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Dance Massive 2013

2013


 Da Contents H2

dance massive 2013
March 27 2013
dance: installed, immersed, hybridised
keith gallasch: dance massive 2013


quotidian moves, gangnam-style
philipa rothfield: ben speth, wetubelive

dance massive 2013
sounds to dance to, with, against
gail priest: sound design in dance massive 2013


March 26 2013
the life in the work
philipa rothfield: tracie mitchell, dance screen retrospective

youtubing live
varia karipoff: ben speth, wetubelive

dance massive 2013
March 24 2013
dance & disorientation
keith gallasch: tim darbyshire, more or less concrete

more or less monstrous
jana perkovic: atlanta eke, monster body


realtime tv: tim darbyshire, more of less concrete, dance massive 2013

March 22 2013
ritual entwining
philipa rothfield: soo yeun you, [gu:t] [work-in-progress]

strange affliction: dance massive & transcendence
keith gallasch: jo lloyd, future perfect

March 21 2013
a not so private hearing
carl nilsson-polias: tim darbyshire, more or less concrete

realtime tv: antony hamilton, black projects 1& 2, dance massive 2013

something ends, something begins
virginia baxter: dance exchange, dance for the time being - southern exposure

dance massive 2013
the perfection of submission
varia karipoff: jo lloyd, future perfect

March 20 2013
inner fury, seductive skill
philipa rothfield: anouk van dijk, chunky move, 247 days

March 20 2013
old tropes & the new disconnect
carl nilsson-polias: lucy guerin inc & belvoir, conversation piece

March 19 2013
now, then, now
keith gallasch: sandra parker, the recording

realtime tv: anouk van dijk, 247 days, chunky move, dance massive 2013

dance massive 2013
March 18 2013
creating an affective community
jana perkovic: matthew day, intermission


fun and the damage done
keith gallasch: larissa mcgowan, skeleton

more than smoke and mirrors
virginia baxter: ashley dyer, life support

realtime tv: lee serle, p.o.v., dance massive 2013

March 17 2013
realtime tv: dalisa pigram, gudirr gudirr, dance massive 2013

the body un-mirrored
jana perkovic: anouk van dijk, chunky move, 247 days

the origins of feeling
philipa rothfield: sandra parker, the recording

March 16 2013
realtime tv: stephanie lake, dual, dance massive 2013

dance massive 2013
March 15 2013
a dance for dark times
virginia baxter: dalisa pigram, gudirr gudirr

brittle bones & internal electricity
carl nilsson-polias: larissa mcgowan, skeleton

in the thick of it
philipa rothfield: lee serle, p.o.v.

March 15 2013
inside the audience
jana perkovic: lee serle, p.o.v

the poetry of pain
keith gallasch: stephanie lake, dual

dance massive 2013
when two become one
varia karipoff: stephanie lake, dual

March 14 2013
blacker than black
keith gallasch: antony hamilton, black projects 1 & 2

life in a puff
carl nilsson-polias: ashley dyer, life support


March 13 2013
dark symmetries
carl nilsson-polias: antony hamilton, black projects 1 & 2

lines of flight
philipa rothfield: dalisa pigram, gudirr gudirr

dance massive 2013
suggestive formalism
jana perkovic: natalie abbott, physical fractals


unsettling the audience
varia karipoff: natalie abbott, physical fractals

February 22 2013
an intense manifestation of dance
philipa rothfield: dance massive 2013, melbourne

dance massive 2013: from the archive
lucy guerin inc, conversation piece; antony hamilton, black project; atlanta eke, this monster body; matthew day, intermission; jo lloyd, future perfect; tim darbyshire, more or less concrete; natalie abbot, physical fractals; ben speth, wetubelive

 

dance for the time being - Southern Exposure, Dance Exchange dance for the time being - Southern Exposure, Dance Exchange
photo Rachel Roberts
ATTENDING A NEW PERFORMANCE BY RUSSELL DUMAS IS ALWAYS AN OCCASION. THE AMBIENCE IN THE FOYER ON OPENING NIGHT IS CONVIVIAL, THE AUDIENCE SPRINKLED WITH LOYAL FORMER AFFILIATES OF DANCE EXCHANGE, ACKNOWLEDGING DUMAS’ ENDURING INFLUENCE ON THE FIELD.

