This exploratory dance work offers instant intrigue both visually and aurally. It has initial overtones of ‘some kind of horror,’ a glowing green substance on a shelf and a body in a claw-foot tub with golden locks pouring morbidly over the edge. The body sinks and body parts are thrown out in contorted positions. Another dancer is physically trapped by her own hair, tied to a post.
A TV screen flickers in a corner, depicting parts of the action as seen on stage, which is picked up later with live video recording during the piece which can be viewed on the flip out screen of the camera. The unusual soundscape adds to the uneasy atmosphere, sucking noises, chainsaws? Whirs and ticks not musical but rhythmic. Large shadows dance across the back wall and the dancers hair is splayed behind them as they move against the force of a wind tunnel. The duet becomes one contorted body, a series of disconnected isolations, like jigsaw pieces that don’t quite fit together.
This is a strange union. They find themselves moving in unison, but was that her motion or the others? Will they be friends or foes?
Anna Hallquist says the piece “Explores the theme of renewal. In a performative landscape, two bodies depict different forms of purification where movement meets the pragmatic. The background to the theme comes from an interest in people’s desire for renewal through self-help. The work presents physical objects as part of the space. The work wants to create a space of constant renewal and the pursuit of the innermost. It becomes a comment on a superficial focus in society. How do we purify ourselves? Do we want to purify ourselves?”
How would you react if you came face to face with your doppelganger?
Next performance Wed 2nd Symbiont 20:00
Clare O’Brien
photo: Elin Hallqvist
