Terpsichore 2008: __:59

Written by Corinna Choh

If you are one of those people who prefer whole numbers over decimal points or fractions, the theme for Dance Synergy's annual ExxonMobil concert would have left you feeling antsy. Ushered into the dance studio of the University Cultural Centre instead of heading straight for the Hall or Theatre where performances are usually held, had Hooked wondering whether we were heading for the right performance. The studio was draped in black curtains to cover the reflective surface of the mirrors, and studio lights were propped up against opposing walls. The audience were seated on a step-platform, also draped in black cloth, and all of these theatrics lent the arena an edginess that felt raw and unfinished.         The red clock projected unto the screen started to count down and stopped at 59 seconds.         The first dance opened to the strains of a tune from Cirque du Soleil, with three pairs of dancers. The male lead of the opening pair mimicked the frenetic rush of the music, perhaps a tad too well that Hooked started to worry about the physical safety of his female lead, given that he was shoving her so violently.         The next dance embodied the essence of the struggle we all have with time.         Have you been to Shenton Way, with its office workers milling about, all obsessed with trying to squeeze the last nano-second out of the 24 hours they have?         This dance stereotyped just that scene with the dancers taking centrestage in work attire and the repetition repeating itself from day to night, night to day.         Hooked's favorite dance piece was undoubtedly the one that had dancers immobilized as statues, decked out in striking lime green costumes, with peacock-like feathers on their heads.         The three "curators" for all the statues were as dour as their brown costumes. The "curators" actually carried their "statues" to the stage for the performance and that was mighty impressive, considering that some were girls carrying their fellow female performers!         The sequence proved to be even more impressive when the "statues" started doing a Balinese-style dance with controlled and focused movements that, while did not serve to detract from their role as statues, served as a medium of direct interaction with the audience, in effect, "humanizing" these statues.         At one point in the performance, some of the dancers actually moved into where the audience were seated, which Hooked felt helped to bridge the distance between the performers and the audience, enhancing the attentiveness and understanding of the audience on the significance of the dance.         The repetition of movements in all the dances, whether by an individual or by a group, really brought home the theme of time and personified how seconds, minutes, hours tick and fly by us.         The theme of time was explicated beautifully in the dancers' long supple limbs that were alternately contracted and stretched with weighted effort and control, as they showed an imagery of humans playing against time, playing with time, to the accompaniment of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek".         It was slightly disturbing to see fully-grown adults in clothes one would see on children, complete with the appropriate hairstyles, but the dance was brimming with poignancy, unsurprisingly, since it essentially dramatized a walk down memory lane.         However, it was rather easy to spot the more experienced dancers from the less experienced ones; one who was not conscious of her movements and muscle groups as opposed to one who was, especially when there were only six dancers on stage during one of the dance items.         These few blips did not detract from the underlying message of the dance, which was that we have a tendency to overweight the significance of time and ultimately, our chase of the ever-elusive time might very well amount to nothing.         I suppose the beauty of art then, in this instance, through dance, is to reframe a daily, instinctive behavioral pattern in a provocative way that is compelling enough to make us stop and question what we generally don't question.         Thomas Merton once said, "Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."         Perhaps then, the synergies of art and life harnessed would be summed up best by the title of this performance -  __:59. HOOKED         Comments Write Comment Name: Guest Title: Comment:

 

< Prev		Next >