This double bill of contemporary dance from Wales was choreographed with two very different concepts in mind. The first piece, Veil of Stars, is by Andonis Foniadakis, who trained in Greece and France and has since worked all over the world.
In the bilingual programme, he states he wants the audience to "relate to emotions that will be provoked" though the presence of the masks in the piece ironically begs an interpretation. However, being freed from the natural urge to find a meaning is both relaxing and liberating so when the barefoot dancers appeared from the smoke that spread across the stage like a giant white shadow to the sound of birdsong it was both intriguing and simply enjoyable.
The eight (latterly nine!) dancers randomly and energetically moved to the custom written music in unison or individually or in contrast to each other in their multicoloured sequined costumes and what sprung to mind was the childhood toy, a kaleidoscope, which was made of mirrors and coloured paper in a tube which, when turned created random patterns.
It is maybe no accident that the word kaleidoscope is based on the Greek word kalos (beautiful) and eidos (form). Although there was a sense of there being more agility than grace from some of the dancers, that changed when the red-haired girl appeared on stage (sorry, no name in the programme). This was astounding choreography from Foniadakis showing (possibly!) the social and sexual dynamics behind the masks that all of us wear.
The second piece, Lunatic, by Nigel Charnock opens with a full moon, spotlights and the smooth soporific notes of Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade, to which the six dancers did sleep poses and rather incongruous sexy moves at one point involving the audience in their utilitarian pyjamas.
This piece was marketed as taking “inspiration from the glamour era of the 1940s and '50s.” and being “heavily influenced by the fashion and styles of the 1950s.”
It was therefore disappointing that much of the piece was performed in these very unglamorous jim- jams. It felt like going to a gallery that had picked out the most beautiful painting in the collection, blown it up to lure you in only to find the rest is in an unappealing genre. I guess the clue was in the title!
It was difficult to find a thread in this piece as it came across as a series of unrelated scenarios that ranged from being shot to the sound of garage music, lying down while calling out apparently random words and names and making similar signs and symbols; a man with fabulous legs in black tights and high heels doing what I can only describe as slapstick moves to Billie Holliday; shouting from a megaphone and throwing roses with papers in a valise on stage.
Kitty Kallen’s Little Things Mean a Lot was danced to, giving a new twist in mime to the lyrics A line a day when you’re far away and there were lots of role reversals counter to the image of the era they were honouring. In this regard, it was good to see men having to dance in high heeled Mary Janes for a change, though not always backwards like Ginger Rogers. The only real link to the period was the chorus line dancing to Glenn Miller’s version of When Johnny Comes Marching Home although this one had the gay permutations of now with the lines:
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.
All the trappings of glamour were shed before the end leaving the dancers in barefeet and big knickers. There was much use of Union Jacks as shrouds and as simply flags which again seemed at odds with the US music that dominated the piece.
The six young and talented performers clearly loved doing Lunatic and the audience gave them sustained if restrained applause. In these days of recession, people seem to seek glamour. More consistency of this would have added to this modern piece.
Dates: Tour ended