across space!
I felt that newly appointed Head of Contemporary Dance, Paula Steeds-Huston and rehearsal director Victoria Columbus had created a strong performance and successfully found that elusive One Way for these students to be best displayed.
There was humour, a set that meant many exits were achieved by simply falling off the stage, lots of interaction, lots of giggling and a range of themes.
I liked the movement in Alana Sargent’s Table of Eight but was a little bemused on reading the notes and discovering that the dance was about death...likewise an immaculately danced solo called Back to the Beginning by Charlotte Davies choreographed by Emma Coppersmith turned out to be about dementia?
Programme notes can sometimes try too hard although there is no question that performance context is ultimately as important as the steps.
There was little partnering work in the pieces, but in Love Songs, choreographed by Danielle Lindsay, the duet for Alice Macann and Lewis Major was truly inventive, musical and a stand out section in the evening.
I liked the way sound designer James Dunlop had merged a wide range of music choices and was also pleased to note that although there was much that was derivative of other works the stylistic and vocabulary of our own New Zealand choreographers were clearly evident.
The influence of Sarah Foster, Malia Johnston and Claire O’Neill were very strong indeed.
Costume design led by Donna Jefferis and lighting design mentored by Lisa Maule were both excellent.
One Way promises much for the future of New Zealand contemporary dance and showcases these talented young energies in their way of thinking and their way of dancing too. Well done.
AN empty space, dimly lit with a scaffolding structure.
The stage fills with students in a melange of style and clothing. Retro is popular both on and off the stage and it was interesting to see this fashion parade of young dancers.
The continuous structure, in which eleven works ran together using both sound and movement links worked well.
It was clear where each new choreographer’s voice took command. The dancers are looking great and have a strong technical mastery and sense of stage statement.
That said, some of them need to develop their release techniques and to make the floor their friend as they hurl themselves across space!
I felt that newly appointed Head of Contemporary Dance, Paula Steeds-Huston and rehearsal director Victoria Columbus had created a strong performance and successfully found that elusive One Way for these students to be best displayed.
There was humour, a set that meant many exits were achieved by simply falling off the stage, lots of interaction, lots of giggling and a range of themes.
I liked the movement in Alana Sargent’s Table of Eight but was a little bemused on reading the notes and discovering that the dance was about death...likewise an immaculately danced solo called Back to the Beginning by Charlotte Davies choreographed by Emma Coppersmith turned out to be about dementia?
Programme notes can sometimes try too hard although there is no question that performance context is ultimately as important as the steps.
There was little partnering work in the pieces, but in Love Songs, choreographed by Danielle Lindsay, the duet for Alice Macann and Lewis Major was truly inventive, musical and a stand out section in the evening.
I liked the way sound designer James Dunlop had merged a wide range of music choices and was also pleased to note that although there was much that was derivative of other works the stylistic and vocabulary of our own New Zealand choreographers were clearly evident.
The influence of Sarah Foster, Malia Johnston and Claire O’Neill were very strong indeed.
Costume design led by Donna Jefferis and lighting design mentored by Lisa Maule were both excellent.
One Way promises much for the future of New Zealand contemporary dance and showcases these talented young energies in their way of thinking and their way of dancing too. Well done.
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