Review: RESURGAM, St Paul's Cathedral

80 Wooster Street, New York is an address of importance, as in 1970, Joseph Schlichter was the subject of Yvonne Rainer's Man Walking Down the Side of a Building. And without stating the obvious; the clue's in the title.

It was a key moment in the evolution of modern dance, and some might say, the birth of the site-specific movement/concept. By site-specific one means "artwork [dance] created to exist in a certain place”. Fast-forward some 53 years later, and we find ourselves staring up at London's St Paul's Cathedral.

In order to acknowledge the 300 year anniversary of the death of the building's architect, Sir Christopher Wren, the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) has commissioned the Californian based company BANDALOOP to create a new work, with new music by Roma Yagnik being performed 31 August - 2 September.

The Artistic Director of BANDALOOP, Melecio Estrella has taken inspiration from the inscription Resurgam (I shall rise), found on the south portico of the cathedral, also the location of the performance, and used it as the name of the piece itself.

September 1st was a grey day (surprise surprise!), and grey building on grey sky is less impactful than brilliant blue, perspective wise. Though Sara Estrella's neon, flowing costumes enhanced the experience no end. Allowing for visible, agile insects on the otherwise drab canvas.

To the movement. The overall structure of the piece flits between stationary stillness with a side of 'dance', and moments of flight. As the performers are pretty far away it's difficult to properly engage with the choreographic phrases, and fundamentally the offering is a tad generic: long stares, reaches to nowhere, dramatic yet empty arm movements and spine undulations. Not helped by Yagnik's hammy, film-esque score.

The flight passages are of more interest, but short lived. A mix of gravity and exhaustion? I believe they're intriguing for the obvious reason: we see humans fly. And as we know, it's something we can't achieve as a species, so of course holds massive intrigue.

The cast of eight have a clear understanding of line, and show agility and finesse in everything they do. Moments of airborne suspension with energised limbs really catch the eye, as do soft, connected rotations executed horizontally.

I was also struck by the element of stillness. Seeing the cast maintain regal poses near to the actual statues of St Paul's felt surprisingly powerful, especially when the bells chimed twice at the stroke of 6.30pm.

Personally, it still all feels more about the spectacle, than the actual content. Does it really matter what a performer is doing as they soar through the atmosphere some 20 metres up? Probably not, as anything would tend to feel unattainable, and subsequently look impressive in the specific context. This tends to be the case when overt skill is involved, which it absolutely is here, but it also raises the ongoing question: is skill, unquestionably art?

And what of the building's role? St Paul's is impressive on any old day, so to see it given new life is of course enthralling. Specifically the way Estrella has involved symmetry, the balconies and pillars within the movement journeys. But is it all worthwhile enough to fly a Californian based company over to London for three, 20 minute performances? My cost-effective conscience is unsure…asking: don't we have more local options available? Especially considering the current funding climate in the Culture sector.

Perhaps it's all much simpler than the above musings, though I'd argue that contemplating art isn't, whereas maybe observing entertainment is. That said, the event pulled in a big crowd regardless, with all seeming suitably engrossed. And I'm quite sure most audience members will wake up with neck ache the day after.

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