Photo credit John Collingswood
On the 22nd of February I was fortunate enough to attend Deborah Light’s production of Hide at the renowned Chapter Arts Centre based in Canton, Cardiff
Upon my reflection of Hide I have come to the realisation that Deborah Light has managed to create such a beautiful and effective performance piece that has left a lasting impression on every viewer. By using only a few lights, minimal props and clothing, Hide forces the audience to pay more attention to the exceptionally choreographed tango, the breath taking solo pieces and experience the passionate message delivered by each dancer.
Hide manages to cleverly play with the audience emotions, seeing a naked Jo Fong laughing one moment and bordering the tears next instantly creates a confliction of feelings within us, I instantly felt a sense of distress, as though I should be rushing forward to offer my jacket to help hide her modesty. Watching the high intensity, fast paced and articulate sequence delivered by Rosalind Haf Brooks left me wonderfully exhausted and in awe of how amazing the human body can be moulded into creating such a stunning art form. And finally Eddie Ladd’s simple choice of words managed to force the viewer to take a look and question themselves and society’s judgement on others.
It constantly left me waiting with baited breath, unaware and excited by what was to follow. I found the piece a journey of self-discovery having never experienced this type of performance art before. It opened my eyes to how movement, sound and spoken text could mould together to create such a valuable eye opening experience that I would definitely want to encounter again. Deborah Light has created something raw, stripped back and bare and in that sense we cannot hide from the moral story that is being played out in front of us. Do we force people to hide? Or are we hiding ourselves?
Sarah Finch
Category Archives: Dance
YC Review Hide Chelsey Gillard
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| Created by Deborah Light , Chapter Arts Centre, Studio , February 23, 2013 |
| When confronted by a naked, giggling woman as you walk into the theatre you know the show you are about to see is either going to be attention-seeking or daring. Deborah Light’s innovative first full length piece of course fell into the latter category – original and thought provoking.With a cast of world-renowned female performers HIDE showed how much is possible in a stripped back space. With just their bodies and a few mobile studio lights these women explored the boundaries between our public and private lives – as the programme asks, ‘are they showing themselves? Or is this a show?’ Wonderfully timid Jo Fong physicalised the constant battle between a performer and their onstage psyche, telling us ‘this is a show’ whilst performing conflicted choreography that showed a performers struggle with nerves more than words could ever convey. Rosalind Haf Brooks on the other hand strived to make a connection with her fellow performers, even resorting to sniffing their clothes just to make contact. By turns equally humorous and touching in her pursuit for human interaction. Most of the text based content came from the beautifully androgynous Eddie Ladd who chronicled the stages of her life by describing what length her hair was at any given time. She revealed that she has not always been Eddie, but as a performer she needed to change her name to avoid having the same name as another. Each of the women contributed something new to the mix, each dancing in their own unique way and each bringing a different set of emotions to the performance. The fractured nature of the piece allowed them to disappear and reappear, transform and dissolve exploring the multiple layers of human nature. The lines between performance and life were completely blurred – what was a performance and what was truth didn’t seem to matter as the piece delved further into what’s underneath the surface of our external facades. Exciting and engaging, this is the kind of work that will encourage discussion and linger in your mind long after the event. Chelsey is a member of the Young Critics Scheme for further information contact guy.odonnell@bridgend.gov.uk |
Dance GB – Young Critics Review
Dance GB
Wales Millennium Centre, 28th – 30th June.Funny. Fluid. Agitating. Frustrating. Relaxing. Mesmerising. Stunning.
The diversity of each performance from Dance GB made for an exciting and dynamic experience that no list of adjectives could adequately describe.
Scottish Ballet’s Run For It was full of peaks and troughs, working through John Adams’ Son of Chamber Symphony which both juxtaposed and complemented the beauty of the dance. Dressed in Scottish blue lycra, beside and beneath a seemingly Athens inspired installation from Martin Boyce, Martin Lawrence’s choreography conveyed the strength and agility of Olympic athletes whilst still feeling completely light and fluid. Every movement was beautiful and strong, showing off the muscle and power of the dancers.
National Dance Company Wales’s Dream, choreographed by Christopher Bruce was a funny, quirky and reflective performance, capturing the essence of sport for the layman. The 50s costumes and use of Ravel’s Bolero evoked a warm nostalgia adding to the emotions tugged out through the characters and their journey through this narrative piece. By far the most character driven, Dream is the perfect crossover performance for potential dance audiences. Like a favourite song, I could watch it over and over.
