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| Aaron Lim and Erak Mith in Between Tiny Cities |
Between Tiny Cities.
Choreographer Nick Power. Dancers Aaron Lim and Erak Mith. Sound designer Jack Prest. Lighting designer. Bosco Shaw. Dramaturg Lee Wilson. Lion Arts Centre. Adelaide Festival February 28 – March 2 2020.
Review by Peter Wilkins
An expectant audience stands at the
circumference of Hip Hop’s traditional ten metre “cypher” circle. Two dancers,
dimly lit, leap through the audience into the circle. They crouch, eyeing each
other off at either side of the circle. Curiosity and confrontation merge in a
challenging call to combat. Erak Mith is a b*boy from Phnom Pen. His
territorial adversary is Darwin born b*boy Aaron Lim. An air of anticipation fills the theatre to
the percussive rhythms of Jack Prest’s sound design. Mith leaps in a taunting
confrontation and the combat is on. Lim responds as Nick Power’s electrifying
choreography launches the two dancers into a thrilling display of hip hop and
brilliantly controlled and sculptural breakdancing moves.
The tension heightens with instantly released
elastic action, hurtling the dancers throughout the circle and across the
floor, teasing the opponent with tantalizing gesture and expression. Lim and
Mith are masters of their dance form, acrobatic in action, precise in their
expressive freezes, dizzying in their whirling and playful with swift
approaches and retreats in this one on one power struggle, like preening
peacocks vying for their place.
Perspiration pours as swift and energetic
elasticity of their contemporary dance demands response and Lim and Mith push
their bodies to the limit. Power’s choreography is visceral without compromise.
He stretches the imagination, giving dramatic expression to the traditions of hip
hop and break dancing. He forges meaning through the street gang origins of
break dance. Between Tiny Cities assumes the significance of competitive
rivalry between two worlds. What results is a mounting climax when Mith
collapses and Lim throws him a bottle of water as the two pause to refresh
before their final movement. It is a gentler exhibition of their skill and
acrobatic agility. Gradually the hands touch, forming an intertwined magic
puzzle. The initial air of suspicious distrust dissolves in physical contact
and the dance comes to a close in mutual acceptance.
Between Tiny Cities transcends the art of contemporary dance to
imbue the choreography with meaning and unite cultures in common acceptance. It
is thrilling, humorous and heart-warming. Power and his dancers give new voice to the
dance of a generation. It is loud, proud and warming. Lim and Mith are masters
of their genre, fuelling the forty minute performance with dynamic youthfulness
and fiery spirit as well as tender
acceptance and respect.
Power gives new voice to the dance of his
generation and new hope for
reconciliation.
