Game On is a dance-music duet performed by Bobby Singh, a highly sought-after tabla player (the tabla is an instrument which consists of a pair of hand drums that are various sizes and creates different sounds) who has performed with numerous musicians and has also won an Aria Award for ‘Best World Music Album’ and dancer Miranda Wheen who moves and shapes the music with her athletic body. Wheen has worked with many companies from Restless Dance Theatre, Dirty Feet Dance Collective and Jigsaw Theatre Company.

This work weaves an ancient music tradition from India with a modern western contemporary dance style. Supposedly the musician and dancer maintain a conversation through their art form, the dancer responding to a sequence she may be given or the musician following her formations through his musical voice. The idea is that this piece is like a dialogue or a cross-cultural conversation that looks like improvisation but in fact is highly choreographed.

The concept was created by Annalouise Paul who has a long standing career as a performing artist, she has recently set up Theatre of Rhythm and Dance which the website states as “Australia’s leading intercultural company presenting compelling, relevant and unique work.”

However, for me personally, this concept didn’t really work, the ‘conversation’ didn’t resonate with me. Paul explained afterwards in a Q&A that this piece was about a ‘3-way conversation’ between musician, dancer and audience. I didn’t feel I was part of the conversation, I felt like I was in a Sunday afternoon zone and the drumming was sending me into a sleepy meditation, either that or boredom.

I have seen many emerging artists, new works and cross cultural theatre pieces but this one unfortunately was right off the mark for me. I wont write this new company off just yet, but they will have to produce much more engaging work to hold my attention in future.

Sydney Dance Company has served up a superb double bill. Act I is Raw Models, a commissioned work by choreographer, Jacopo Godani. The piece opens with the dancers sprawled centre stage within the confines of what looks like a box.
The curtains are arranged in such a way that it appears there are no wings so the material creates a box shape – a sense of claustrophobia looms.

Choreographically, the dancers seem to conceive their movements from their torsos as if this is where the movement starts and the result is that their limbs then move as a result of their body rolling and pulsing. Their limbs become flicky and floppy as the movement is coming from a central source.

All the dancers are dressed in tight, black non-descript costumes and look very similar and very androgynous.

Godani has the dancers perform solo, duo, trio and as a group of seven. Between each ‘scene’ there is often quite a harsh lighting change to enhance the following dance segment.

This whole work is intense with deep movements into the ground and lots of floor work. The bodies are like liquid – almost like oil. They wrap around each other, smoothly envelope the space and coil like snakes trying to get out of their own skin.

Raw Models is accompanied by an edgy musical score by German composers 48Nord. As described in the program they deliver ‘experimental electro acoustic music.’ It is very cool and complements the haunting mood of the dance work.

Act II is an amazing work by Rafael Bonachela. LandForms, encompasses the spirit of dance accompanied by outstanding musicians and the beauty of song. Bonachela says this piece was ‘inspired by our emotional responses to the landscape and set to a score inspired by the weather elements.’

The dancers bask in warm, golden tones of lighting which provides a richness and divinity to the overall look. The musicians headed up by pianist Ezio Bosso and accompanied by a cellist and violinist are just so good you actually find yourself watching them almost as much as the dancers! The music builds and the players have such passion, it’s truly sensational. The dancers and the musicians work so well together it’s as if the dancers are like instruments too or the musicians are part of the dance – they’re so in sync and you can sense an energy or a chemistry coming from all artists.

The choreography is earthy, open, fluid and grand. There are some beautiful highlights including one section, which is visually very effective. Squares of light beam onto the stage, creating a checkerboard or tile effect and the dancers move in the squares.

Once Katie Noonan starts singing you’re really drawn to watch her. Her voice is truly mesmerising – the timbre of her voice is so haunting, almost spiritual – it takes you to another realm.
LandForms all weaves together at the end – dancers, musicians, Noonan’s voice and then! – it starts to rain onstage – such a picturesque moment. This is an extraordinary collaborative piece where the synergistic blending of dance, song and music create something above and beyond the elements that create it. Bonachela should be grandly commended for this stand-out work.

