Wallflower
“All that is important is this one moment in movement. Make the moment important, vital, and worth living. Do not let it slip away unnoticed and unused.”
I feel like the above quote is apt for the performance I went along to see by a company called Quarantine who were performing a dance piece titled ‘Wallflower’ at the Yorkshire Dance Centre.
Knowing that the performance was due to last from 3pm-8pm I was unsure what to expect but I was intrigued and believed in what the company were hoping to achieve ‘The work begins and ends with the people in the room’ their website says. Their promotional material asks: ‘can you remember every dance you’ve ever danced?’ ‘Wallflower is a dance marathon, a game that alters according to the players’.
As an advocate of theatre and dance being accessible to everyone and always looking to find different ways to engage anyone in any form of live theatre, I was excited for what was on offer, a chance to engage all in dance and for the company to remember their previous performances and share some of these with us. But I was left wanting and unfortunately, for me, this wasn’t an experience that motivated or enthused at all. But that may just be my particular taste; theatre and dance after all is incredibly subjective.
There were some creative ideas that I thought were good, such as the archivist chronologizing every dance that was brought to the performer’s minds, the incorporation of a wide and far reaching soundtrack and the pair of Pina Bausch heels. They were lovely moments but for a performance that was sold as a dance performance the dancing was barely there.
Yes, I understand the idea that dance can be any form of movement from small hand gestures as one waits in a doctor’s surgery to walking the dog, as was showcased by the company – but this was clearly a company that had much to offer, great dance technique, good vocals and creativity that was just not used to its full potential, in my opinion.
It all just felt a little self-indulgent and not knowing the company or the performers I was hesitant to go on their journey with them, I was un-invested. I struggled to relate to them and their stories and the long, drawn out pauses, moments of waiting or thinking felt awkward and fragmented. As an actor/director I enjoyed the use of spoken words incorporated into movement, but I felt moments were missed where beautiful choreography could have complemented the words and memories and vice versa.
I understand the underlying principles of wanting those movement moments to come to the performer right there and then, for something to trigger a memory, and I love this idea but because of the fragmented nature of the piece these ‘thinking’ times were too long and forced. I was anticipating the next piece of choreography but whilst I was there, it never happened.
Having said that, I heard that the night before, which was a much shorter performance, had an electric atmosphere and one of the performers (who didn’t perform when I was there due to an injury) was mesmerising, her movement and storytelling fantastic. That was what I wanted to see, to experience – The journey of someone’s life, their stories told through clearer contemporary dance/movement and words.
I truly think that the company believes in not letting movement and moments slip away, which is why I chose the opening quote by Martha Graham, but for me this piece fell short of some of the more edgy, current contemporary dance pieces I have watched over recent years.