DANZ QuArterly • AutuMN 2010 PAge 25
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Book designer Alan Deare employs different
strategies in the five primary sections, with the
non-performance sections intermixing image Prior is a most masculine dancer, and an able,
and text, oversize pull quotes, varying font sensitive partner. The match was heavenly.
sizes, black white and red text, and playing with All hail to Garry Trinder for commissioning
the positioning and size of images on certain
Book review: pages. The performance section however, is
stabilized, with richly glowing images merging
Tane Mete and Taiaroa Royal’s magnificent and
aptly named, He Taonga – A Gift. Exemplarily
performed by nine male dancers and lit with a
BlACk MIlk into the darkness of the stage behind, giving
these images the particular weight and
painter’s eye by O’Brien, it could have graced
any stage. A moving tribute to the dancers
Written by Douglas Wright, significance of high art. themselves, this multi-layered work combined
The book was released in December 2009 by traditional and contemporary dance forms and
photographs by John Savage suggested among other things, acceptance and
Craig Potton Publishing and has already been
Craig Potton Publishing (2009) reprinted. It is available at bookstores or online. racial equality.
Paul Taylor’s buoyant Airs feeds not only the
By Raewyn Whyte eyes, but also the spirit. It was staged by
Richard Chen See, who drew outstanding
ensemble performances from all the cast,
GrADUATIoN 09 with particularly fine work from Jana Castillo,
Emma Coppersmith, Robbie Curtis and Florian
Teatiu. The dancers performed with verve and
New Zealand School of Dance abandon, and although more epaulement would
Te Whaea, Wellington have added extra spark, it was truly, another
gift.
28 November
Each year the New Zealand School of Dance
By Ann Hunt
produces a vital, professional and thoroughly
entertaining evening of dance. 2009’s was no
exception.
INTErjECT,
Two traditional classical works were featured
- Pas de Quatre and the Pas De Trois from
DISrUPT, VANISH
Paquita, Act One. Both were stylishly produced The University of Waikato,
by Lidiya Klymenko and Yuriy Klymenko
If looking closely at dance is something respectively. The former was pleasingly danced Hamilton
you love to do, then Black Milk (the book) is by all the cast, but the lack of characterisation 21-25 September
something you will probably want to buy. The of the four famous ballerinas depicted, lessened
book offers 90 photographs by John Savage its impact. Busy stairwells, concrete ramps, building
taken during the creative process, rehearsal entrances and foyers, lakeside boardwalks
and performance of Douglas Wright's Black Paquita was given a dashing performance by and picnic tables… These are all sites people
Milk during 2006. Alongside the images are Haruka Tsuji, Anna Ishii and the dynamic Andre frequent and accumulate following the regular
commentary and poetry by the choreographer Santos, a dancer of charm and brio. rhythms of campus life. It is easy to pass
as he reflects on the making of the work and The newly commissioned Haere, through such sites, or for social activities
the experience of seeing unsuspected aspects choreographed by Cathy Livermore, proved a to dominate, and the potential of these
emerge through the photographs. And there gentle, if somewhat bland work, which lacked public places as performance sites remain
is an essay by Leonard Wilcox which delves unrecognised.
deeply into the contents, meanings and myriad However, with an agenda to interject
connections of the work to art, society, history, performance into these sites, Sue Cheesman
and recent academic theory. and dancers disrupted the regular rhythms
This remarkable publication is many things of the campus community and then vanished
– part documentary record, part coffee table again. Reappearing in different locations over
book, part meditation, part work of art. If a week on the campus, the dancers startled,
you experienced the live performance, it amused and engaged their unsuspecting
allows extended contemplation of fleeting audiences. Being in possession of a list of the
moments still dancing in one's memory, and dates and sites of performance, I deliberately
makes evident contextual connections now NZ SCHOOL OF DANCE GRADUATION. attended these seemingly random disruptions,
fixed in time. Whether you experienced the 'PAQUITA' PAS DE TROIS. DANCERS -HARUKA observing movement motifs and phrases that
performances or not, it helps to expand your TSUJI, ANDRE SANTOS, ANNA ISHII drew inspiration from the everyday behaviour
understanding of the collective commitment of people at each site. A repertoire of each site
required to create such a work, and the clarity of focus. It was however, strongly danced was thus identifiable, as well as characteristic
transformation engendered in the journey of the by all and beautifully lit by Paul O’Brien. elements of Cheesman’s choreography.
