Had a chance to take in some Modern Dance + DJ on April 13th. Here are some notes:
The scene - Lower Ossington Theatre
The first and second rows of the bleacher-like seating have been replaced with comfy looking cushions and pillows suitable for hipsters and their young lady-friends. Being neither, I sat up by the camera and the DJ in the darkness.
Side walls patterned with silhouettes of those plastic record shurikens - the ones used to play a 45 on a turntable - fitting for the First LP.
A few minutes to go, the dancers were out lounging in the front corner relaxed yet focused. People still filing in. But there was something ... brooding.
They say never trust a man whose hair and moustache do not match in colour - like John Bolton. Well, the DJ looked an untrustworthy sort. A laptop with a setup featuring two reels and a set of buttons. No headphones. Low rumbling waves searching for the first act. Ominous - a Roger Troutman death gurgle.
First Dance
The opening number had five dancers and a lot of movement for my weak eyes. Gradually, I adjusted and started to notice the way the ensemble drew one's attention to smaller groups within the larger swirl based on their movement. Occasionally there was movement in isolation.
By this time it becomes clear that there are programme notes to explain what is going on. I decide "why spoil the surprise" and choose to ignore.
Second Dance
A solo dance with a bench as an additional surface. Probably there's a whole terminology that I'm missing out on. I choose to ignore this as well.
The music has a bit of a Trip-Hop feel - alot more rhythmic which suits the exhibition. I really liked this dance - there was the feel of a gymnastic routine combining strength, balance and form.
What followed was an intermission with a sort of Indian-sounding score. I break down and start to read the programme notes.
Third Dance
Sometime during the intermission, a huge spiral looking alot like Zakk Wylde's guitar appeared on the floor. The music starts up - it has absolutely no rhythm; my ears seek out something familiar in a discomfitting track.
This is a solo dance. A beautiful woman in a green dress starts near the centre of the spiral and swirls to the outside. Slowly working around the spiral, the music seems to contort the woman moving body parts in odd ways. The woman ends head down in the middle of the spiral more or less a twisted pile. The opposite of burlesque. The whole thing made me sad - perhaps a dark statement about loss of youth/grace/beauty. The nadir of the evening.
Fourth Dance
At this point I'm yearning for some narrative - something I can feel more postive about. What comes is pretty close - it's like Pleasantville. This was a group dance that starts off with no music score - wise choice as it suits this piece and also resets the howl of the previous score.
For a few minutes 5 figures in black hoodies move about the stage in harmony. But one lone figure breaks out of the conformity and literally sheds their black outer garments revealing a red jumpsuit below. The remaining four figures try to swarm the lone red but eventually the red suit grabs hold of one of the black figures and strips off their black outer garments revealing another red jumpsuit. One by one the black-suits become red-suits till it is 4-1. The lone holdout is eventually subdued and lo and behold, the big reveal is a yellow jumpsuit.
Nice. Wonder if tear-aways would have made this a little easier? Best dance of the night, IMHO.
A second intermission. The DJ goes to work and my ears hear more ... cowbell.
Fifth Dance
This one continued with the theme of the individual within the group with a different shade. One dancer was clearly a leader directing the movements of the others. The control was exerted in various ways, even getting the group to run into the back wall which elicited a giggle. I guess this is where dance is different from acting as it was difficult to gauge the reaction of the controlled to being controlled
After reading the programme notes, this dance was inspired by WWII footage. So freedom was a theme. Master of Puppets.
Sixth Dance
A larger group dance that had a kind of "jam" feel to it. This one had alot of individual movement to it. The move of the night for me was one dancer going from a headstand to a handstand with perfect balance. Yeah, I couldn't even do that on PS3
There was no outro music - The dancers' coup de grace.
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