The stage is a simple white square space defined on the
floor. There is an absence of
colour and props. The drama of
Solitudes Duo is in the body of the dancers: simple pairs, masculine and
feminine, sometimes mixed, who are themselves stripped down to trunks and
occasionally t-shirts. There is
something of the everyman about this pared down production and the universality
of relationships.
It all starts with the stylized circling of hips, a contemporary,
choreographed mating call. Bodies
brush up against each other, a tentative but purposeful entering of each
other's space. Quick, articulate
gestures keep time to the insistent rhythms of a Bach harpsichord
composition. There is
concatenation as the gestures link together to form movements that express
states of emotional being and compatible character. We see the birth of a couple as the individuals interconnect
to form a single entity. And then
often through a series of dramatic lifts and supporting moves we see things
come undone, defeated by gravity and human expectations. Frequently, there are memorable slow
descents filled with tension.
Bodies overlap on the floor, intertwine, struggle and
release. This is the push and pull
of relationships that is at times serene and others frantic and even
humorous. But it is always
sensual. The music shifts into a
moody, pop-rock ballad.
Some of the passages are dramatically acrobatic others
gentle. Yet, despite the great
clusters of interconnected limbs, the dependence, trust and balance of one
dancer's weight upon the other there is surprisingly little eye contact, which
might explain the solitudes in Solitudes Duo.
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