Mod Dance Company is high level, high caliber and high energy, the dancers are raw, fresh and dynamic! Suite Synergy showcases an eclectic mix or tableau of all different works, everything from solos to group work, tap to comedy, there is not a dull moment in this mix from MDC.

Highlights of this show include opening piece ‘Lemurian Dance’ displaying the talent and facility of the company, accompanied by the band, rigged up in the air so it looked like it was levitating. The dancers ate up the stage with grand movements and bold lines. The horizontal black and white lines of the backdrop and the vertical black and white lines of the costumes accentuated the sharp and arresting choreography.

An absolute standout was ‘Free Radicals’, an upbeat, high energy piece showing off the dancers’ physical abilities, strength and agility including a mesmerizing number of lifts and an exquisite section where the dancers formed a line facing each other and performed a complex jumping sequence – the timing was truly outstanding!

The final piece of the second half ‘A Doll’s House Story’ was a considerably longer work having several sections within the one piece. There were some great moments and the collective energy was really apparent in this piece, there were numerous formations, an array of lifts and the band was levitated over the group in what was almost like a massive round cage.

There were several moments in the show where I felt dancers were underutilized, for example, Emee Dillon in ‘Light Play.’ This was a really quirky piece where Dillon moved around little lights that appeared to dance and tickle her, however, I was waiting to see more dancing, just as I thought it was going to move into a solo it was finished. Similarly, ‘Pipe Dreams’ danced by Sarah Williams underutilized the aesthetic beauty of Williams’ lines and physical strength. The whole solo was danced behind vertical tubes, almost like a silver-tubed curtain, this was no doubt meant to be capturing ‘a mood’ but I just wanted to be able to see the solo without squinting and craning to see her between the tubes.

There were some really cool, unusual and memorable moments in this show including ‘Pummel’ where the musicians created music on the dancers’ bodies by clapping, tapping and lightly smacking their bare bodies. ‘Thumper’ was an amazing athletic, acrobatic and fluid solo by Caleb Bartolo (why wasn’t it longer?) and a fun tapping, one-man band Rhys Kosabowski, accompanied by musician, Michael Askill in ‘Banged and Tapped’.

Unfortunately the Lyric Theatre is not overly conducive to dance as the first few rows in the stalls, up to about row E are not tiered at all, so you have to sit up really straight to see the dancers’ feet! If you’re booking I would recommend booking from row E back.

This new company headed up by world-class contemporary dance icon, Graeme Murphy has created a group of superb dancers who have the ability to serve up an array of dance that entertains, enlivens and excites audiences. I recommend absolutely getting along to see this show before it sells out!

Yes! That man has still got it – 10 years have passed by since Adam Garcia tapped his way through the movie Bootmen, since then his profile has sky rocketed to celebrity status and he can still tap those toes like no tomorrow. It’s been 16 years since Dein Perry’s Tap Dogs made its premiere at Sydney Festival and it has gone on to be performed the world over and Sydney is lucky enough to have the ‘Dogs in town for a limited season!

Adam Garcia and his entourage of 5 talented tappers carry us through 90 minutes of high energy, speedy, hot and sweaty numbers. The personalities of the guys are utterly engaging, they are hilarious, though there’s no dialogue what these guys do via body language has us in stitches. The boys bust out tap steps with such spunk and masculinity they really bring a whole new meaning to the traditional tap steps like time-steps, shuffles and wings.

The boys take us through a variety of scenes all performed on the industrial/construction site-inspired set. They manipulate the set and perform on slides and ladders, one guy taps upside down, the boys do a number where they each tap on a certain spot making a different musical sound so they create their own musical soundtrack by tapping it out. The show finishes up with all 6 Tap Dogs tapping in trays of water, the visual effect is fantastic!(Be mindful that if you sit in the first 4 rows, you’ll be given an attractive poncho to wear to guard from the sprays of water!) The Tap Dogs are accompanied musically by two blondes belting out beats and when they have water poured on their drum kits it sprays out with every hit which looks awesome!

One of the stand out moments of the night for me was when the six Tap Dogs form a line and tap out this crazy number with basketballs. Tapping, drilling, bouncing and throwing the balls with impeccable timing. I just couldn’t believe how spot-on they were, they did not miss a beat or a bounce!

