Tissie Chan, Gleaner Writer

Metamorphis - Photo by Nathaniel Stewart

Movements dance company began their opening night at the Little Theatre in a sombre mood on Thursday. The first piece they performed was entitled Tears of War. Samuel Barber's classic Adagio For Strings created an immediately grave and sorrowful atmosphere, emphasised by dark, brooding lighting. Cloaked figures then entered the stage with two male dancers dressed in militaristic-looking outfits.

The group of dancers then followed a routine of repetitive moves with terrified expressions acted upon their faces. This successfully created the feeling of the ceaseless struggles suffered by the masses in war.

The focus then moved to the individual's affliction.

The background lighting turned red, a clear symbol of bloodshed and violence. As one dancer performed their tragic movements, frequently falling to the floor, their exit was neatly timed with another's entrance - again emphasising the incessant torment of war.

The dancers regrouped to complete their mournful moves, and the piece's finale seemed imminent as the music began to climax. They skillfully manoeuvred back into their poses which began the dance, thus completing and demonstrating the endless cycle of suffering. The art direction, choreography and music worked together harmoniously to make this a fairly moving piece, that did well to illustrate the description of war given on it; "There are no winners in war, only precious lives lost and missed."

Acrobatic moves

Next was Duet Excerpt from Pathways - the combination being a male and female dancer. The pairing naturally allowed for a lot more acrobatic moves, which were beautifully executed. The couple flowed flawlessly as a unit. Frequently the symmetry contained within their dance made them seem as if they were a single entity. The choreographer had clearly thought thoroughly about the interplay of line, as the pair's limbs were used to create magnificent, aesthetically stimulating forms.

The dancing became much more up-tempo with the third piece - Only Fi Yuh. This dance was dedicated to the memory of the extremely talented Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley. The stage was very busy with several small groups of dancers all performing different routines. However, the moves were tightly choreographed so that the audience was not visually over-fuelled with action.

At times the only music used was the words and poetry of Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley, nevertheless the timing was immaculately kept by the dancers. Much like the person the piece was dedicated to, it was witty, playful and very entertaining.

The first half ended with a dance inspired by Kafka's Metamorphosis, and was titled by the same name it was probably not as intentionally comical as the last piece, it still had the audience laughing. Artistically it was the most interesting dance of the night. It demanded a lot of the three male dancers who performed in it. As an exploration of evolution it was very successful.

Creative choreography

- Photo by Nathaniel Stewart

The choreography was extremely creative, using the dancers' limbs in an animalistic fashion to convey the birth of primitive life. They also used their arms and legs asymmetrically to create disfigured looking forms that were quite alien-like. The music worked very well in conjunction with this as it was eerie and reminiscent of a sci-fi movie soundtrack. Props too were utilised to great effect, with one dancer for most of the time performing in, what looked like, a large metal barrel. Eventually he burst out from it, signalling some sort of evolutionary leap forward.

The piece ended with the classic image of the development of ape to man. Each dancer headed towards the sole light on stage, gradually bringing their crouched forms to the erect homosapien stance.

It was disappointing then, after such a successful first half, that the quality of the last two dances somewhat declined. The second segment began with a piece called Point Zero. This was, as it was described on the programme, "a reflection on mental health". Metal health is a difficult issue to tackle whether it is in dance, literature or film. What possibly made it even trickier for this piece was the fact that whoever chose the subject matter was very vague. Mental health is a very broad title that encompasses many different conditions. Therefore, it was not surprising that the illustration of it made by the dancers was somewhat clichéd.

Manic state of mind

The group performing came on in clothes assimilating straightjackets. The movements were frantic and out of sync - clearly trying to convey a manic state of mind. Some of the dancers cackled hysterically with confused and crazed expressions on their faces. They then stripped down from their constraining uniforms, signalling some sort of liberation and healing process. The piece ended with the group scattering coloured rags about the stage, which was dramatic, but not very insightful.

The "triumph of movement, music and the spirit", according to the description given, was what the last dance, Ushini, was about. An the description sounded promisingly exciting; the dance was not. The music did not contribute anything to the choreography, and nor did the set, which included two unexplained hoops dangling in the air. The piece kept on seeming like it was going to reach some sort of climax, with the music gradually becoming slowly more and more up-tempo. However, with each entrance and exit of a new dance routine the momentum just seemed to fizzle out.

The key word in the description was "triumph", but no sense of triumph was displayed by the dance. It was a generally happy and pretty ambience created by the dancers, but nothing spectacular, nothing to warrant the attributed description. It was therefore a shame that the evening's events ended on such an average note, when on the whole the quality of dancing and set-up was so excellent.

Only Fi Yuh.

Ushindi

Duet Excerpt from Pathways.