Dancers performing
stylised gestures inspired by everyday activities can become boring
if not given a good injection of madness and humour. In front of a projected
image of people ascending and descending an escalator in a shopping
mall, Life is Not a Picnic played upon the inanity of the consumerist
society of today. The roots of the movement lay in the development of
routine tasks that were recognizable - for instance drinking, walking
the dog and waiting in a queue. The choreography relied on the skill
of the dancers to maintain tight, precise movement and the ensemble
of four sustained their energy well. Although cieLaroque/Helene Weinzierl
were successful in showing some of the eccentricities that abound in
a shopping mall and giving them a contemporary twist, the theme could
do with more variation and imagination.
At first it was interesting to see these four dancers trapped in the
mall and to join in their futile search for goods and the meaning of
life - but it didn't move forward and the choreography was always punctuated
and segments ended abruptly. The dancers performed the individual, idiosyncratic
style of dance well and were able to use humour and interact with the
audience to some degree - but the amount of multi-tasking required in
the work became a bit too much on occasions and movement became unclear
as the dance progressed. They never seemed able to fully commit to a
lengthy phrase of dance or mime, making it difficult for the audience
to follow. For example, the character "walking the dog" appeared
several times for brief moments - this was initially funny but it never
developed so we did not get any closer to the persona of the dog walker
or the point of this repetition in the dance. The four dancers seemed
to fling themselves about as if in a centrifuge that reunited them once
it slowed down - metaphorically like their individual forays into the
mall that eventually brought them back to each other for fear of getting
lost or being alone. This search for love extended to the audience in
one part and the dancers came up close to speak with us about love and
being liked - however it was too brief to enable commitment on either
side. The audience wanted to join in more or not be invited in the first
place.
Life is Not a Picnic succeeded in reflecting the frenetic
pace of life. The programme notes refer to shopping malls as the "new
temples of today" where we not only spend large amounts of our
time and money, but also search for love and meaning, finding "things"
to express ourselves and our personalities. Towards the end of the dance
the performers appeared with shopping bags that they put over their
heads then shuffled about on all fours like the dog one of them was
walking before. The projection of the escalator was reversed so some
people went up backwards and the dance finished soon after - though
life goes on in the mall.
The M1 Fringe has succeeded in bringing high quality contemporary dance
into focus in this festival. cieLaroque/Helene Weinzierl is a group
of well trained, mature dancers that understand the choreographer's
intention and have the variety of skills needed to pull it off. Life
is Not a Picnic described and played out life in the mall but fell
short of interpreting its poetic, reflective title. |
"Life is Not a Picnic described and played out life in
the mall but fell short of interpreting its poetic, reflective title"
Credits
Choreographer:
Helene Weinzierl
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