By the encore, tongues were wagging and the enthused crowd got to their feet with a well deserved standing OV. Tap Dogs are only here for about 6 weeks, so get on down and check these guys out!

It’s a mesmerizing experience to sit in the audience and watch the agility of a dancer’s body and the pure elation on their face as they take flight, be it in the expanse of a jete, the height of a lift or the poise of a final pose.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet embraced just that. They have been mixing styles, traditions and bending the rules of dance for over 15 years since they were founded in 1994 by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden who both have fleshed-out their experience having worked with companies from as Alvin Ailey, American Ballet Theatre, and New York City Ballet through to working with artists including Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna.

Complexions utilize an array of music from classical to jazz to pop/rock with choreography that pushes the boundaries of classical ballet and generates a uniqueness that would appeal to a more diverse audience than the usual ballet crowd.

These dancers are strong, sculpted and supple all with the foundations of disciplined classical training but with a great sense of risk and of course that New York sense of ‘cool’. Especially cool was stand-out dancer and artistic director/co-founder, Desmond Richardson when in the second act we witness  his incredible body, technique, attack and audience appeal in a solo piece.

Being a small company of 16 dancers, this requires an element of resting time for recovery so there are in fact 3 acts split up by 2 breaks which leads to a fairly lengthy night or at least it feels lengthy.

Act 1 reminds me aesthetically of some of Balanchine’s work with music by Rachmaninov, the dancers wear what almost seems to be ‘class’ attire: ballet buns, leotards, black tights and pointe shoes. This work has lots of choreography on stage all at once for example a solo to one side, a trio up the back, a duo down the front and so on. Formations are constantly moving and changing, which was somewhat distracting, however the most alarming aspect of this piece was the lack of timing from the dancers during group work. The dancers were all dancing as individuals, not as a group. I kept asking myself, why aren’t they watching each other? For a company of this stature I was quite shocked. However their technique was so impeccable I let it slide this time.

Act 2 really kicked off, there was some really unique work displayed. There was an enjoyable, funky piece with 3 guys topless (nice) in jeans accompanied by girls on pointe in red dresses, I liked this piece, it was cheeky and technically tight.

Act 3 really lifted the energy with all the work being performed to U2 songs. This was an absolute delight to watch and the timing had cleared up significantly by then! The dancers were in their absolute element by this stage and as true professionals do, maintained strength and gravitas till the last bow, of which there was quite a few!

I really enjoyed the collection of works Complexions presented. A few months ago I saw ‘Rock the Ballet’ similarly by a small New York company, however I thought Complexions were superior to the aforementioned in terms of technique, ability and choreographic work.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves classical ballet and contemporary. You  should get along to this!

A whimsical, fairytale setting and Tchaikovsky’s music transports us to the world of Swan Lake, not the Classical ballet but the Ice skating ballet.

Performed by ‘The Imperial Ice Stars’ who hail from Russia and as the website tells us “have performed to nearly 3 million people across five continents…even in Cyprus in an outdoor amphitheatre in temperatures of 40C!”

The sets and costumes are traditional and as expected are lovely and glamorous. The Ice Stars are award-winning performers and most of them have been on blades since they could walk, so you get the idea of how talented they are.

The Lyric Theatre seemed somewhat limiting size-wise for the ice skaters. As a spectator I found I wanted them to have more freedom to build up to some of the tricks and flips and there were a few near misses where a few raggy fingers socked the side of the set.

The stand-out artists were the two female Ice Stars who played Odette (white swan) and Odile (black swan) who were both lovely, very balletic with long, lithe lines, graceful and elegant.

There are elements of Swan Lake being performed as an ice ballet as opposed to a traditional ballet which made me cringe a little. Firstly, ballet in boots doesn’t allow the artists to point their feet, therefore every-time they perform an arabesque or do lifts with extended legs the boot spoils the line. Secondly, the lifts aren’t as seamless on the set- down because of the skating boot and blade.

