BWW Reviews: ROTUNDA Blends Contemporary Dance And Big Band Music To Honor The 1915 Gallipoli Landings And The ANZAC Memory.

Wednesday 13 May 2015, Riverside Theatre, Parramatta

The New Zealand Dance Company joins with the local City of Holroyd Brass Band to evoke the memories of the Rotunda Bands prominent in the early 20th century and tell the ANZAC story through modern dance and music in ROTUNDA. Given the Centenary commemorations of the Gallipoli Landings where Australian and New Zealand soldiers fought together, it is very appropriate that the New Zealand Dance Company is partnering with local brass bands as it tours Australia.

A red banner listing names, many from the same families, hangs over the Riverside Theatre stage which is marked with a red circle to represent the Rotunda. The work comprising of 8 dancers, 4 male, 4 female, takes the audience on a journey from a remembrance of the fallen and the terrors an ex-serviceman lives on with to look back in time to the a happier time before the war when marching bands entertained crowds. Following the arrival of a sole snare drummer, Cameron Lee, touring with the production and "on loan" from the New Zealand Army Band, two 'officers' with swung 'pipe trumpets' sound klaxon sirens before the City of Holroyd Brass Band, arrives through the auditorium under the direction of Marc Taddei, touring conductor with an impressive performance for their first marching band engagement.

The dance follows a story of young love as the young men and women flirt, also engaging with the solo drummer, to the men being fascinated by war as they steal the bandleader's mace, and the inevitable death, grief and the resulting damaged, changed men that returned to the waiting women. Shona McCullagh (Artistic Director/choreographer) and the dancers have created a work that balances the fun playfulness of youth with its all its love and joy with the gravity of the loss and regret that a soldier feels losing a friend in war and coming home a different person, no longer able to face his old life and love in the same way and the sorrow and compassion the women left behind felt, both in the waiting for news of loved ones and the eventual understanding that they were not coming home, or if they were, things were not going to be the same as before. In addition to the dancers own flexibility, fluidity and creativity, drawing on a range of styles including traditional tribal dances, the use of electric fans, shadows, and the band leader's mace add an extra layer of interest to the work.

The combination of the live band, solo drummer, recorded tracks and singers gives the work variety and helps to color the mood. Augusto Ltd's Shaun Madgwick and Emma Rogan have created an emotive soundscape of for the parts not filled by the Band's renditions of Don McGlashan, Gareth Farr and John Ritchie's compositions. The orchestrations also blend in the work of other contemporary brass band composers along with older well recognized songs and traditional hymns..

McCullagh's inspiration for the work was discovering a collection of contemporary brass band music and her own connection with the Gallipoli landings as she had 3 ancestors involved in the conflict, two of which returned and a Great Uncle who remains on the Somme. Her understanding of the trauma relates to the experience of having her Grandfather returning to go on suffering the psychological trauma of leaving his brother behind and appreciation for the women that were left behind.

ROTUNDA is a beautiful work that both commemorates the events of a Century ago and prompts viewers to question the futility of war as lives are still lost in battles and servicemen and women still return damaged by the trauma they have experienced.

ROTUNDA

Dates: Wed 13 to Fri 15 May at 8pm; Sat 16 May at 2pm & 8pm

Tickets: Adult $57 / Conc $52 / 30 and Under $43 / School Students $35

Bookings: From the Box Office (02) 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au

Venue: Riverside Theatres - Corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta

Photos: John McDermott unless listed otherwise.

To post a comment, you must register and login.