work from conception to reality. Complex rhythmic steps and hops contrasted
Love, an excerpt from Shona McCullagh’s full- with recognisable pedestrian gestures and
The photographs range from crisp and clear to length Quick, was performed with fluid style and
weirdly warped, from photojournalist realism with simple actions of giving and receiving
professionalism by Emmi Coupe and Florian weight. As I arrived at each new site I began
to mysterious images enveloped in painterly Teatiu. The partnering of both dancers was
chiaroscuro – a range every photographer to recognise and accumulate repeating and
exemplary, with the tiny Coupe effortlessly developing motifs that linked the performances
encounters while attempting to capture dance lifting the lanky Teatiu. The equal partnership
images. In keeping that range intact it honours and provided a sense of unity to the
of McCullagh’s grandparents was beautifully choreography overall.
this particular photographer's own relationship conveyed.
to the photographic process – dance was a new Alongside a grey concrete ramp, bodies
subject for him and we see his understanding X300, a dramatic work originally performed by hung limp from steel railings; functional site
changing in the course of the project. We Bangarra Aboriginal Dance Theatre, is based features contrasted with the organic softness
see him coming to terms with what the on the atomic tests in the 1950s on Maralinga of the dancers’ bodies. Beneath an impressive
chorographer calls 'the alphabet of gesture', Tjarutja traditional lands. Although performed architectural building entrance, dancers
and to his credit there is no attempt to control with commitment by all the cast, it lacked offered and supported other’s weight, while
the spectacular moment a la Lois Greenfield. subtlety and choreographic invention. the face of the building seemed to observe
In the studio shots, we see the collective focus A definite highlight was the classical/ curiously. Against a background of lake and
required for the success of the project, and in contemporary pas de deux, Crossed Fingers, trees, dancers suddenly disrupted others as
his moving portraits we sense his admiration for choreographed by Sarah Foster, and stunningly they broke into rapid position changes and
the dancers who conjured this work from their performed by Katherine Grange and Loughlan jumps over benches. An internal foyer and
bodies: Brian Carbee, Craig Bary, Sarah-Jayne Prior. Grange possesses beautiful elasticity stairwell echoed with the percussion of dancing
Howard, Helaina Keeley, Alex Leonhartsberger, and refined placing. She should watch over- steps rather than regular pedestrian footsteps,
Claire O'Neil, Jessica Shipman, Taiaroa Royal, smiling – it is not necessary. We will be smiling alluding perhaps to the multiple rhythms of
Kelly Nash, Guy Ryan. watching her. campus life.
PAge 26 DANZ QuArterly • AutuMN 2010
re V Ie Ws
The intriguingly named, Thricely? Precisely.
A Pocket Full of Pips gives no clue to the
nature of this devised work, which explores,
through the medium of dance, the restrictive Both works show Footnote dancers in top form
Observers were offered an opportunity to see parameters that are the lot of those who suffer technically and fully present in performance
familiar public sites differently, to observe their from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Only in mode. In Foster’s work, they talk candidly of
own relationship to the environment, and also retrospect can one see the relevance of the their exploratory paths, their pleasure in finding
to participate in the creation of new, shared rhyming, clipped rhythms that the title evokes. their characters and the struggle to reflect the
memories. May Courtney, Saysana Vinavong persona when creating movement phrases.
and Cheryl Lin emerged as dancers and were The work, directed by Brigid Costello, is co-
devised by Hannah Elks and Jane Wenley – all A strong emphasis on this type of character-
then easily assimilated back into the student based choreography by both Foster and
community, left no doubt with new embodied of whom are strong and expressive dancers
with lovely classical lines. Confined to a tiny O’Neil pays huge dividends - imbuing each
experiences of their relationship to familiar movement with motivation that gives it real
campus sites. Cheesman’s choreography cell-like 'bedroom' at Photospace Studio, the
three performers dance out their agonising substance and vesting the interpretation of the
was both responsive to these varied sites and choreography with the personal response and
reactive to the typical behaviour of the campus rituals to a driving music and sound design
by Tane Upjohn-Beatson and Dale Hitchcock. emotions of each dancer. The performance of
community – a considered and engaging site- short excerpts from MTYLAND and Foster’s
specific research project. Clinging to the security of a nursery-rhyme
world, the child-women enact their harrowing new work clearly illustrate the strength of this
By Karen Barbour journeys towards the light, which fortunately, approach.