Don’t get me wrong, I love skating and always watch the ice skating competitions when they’re televised, however if I see Swan Lake, which conjures up images of the ballet I want something more along the lines of Sylvie Guillem with death-defying arches. The subtle and pure aesthetic beauty gets lost when performed on ice. Also the flashy trickery of lifts and spins breaks the audience mid-choreography into clapping frenzies which loses the mystique of the ballet-world and turns it more into sport, which by definition it is but I don’t think that’s what the Imperial Ice Stars are trying to convey in this production.

An absolute highlight for me was the visual spectacle of the group of swans on the lake which is simply stunning. Absolutely beautiful patterns and symmetry creates mesmerising images, almost like a moving painting.

This show is fun, a little kitsch and filled with tricks, lifts, spins, splits and more including a flame ring which blazes from the ice and Count Von Rothbart ends Act I surrounded by this crackle of fire. If you or your family love ‘wow-y’ lifts and spins that are so fast they look like they’re going to drill through the stage grab a ticket now this is definitely a fun night out.

The Tango Fire Company of Buenos Aires.
State Theatre, Sydney.
Aug 4 – 6

The ornate beauty of the State Theatre conjures up elegance, tradition and opulence. However, on entering the auditorium for the opening night of Tango Inferno – The Fire Within I was a bit taken aback by the performers onstage, who were all shapes and sizes and wildly varying in talent. Was I in the right place? Or was this the local dance studio dance off? Ah no, it is the ‘social’ at the start of the show! Anyone from the audience is invited to come up onstage and take part in the communal ‘Milonga’, for half an hour prior to the show. Anyone can kick up their heels onstage with the pros. What a hoot!

Once the real action starts, things really kick off. The stage has a cabaret ambience and essence with round tables, seats, a heavy red curtain and a cool band, the ‘Quatrotango’ consisting of a piano man, a double bass, a bandoneon (which looks like an accordian) and a violin. These guys are charismatic, fun and cheeky and really add to the whole experience.

There are five couples and the dancers do vary in talent, ability, technique and performance quality. As a group they work very well with excellent timing and fantastic choreography from Yanina Fajar and assistant German Cornejo. However when the dancers break away from the group and perform as duos, the true quality and standard of their dance ability becomes obvious.

The stand-out couple by far were German Cornejo and Carolina Giannini. Giannini has the tightest technique of all the girls, her footwork is crisp and her flexibility is amazing to watch. Cornejo has the agility to make the lifts look seamless as he cuts Giannini into the air and sets her down like she is a feather, an amazing couple that you could watch for hours.

On the flip side there is Sebastian Alvarez, who is slightly ‘hammy’ and reminds my guest of Antonio Banderas in the Mask of Zorro, and his partner, Victoria Suadelli, who reminds me of Rhonda Burchmore. This couple clearly do not have the precision or ability of the others. In Act II Suadelli comes onstage in a purple outfit that looks like it hasn’t been finished, one leg is a ‘boy leg’ style and the other leg is a full leg. Alvarez then attempts to wow the crowd I suppose by flinging Suadelli around his neck like a hoola hoop. I find myself pulling back in my seat and almost gasping, this is not enjoyable dance to watch this is like a circus. It really does frustrate me when dance companies think they need to take it upon themselves to turn perfectly good choreography into acrobatics because it actually turns into comedy. It goes from sophisticated and elegant to chuckle-worthy.

Intermittently throughout the show, Jesus Hidalgo, a singer, comes out in suit and spats and sings along the lines of crooning. Hidalgo has an amazing voice, but something just does not gel with his performance.

As far as passion and charisma go, I thought the performers were varied; some of the girls had little to no expression while others, namely Suadelli, had distracting ‘Dancesport Championship’ semi-snarly expressions.

Tango Inferno – The Fire Within overall is a fantastic, fun night out! Superb costumes by designer Walter Delgado, all glittering and gorgeous, strong routines, excellent choreography and a great band! It really was a hoot and if you are a Tango lover, this is for you. If you’re not a big tango lover, maybe pass this one up, I did hear a woman say “I wonder whether anything MORE is going to happen other than, ya know, just tango.” Well the truth is tango is tango, that’s it. A rose is a rose.