The term ‘contemporary dance’ means many different things to many different people and, true to the nature of Resolution!, a mixed bag of performances took to the stage in the Robin Howard Dance Theatre last night, linked only by their lack of resemblance to their nebulous programme notes.
First up were the prepossessing leg extensions of Coreyography, a strong and skilful company brought together by choreographer Corey Barker in his work In-be-tween. Relentlessly steady in pace and bordering on the unintentionally humorous in its use of swathes of red material, In-be-tween was saved by moments of beauty which shone through in the form of an athletic male duet and subtle solos performed by the fluid cast.
Moving towards a more quirky and creative way of thinking about contemporary dance theatre, Danai Papa’s work, Five and a half is a disconcerting look at female emotions, unsurprisingly performed by an all female cast of five. Comedic jiggling and eccentric spasms of movement create intrigue but soon fall away to nonsensical crawling and scrambling on the floor accompanied by wartime French love songs.
Finally, shunning any dance content and firmly crossing over the line to the ludicrous was Irene Cena’s work Between A and B, a non-stop promotion for post-its and sticky tape that left the once enthusiastic audience baffled and bewildered.
By Jennifer Teale
Always an eclectic mix, if you fancy trying your luck with Resolution! it is on at The Place until February 18th 2011. Buy tickets online from £7.
Read more Resolution! coverage.
Pictured: Irene Cena
