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SOIRÉE (2003)
Luca Silvestrini (Italy) and Bettina Strickler (Switzerland) DANCERS Theophilous Alade
Elizabeth Barker River-life Carmalt A matinee performance by this brilliant company of
international post-graduate students enthralled an audience of all
ages at the visitor-friendly
LABAN in Deptford. Several older school children, who
were studying dance, told us during the interval that they had been
stunned by this, their first experience of cutting-edge modern dance.
LABAN is an important new resource for south-east London, and this
end-of-course production warrants critical attention equal to that
received by college-based international
opera courses, whose productions are widely recognised as amongst
the most interesting and rewarding to be seen. SOIRÉE explores a high society cocktail party with small-talk and champagne, with unplanned pairings and release of 'pre-civilised' behaviours as the alcohol-fuelled evening progresses. Silvestrini and Strickler encompass humour, spoken text and music with inventive movement reflecting the absurdity of everyday life, making you wonder why dancers by convention normally eschew vocal sounds? FOR THE FEEL OF THINGS, with an accompanying sound-scape by Alan Stones, was influenced by the imagery of Marc Chagall and 'explores the mystery of human physical connections'. Lighting by Anthony Bowne played down on the warm colours of the costumes to spell binding effect, wrapping around the moving bodies, folding and unfolding themselves with different shapes and patterns.
The second half had a more serious and perhaps disturbing
stamp. FROM THIS MOMENT ON... (2003) by Cristian Duarte (Brazil)
and Shani Granot (Israel)* explored personal insecurity and isolation
and for us was the most forward looking of the works on offer. It
was notably effective, integrating the gaucheness of indecisive,
idiosyncratic personal body language with twitching movements, abrupt
juxtapositions of stillness, silence and frantic movements, aiming
at a resolution in speed and flight. By the end of the afternoon we felt we 'knew' each of the dancers as individuals; contrasted in size, physique and colour, this was a democratic community that had learnt to work together, without the regimentation (and potential future health problems) which have tended to disenchant us with classical ballet. Their assured technique looked to us to be indistinguishable from the highest professional standards, and the repertoire of complex movements developed with these choreographers kept our attention and interest focussed every minute. Peter & Alexa Woolf Their 2003 tour takes TRANSITIONS
DANCE COMPANY to Stirling 6 June, Tokyo and Japan 22
June-3 July, and to Jersey Arts Centre 9-10 July. Information at
www.laban.org and www.transitionsdancecompany.org
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TRANSITIONS
DANCE COMPANY 
It
was good to have another opportunity to see more work of 
'cultural/linguistic
diversity' of the dancers. "Within a cryptic organizational
sensibility" - every art form, or academic speciality,
has its own private jargon - "the group engages in activities
which are intended to intrigue the watcher without giving away the
movements' meaning or function". Here two members of the
company presented alienation in their own languages in lengthy statements
to microphone - incomprehensible to us and to each other; perhaps
that was how it was amongst them at first when the course assembled?