Enhancing our sense of place, we are led along a laneway to the back entrance of Dancehouse, up a set of rustic wooden stairs from which we glimpse in passing the ruins of what looks like a disused brickworks next door. We pass through the doors of the theatre observing a line of dancers against the wall. Seated, we regard the pristine space—shiny wooden floor, four windows letting in the 7pm light—where two of the dancers have already begun their performance without us.

In familiar Dance Exchange style, to the rhythms of breathing, the black clad performers on the floor lean, spin and pivot. At first they appear to be testing their weight against the solidity of walls and floor and then each other. As each sequence ends the dancers simply depart the space to be replaced by others from the waiting line. We recognise the characteristic gestures of affinity, seamless conjoining, sensuous balances, lifts that look easy at first but soon reveal their effort.

Much of the dancing we’ve seen at Dance Massive has been of the heavy duty variety—falling, shaking, spinning, sharply articulated, moving fast and furious; not to mention facing down the elements—extreme sound, light and spatial deprivation, smoke. The performers of Dance Exchange meanwhile “explore the relationship between doing and being” in a relatively safe environment. “The human being is already performative,” says Dumas. “It goes without saying more precisely because it came before saying” (Dance Massive brochure).

dance for the time being - Southern Exposure, Dance Exchange dance for the time being - Southern Exposure, Dance Exchange
photo Rachel Roberts
Not that all this “being” is undemanding (as we know). There are moments, which, within the context might even be deemed spectacular—small eruptions, remarkable and unexpected turns, a springing on all fours across the floor. In a couple of extended duets that form centrepieces for the work, Jonathan Sinatra appears at first to be the more forceful of the duo until you detect the equivalent power needed from Linda Sastradirpradja and Nicole Jenvey to propel and maintain their own bodies in the lifts. Surprising body parts are called upon to elevate, push or pull another. One is held stiffly horizontal and rolled up and onto the other. Clasped hands connect with a raised arm to create suspension. In vertical configurations or lying side by side, these bodies display their strength in relative stillness.

There are often two or three sites of action—a trio there, a duet here—initially splitting our attention then revealing their rhythmic turns or limbs raised in unison. Unlike the duets, which are more formal and demanding, there are youthful bursts of movement—slaps, running, followed by a languid line-up. Overall, a sense of reverie prevails, of people in thrall, fluidly shifting from one position to the next and then falling into synch. There are moments of pause when you venture a scenario or even glimpse something potentially balletic in those pointed toes, that extended, graceful arm, the faintly familiar configurations of the pas de deux. There are even flashes of drama—he grabs her ankles, pulls himself into a foetal curl and then unfolds, lifts her up with a foot under one buttock; Jenvey clasps Sinatra tightly around his torso, lets him go and he collapses. Importantly, nothing is held long enough to allow connotation to cloud the view. More often meaning slips and we’re absorbed in an easy sense of overlap. Something ends, something else begins, to be continued another time.

As the sun sets, we detect subtle patterns of introduced light on the walls. Never directly on the dancers, the shapes build to overlapping rectangles like a series of modernist paintings gradually expanding along the wall. Shadows and silhouettes dance before us. Leaving, we’re invited to walk through the charged space of the performance that now lets in the night. Outside, a pale yellow half-moon is on the rise.


Dance Massive & Dancehouse: Dance Exchange; dance for the time being –Southern Exposure, director Russell Dumas, performer/creative producer Linda Sastradipradja, performers Jonathan Sinatra, Nicole Jenvey, Rachel Doust, David Huggins, Sarah Cartwright, Eric Fon, Molly McMenamin, Dancehouse, March 19-21

© Virginia Baxter; for permission to reproduce apply to [email protected]

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