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| Name Game Photo:Chris Canham |
Ql2 Dance Inc.
– Chaos Project 2012
Choreographers:
Caitlin MacKenzie, Matt Cornell, Gabe Comerford
Theatre 3:
October 19th and 20th.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
The Chaos
Project is a series of performances staged by QL2 Dance Inc. to provide an entry
point to prepare young dancers aged between 8 – 16 years to join the Quantum
Leap youth dance ensemble, QL2.
Enlisting
the skills of professional choreographers, Caitlin MacKenzie, Matt Cornell and
Gabe Comerford, and incorporating contributions by resident directors Ruth
Osborne and Adelina Larsson, the theme for “Name Game” was the exploration of ideas
around identity through such things as names, tags, signatures and name calling.
The work was presented as a single, seamless, ensemble performance danced by 36
young dancers, presented without an interval, and lasting a little under one
hour.
In her
program note, Artistic Director, Ruth Osborne explains “in every section the dancers
have contributed ideas and movement material to each choreographer’s creative
process, giving them an introduction to working with a choreographer and moving
beyond just learning the steps”.
Even the
youngest of the dancers appeared confident and able maintain concentration
throughout the entire work, which, considering the complexity of the material
was no mean feat. “Name Game” was very much an ensemble work, and the
choreography included a great deal of spectacular unison movement, as well as
partnering and vocalisation with a few acrobatic tricks included to showcase special
skills of particular dancers. It was danced to an imaginative recorded
soundscape drawn from composers as varied as Carl Orff, Amo Tobin, Johnny Cash
and Kris Kristofferson.
It commenced
with a playful opening section “What’s in a Name”, in which the dancers entered
in small groups. Each introduced themselves by name, while performing rhythmic
ensemble movement. Gradually cardboard cartons were introduced for a section
called “The People Factory”. In this
sequence the dancers were required to manipulate the cardboard box props while
performing intricate ensemble choreography.
A notable
feature of QL2 dance performances is the number of young boys who participate.
Approximately half the dancers in this performance were boys and it was
impressive to observe how confidently and unselfconsciously they interacted not
only with the girls in the ensemble sections, but also with each other
particularly in the section entitled “Choose your own adventure/name”.
Despite the
stated purpose of the work as being an introduction for the young dancers to
the intricacies of choreography, the precision and polish with which the
performance was presented insured that it was also an entertaining and
enjoyable dance work in its own right, notable for the inventiveness of the
choreography and for the exuberance and skill of the participants.
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| Name Game Photo: Chris Canham |
