We were well aware at The Culture Vulture that we were lacking dance writers who would inspire us in all things athletic, and in some cases incomprehensible…So we sent out a search party, and lo and beyond we discovered there are a couple of would be bloggers just waiting to share their passions, and help us to open our minds. Welcome new blogger, and author of our first dance review from @pirouettepundit a keen dance spectator and worker bee in the arts .
DanceMakers & Hyb – a double bill
This evening I attended the UK premiere of Dancemakers and Hyb, a new double-bill by contemporary dance company MotionManual created during a residency at Yorkshire Dance.
Founded by Yorkshire based choreographer Manuela Berndt, MotionManual are an international collective of artists from diverse performance backgrounds, devising and producing multidisciplinary dance performances as an ensemble that explore unconventional physicality and challenge social conventions. MotionManual undertake residencies and tour regionally, in addition to appearences throughout Europe and overseas.
The first piece of the evening, ‘Hyb’ features two opposed dancers, distant both spacially and stylisically, pensive and wary of one another. To a soundtrack of white noise, the two dancers mutate and intertwine via a series of angular sequences and hypnotic bursts of rhythm to ultimately merge, creating a deviceful new form, one freed from the constraints of dance style and genre. The progressively eloquent fluidity of their movement and the incisive timing between the duo was and a real joy to watch, particularly in such an intimate performance setting.
In stark contrast to ‘Hyb’, ‘Dancemakers – a working relationship in ten 10 acts’ is a tongue-in-cheek lecture performance based on the dancer-choreographer relationship. The audience are taken on a full-circle journey of an entire choreographic process from the seemingly impossible demands of the choreographer during an audition, exquistly reflected in the piece’s comedic opening sequence, to the choreographer’s contradictory attempts at critiscm prior to opening night fueled by her own insecurity. We come to understand the interdependency, common misunderstandings and precarious balance between the two creative forces a play. I particularly enjoyed Dan Watson dizzyingly farcical, yet technically accomplished, solo as the choreographer’s ‘hired body’ to Tina Turner’s ‘Private Dancer’.
Having worked within professional dance environment previously, it’s incredibly refreshing to witness a cleverly devised, funny and suprisingly poignant piece that isn’t afraid to poke fun at assumptions and stereotypes surrounding dance as a profession and the working relationships within it.
The Dancemakers piece in particular is intuitively and confidently translated to the audience in such as way that will enable, not only those who work in dance, but those have never taken a dance class in their life will relate and enjoy.
For an original and compelling antidote to World Cup match weariness, I’d highly recommend you go see MotionManual’s final performance this Saturday:
Fri 11 & Sat 12 June, 7.30pm
Yorkshire Dance
3 St Peter’s Building, St Peter’s Square, Leeds, LS9 8AH
Tickets: £8.00, concessions £6.00
Box Office: 0113 243 8765