4SEASONS

4Seasons by Expressions Dance Company (EDC), in collaboration with the City Contemporary Dance Company in Hong Kong (CCDC), is a combination of three divergent, innovative dance works which beautifully explore dystopian futures, changing seasons, the emotional journey of relationships and humanity. Last night was its Australian debut and the audience loved it, leaving the twenty dancers on stage (6 from EDC and 14 from CCDC) with a standing ovation.

Despite the technical mishap eight minutes into the performance, the spell that choreographer Kristina Chan's Summer put on the audience was not broken. The piece was centred around a flying, orange backdrop which the performers watch, reach for and interact with throughout the performance. As a physical theatre performer, I was more prone to recognise the techniques which Chan utilised as well as the idea of the 'empty body' and the dynamics of stillness. What I loved the most about this section were the moments in which the performers were listening to each other, and interacted with each other as a kinesthetic response, rather than necessarily following a choreographic sequence. A powerful image was when the performers stopped in unison to stare at the sun slowly coming down on them; much like the imminent rise of global warming, which ultimately falls on the performers.

Much like Chan's work, Dominic Wong's Day after Day merged the mediums of physical theatre and dance and explored human relationships inspired by seasonal changes. The energy of the six EDC dancers was uplifting and the transparency of their white costumes complimented glowed against what appeared to be a frozen hourglass on stage. The staggered nature of the choreography was not only exhilarating but very poetic in nature and made the moments in which the performers were clumped together and moving in unison more strident. Additionally, by having the slow figure of Bruce Wong watching the story unfold in front of him as he walked amongst the rear of the stage made the audience wonder whether or not it was his life, his emotions and his being that was being explored on stage.

Natalie Weir's 4Seasons featured ten couples all wearing different colours of the seasons, flying, leaping and pirouette-ing across the stage. The entire piece was so aesthetically and technically pleasing; the colours blended with the chorographical devices and the emotions in the narrative. There were four focal couples representative of summer, autumn, winter and spring, with their being dialogue in between. The crowd favourite was the male dancers' 'storm', in which the dancers leapt, flew, jumped off of each other and ran off and on the stage at such speeds that I was sure they wouldn't be able to stop. What I loved about Weir's piece were the moments of unison, the use of canons and shapes to get the dancers helped in unveiling the emotional undercurrents of the piece.

One of my firm beliefs is that medium of dance is one of the most elegant and poignant forms of storytelling, and the creatives behind 4Seasons have re-affirmed that tenfold. If you'd like a night of an exquisite blend of physical theatre and dance, this is a must see.

4Seasons by EDC and CCDC

Running from the 14th June - 22nd June 2018 at the PLAYHOUSE, QPAC

Tickets: http://expressionsdancecompany.org.au/edc/4seasons/

To post a comment, you must register and login.