end with a glimmer of hope. Integrated dance is starting to have a stronger
This is a work of real substance exploring presence in Wellington, so it was encouraging
a subject that not surprisingly, seems quite to see the De Inst Da Data performance by
familiar - like a dancer’s relentless quest for Crew Q-nique and Off the Rails, in the lovely
perfection, never relinquishing its hold until New Dowse Art Gallery in Lower Hutt. The
some small measure of satisfaction is achieved. work, a short free-form improvisation on the
Elements, led by creative designer Maria
It is a testament to the popularity of Crows Feet Merrick and creative facilitator Karen Newton
Dance Collective, which recently celebrated was performed to the live music and singing
its tenth anniversary, that their loyal audience of Suzy Hawes and Simon Loveday from the
trekked out to Upper Hutt to fill the beautifully Journey Band.
named Expressions Arts and Entertainment
Centre for the Crows’ new show, How to be a The pleasure that the performers achieved from
Domestic Goddess – La Revue de Cuisine. dancing was clearly evident on their faces as
they whirled around or slipped through the gaps
Director and choreographer, Jan Bolwell made by the other dancers. The simple design
outshines the real Nigella Lawson as the encouraged them to bend their bodies into
Goddess surrounded by her acolytes, in this shapes or make physical and eye contact with
case a coterie of nymphette assistants who other dancers before setting off on their own
help her create her pièce-de-résistance – trajectory and bouncing moves off each other.
the glorious cupcake. A delicious spoof of the It was an infectious celebration of the joy of
'womanly' art of cooking is enacted while the movement, simple but effective in its intent.
ensemble brandishing rolling-pins, baking trays
'WALL DISRUPTION' BY SUE CHEESMAN:
and ladles, dance animatedly, in a variety of styles, By Jenny Stevenson
to the music of Bohuslav
DANCERS: MAY COURTNEY,
CHERYL LIN, SAYSANA VINAVONG
Martinu, a Czech
PHOTO:
NICOLESIMONSPHOTOGRAPHER@GMAIL.COM
composer , who actually
created a work called BLACK MILK: Douglas Wright
Kuchyňské revue, (The Photography by John Savage
Kitchen Revue) in 1927. Text by Douglas Wright & Leonard Cox
DANCE AT THE The opening work of the
Crows Feet programme,
An extraordinary dance work captured in photographs
Leaving Home is a
WEllINGToN moving testament to
the indomitable spirit
FrINGE FESTIVAl of the early women
pioneers who left their
families forever to settle
12 February - 6 March at the other end of the
The dance component of the Wellington Fringe world. This is followed
Festival barely registered a presence this by a lovely, short work
year – with just four performance events listed choreographed by
– alongside a Masked Ball. This contrasted Tania Kopytko for the
strongly with the twenty-eight theatre newer members of the
performances that were on offer from a listing of company, with Celtic
seventy-five overall events. music by Irish composer,
Michael McGlynn.
Clearly this state of affairs could be attributed
to uncertainty about whether Fringe would Perforum has become
proceed in 2010, with media releases last an annual Fringe
year pointing to a possible end to the Festival. event by Footnote
Happily this did not eventuate and Wellington Dance Company, Available at all good bookshops, online at www.craigpotton.co.nz
Fringe was able to celebrate its 20th Birthday providing a taste of or simply complete the form below and return to:
after all, choosing to honour Footnote Director, new or remounted Craig Potton Publishing, 98 Vickerman St, Nelson
Deirdre Tarrant at the Launch, as one of work, which enables
Fringe’s longest-standing participants. the choreographer Please send me copy/copies of Black milk by Douglas Wright
and dancers to explain NZ$49.99 DANZ QUARTERLY READERS fREE poSTAgE & pAckAgiNg WiTHiN NEW ZEALAND
It is a fact however, that dance performances their motivations and
by independent choreographers in Wellington methodology. In this I enclose a cheque for Total $
are becoming increasingly rare. Royal New case Sarah Foster with
Zealand Ballet and Footnote keep the home- a one-week babe-in-
Or please charge my Name
fires burning – but the glory days of numerous, arms, spoke of her Visa masterCard amex
innovative young companies springing up to new choreography for address
push the boundaries of contemporary dance Footnote’s Made in New
and challenge Wellington audiences, are now Zealand series and Claire
Card No
something of a fading memory. O’Neil discussed her Card holder’s Name
The four dance productions that were restaging of MTYLAND sigNature
presented as Fringe events did prove to be both for the International expiry date
interesting and entertaining, however. Festival of the Arts.