Friday night’s performance concluded Resolution! 2011 at the Place. With 100+ choreographies over 34 evenings it’s been a rollercoaster ride of a season with highs, lows and everything in between.
The old saying ‘save the best for last’ did not apply to this final evening and whilst Koen De Preter & Ulrika Kinn Svensson set the bar at the Postmodern end of the choreographic spectrum, gymnastics and physical theatre followed.
Sometimes it’s there was the marmite piece of the evening. The two choreographers/dancers produced simple repetitive movements, from arm swings to slow motion turns in unison, for such a painstakingly lengthy amount of time that any small alteration to their pattern became something of beauty and intrigue. This Belgium duo finally broke the monotony and silence with a speech ‘happiness is experiments these days’. The contrast of the movement to the witty dialogue made this an altogether enjoyable piece and the highlight of the evening.
Inverted Dance, choreographed by Tamzen Moulding, presented a couple whose peace was continually interrupted by their friends. The opening movement of the central couple as they rolled across a large table to reach each other, only to be engulfed by fellow dancers, was a nice set up. After this it was the gymnastic virtuosity which became the backbone of the piece. Some tricks were flashy and eye catching but not enough to sustain interest as all performance qualities were missing to make the narrative come alive.
Physical Theatre ended the evening with Hagit Yakira’s Sunday Morning. Four dancers coupled comic face pulling with the regaling of romanticised memories of their childhoods. The movement became frantic darts across the stage followed by mock fighting. It many have been fun to create but it was tiresome to watch.
Only time will tell if this season’s Resolution! will go down in history as the first step on the next generation of choreographers ladder of success – some gems were to be found and hopefully at least one diamond in the rough will emerge.
Image: Koen De Preter & Ulrika Kinn Svensson in Sometimes it's there by Thanh Beels
