Director: Cadi McCarthy
Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub, Newcastle
The B Theatre, Queanbeyan 27 March
Reviewed by Len Power 27 March 2024
Remember feeling like the odd one out at a party? Did your small-talk dry up before you’d even started? Did your pick-up line go over like a lead balloon? In “Awkward” from Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub, based in Newcastle, all those remembered fears are realized in dance.
A group of people come to a party, having been invited by friends of the host. They don’t know each other. They don’t know anyone else at the party. They don’t even know whose house it is, and their friends don’t show up. Sound familiar?
To a selection of well-known songs and music with driving beats from the past, the seven dancers, Jordan Bretherton, Cassidy Clarke, Alexandra Ford, Nicola Ford, Romain Hassanin, Remy Rochester, and Anna McCulla take you through all those cringe-worthy moments that you’d rather forget. It’s funny, appealing, easy to identify with and cleverly danced.
The host of the party is also the narrator and, at times, instructor, pointing out some hilarious do’s and don’ts of party-going. Particularly funny was a demonstration of a “cool” dance that would be sure to attract attention – the wrong type, of course.
Using the stage, steps and a large part of the auditorium floor of the B Theatre in Queanbeyan, the production used that unique 2 level environment to good effect. They must have had to adapt their choreography to work in that space and it’s a credit to them that they gave such a highly polished performance.
Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub, Newcastle is a contemporary dance and multi-arts organisation that cultivates, and champions mid-career and emerging professional dance choreographers, multidisciplinary artists, with strong programs with and for young people and the community.
It’s a pity they were only here for one night. It was very enjoyable, funny and skilful evening of dance. It brought up memories that most of us would prefer to forget!
Photos: Ashley de Prazer
Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.
