| Abstract/Description |
What is demanded by this dancing manifesto created by Melbourne-based choreographer Stephanie Lake?
Fun, togetherness and the energy of a stadium rock concert. It's a call for more flash, more sizzle and more connection. And it's thumping good fun.
This is what happens when high-concept European-style contemporary dance meets cheerleading. Manifesto, with an ensemble of nine drummers and nine dancers, is a spectacle of relentless uplift, full of whoops, shouts and big smiles. All that's missing is a pyramid.
There is plenty of ostentation. The work is studded with high kicks, springy leaps, somersaults, cartwheels, aerial contortions, gymnastic lifts and exhibitions of breakdance floor moves. It's all very rough-edged - very rock'n'roll - but also dramatic.
The drummers are behind and above the dancers on a bandstand draped in red curtains.
The design - set by Charles Davis and lighting by Bosco Shaw - looks like a television set for a big band in which every instrument is an identical rock drum kit.
The score - by Robin Fox - is built on simple rock beats, varied with rapid fills and bits of razzle and flare.
The drummers, indeed, are part of the dance because they each have a unique style and kinaesthetic attraction. The dancers - a fine troupe led by Samantha Hines and Harrison Ritchie-Jones - are buoyant throughout. As the show goes on, they open themselves more completely to the audience and to each other: the costumes get skimpier and the vibe gets looser.
There is nothing ruminative or shaded about this work.
Its meaning, as with all manifestos, is on the surface.
Everything is outward and earnest. There is no secret thought or doubt hiding between the steps.
It isn't subtle, but it is effective. It's not unusual to see a dancer paired with a drummer. Multiplying that combination nine times is a grandiose gesture, fascinating in its absurdity and its supercharged frivolity. |
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