Project Director and Mentor: Ruth
Osborne
Project Co-ordinator and additional
mentoring: Jamie Winbank
Lighting Design and operation: Craig
Dear
QL2 Theatre – 26th and 27th
November 2016
Reviewed by Bill Stephens
Now in its
18th year, “Hot to Trot” offers potential young choreographers, who
participate in other of QL2 Dance initiatives, the opportunity to try their
hand at choreographing a short work for this annual showcase.
Each
choreographer who takes on the challenge has the advantage of professional
mentoring, technical back-up and access to dancers. Each is encouraged to
explore ideas and create movement, as well write program notes, source costumes
and music, consider lighting design, and schedule and rehearse their dancers to
performance level.
They are
also required to introduce themselves and their work to their audience, and
then submit to questioning by the audience after the work has been performed –
a task often as daunting and revealing as the work itself.
This year
ten choreographers participated. Their inspiration was as varied as their dance
works, exploring such topics as loneliness, brain function, growing pains and
even building demolition.
The program
commenced with an absorbing short film by Natsuka Yonezawa, entitled
“Travelling Light”. Filmed mostly in the carpark of the National Gallery of
Australia, the film explored notions of loneliness and solitude, featuring dancers,
Rifka Ruwette and Tahi Atea in a succession of tightly choreographed situations
involving clever use of timing and rhythm changes to create a heightened the sense of mystery.
“Welcome to
your brain” was a bright little work by Milly Vanzwol, exploring brain
function. Performed by Vanzwal, together
with Gabriel Sinclair and Patricia Hayes-Cavanagh, all clad in cheerful Hawaiian
shirts, this work was notable for the clarity with which the ideas were
expressed and for its well-rehearsed unison movement.
Caroline De
Wan used six dancers costumed in attractive shot taffeta frocks for her ambitious
and amusing work “17 Days” in which she explored the rules and laws dictating
our interactions. Well-managed mood changes made for an interesting work, which
would have benefited from a little more attention by the dancers to individual execution of
the interesting movement ideas.
Interesting
movement choices were also evident in Ruby Ballantyne’s intriguing “The Only
Constant”. Setting out to examine the “inevitability and consistency of
change”, Caroline De Wan, Caspar Lischner and Jason Pearce wriggled across the
floor and executed primeval neck rolling movements in strongly committed
performances in an interesting work notable for its well-conceived duo work.
 |
| Caroline De Wan, Caspar Lischner, Jason Pearce in "The Only Constant" Iamge by Lorna Sim |
Tahi Atea
displayed a well-developed sense of theatre with her work “Growing Pains”,
which commenced with dancers Natsuko Yonezawa and Walter Wolffs confined inside
a square window frame. Excellent music, lighting and mature movement choices
combined to ensure the clarification of her theme.
 |
| Natsuko Yonezawa and Walter Wolffs in "Growing Pains" Image by Lorna Sim |
Amusing
facial expressions, good group movement and a sense that her dancers, Eve
Buckmaster, Milly Vanwol, Rifka Ruwette and Tahi Atea, really understood the
message they were conveying, marked the funny and well-executed performance of
Patricia Hayes-Cavanagh’s “Pet Peeves” for which the title says it all.
 |
| Tahi Alea, Milly Vanzwol & Rifka Ruwette in "Pet Peeves" Image by Lorna Sim |
Shantelle
Wise-McCourt chose to explore the emotional and mental conflict of love and
lust, with her work “Compelled”. Danced
with conviction by Caroline De Wan, Ruby Ballantyne and Zach Johnson, this
moody piece featured interesting, often surprising movement choices, some
interesting unison work from De Wan and Ballantyne, and a well resolved ending
with Johnson alone on stage in a circle of light.
 |
| Zach Johnson and Ruby Ballantyne in "Compelled" Image by Lorna Sim |
For his
evocative work “The Graveyard Shift”, Jason Pearce dressed his dancers, Gabriel
Sinclair and Ursula Taylor, in boiler suits to explore the effects of shift
work. Imaginative use of a pillow and a torch, together with voice-overs, made for a compelling and interesting creation.
Gabriel
Sinclair wrote his own music, and included cheerful, friendly dialogue in his
well-resolved work “We-dentity” in which Caspar Lischner, Patricia
Hayes-Cavanagh, Zach Johnson and Audrey Sharwood argue over priorities in a
series of snapshots.
The
demolition of the Currong Apartments provided the inspiration for a thoughtful
work by Ursula Taylor in which five overall clad dancers performed
industrialised movement conveying her response to the demolition and
reconstruction of city dwellings.
While not
all of the works were successful in effectively conveying the chosen themes,
all were admirable for the thought, effort and creativity which had gone into
them, and together they provided a fascinating and entertaining evening of
dance. Particularly impressive was the commitment of the dancers to the works in which they appeared. Whether any of the young choreographers
go on to have sustainable careers in dance is yet to be seen, but
doubtless all will have learnt a great deal about the art of choreography
through their participation in this year’s
“Hot To Trot”.