English National Ballet’s And the Earth Shall Bear Again was a dark, dramatic dance that felt almost medieval, each dancer in ruffle armed slips moving against the harsh and industrial sounds of John Cage’s music. Itzik Galili’s choreography was stunning, with patterns of dancers creating multiple mirror image effects, or dancing alone, finding their feet – their own movements, watched or ‘caught in the act’ by others. Again strength and power heralded, along with trial and error; learning from the movements of others to create new ones. However, the whole performance felt drowned out by the volume of Cage’s piece which jarred and, with no let up, was a little much for my ears.
Dance GB is a fantastic opportunity to see what’s out there Dance wise in the UK. Discard your expectations and go with an open mind. It will be an evening well spent.
Wales Millennium Centre, 28th – 30th June.Funny. Fluid. Agitating. Frustrating. Relaxing. Mesmerising. Stunning.
The diversity of each performance from Dance GB made for an exciting and dynamic experience that no list of adjectives could adequately describe.
Scottish Ballet’s Run For It was full of peaks and troughs, working through John Adams’ Son of Chamber Symphony which both juxtaposed and complemented the beauty of the dance. Dressed in Scottish blue lycra, beside and beneath a seemingly Athens inspired installation from Martin Boyce, Martin Lawrence’s choreography conveyed the strength and agility of Olympic athletes whilst still feeling completely light and fluid. Every movement was beautiful and strong, showing off the muscle and power of the dancers.
National Dance Company Wales’s Dream, choreographed by Christopher Bruce was a funny, quirky and reflective performance, capturing the essence of sport for the layman. The 50s costumes and use of Ravel’s Bolero evoked a warm nostalgia adding to the emotions tugged out through the characters and their journey through this narrative piece. By far the most character driven, Dream is the perfect crossover performance for potential dance audiences. Like a favourite song, I could watch it over and over.
English National Ballet’s And the Earth Shall Bear Again was a dark, dramatic dance that felt almost medieval, each dancer in ruffle armed slips moving against the harsh and industrial sounds of John Cage’s music. Itzik Galili’s choreography was stunning, with patterns of dancers creating multiple mirror image effects, or dancing alone, finding their feet – their own movements, watched or ‘caught in the act’ by others. Again strength and power heralded, along with trial and error; learning from the movements of others to create new ones. However, the whole performance felt drowned out by the volume of Cage’s piece which jarred and, with no let up, was a little much for my ears.
Dance GB is a fantastic opportunity to see what’s out there Dance wise in the UK. Discard your expectations and go with an open mind. It will be an evening well spent.
Dance GB YC review
Olympic Triple-Bill of Britain’s Best Dance Groups
Dance GB
Wales Millennium Centre
28th June 2012
First off the starting blocks was Scottish Ballet’s Run For It, choreographed by contemporary-dance creator Martin Lawrance. This fully fuelled race took place around a beautiful sculptural piece by Turner prize winner Martin Boyce, reminiscent of both Grecian pillars and a modern stadium roof it successfully linked the old tradition of the Olympics and the modern athleticism of the games. Inspired by the strength of the athletes and set to John Adams’ Son of Chamber Symphony, this piece was definitely a showcase of talent and skill. A pageant of undeniably beautiful strength unfortunately there seemed to be no emotion beneath this display of competence and we were left waiting for a moment of pure exhilaration.
At the risk of sounding biased towards the home team, National Dance Company Wales delivered what was undoubtedly the most crowd pleasing performance of the night. The tongue in cheek Dream took a nostalgic look at the games, opening at a 1950’s sports day complete with egg and spoon and sack races. Soon this family fun transformed into a slightly more serious display of dancing talent set humorously to Ravel’s Bolero. Comedy popped up throughout as dancers dived on the stage to begin their attempt at synchronised swimming and men faced each other in boxing and fencing matches. A picturesque reminder of the ordinary people with extraordinary talents that compete for their country.
The gold medal winners of the night for me were English National Ballet. Itzik Galili lived up to his reputation as a choreographer who delivers passionate and forceful dance. This sensational piece And The Earth Shall Bear Again was set to a mash up of John Cage’s complicated and diverse pieces for prepared piano. Abstract and sometimes challenging, the beauty came from unexpected patterns in the choreography and music colliding and rebounding from one another. Galili’s inspired lighting added another dimension to this already dynamic display of how we learn and grow. Mind-blowing is the only word applicable to this almost overwhelming piece.
These three completely different pieces came together in a truly Olympic display of British talent. Inspiring and entertaining, a great triple-bill for dancer lovers and those new to the art alike.