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| ""ME/Us" by Ruth Osborne |
Artistic Direction by Ruth Osborne
Composed by Adam Ventura, Warwick Lynch
Film by Wildbear Entertainment – Lighting by Mark Dyson – Costumes by Cate Clelland.
Playhouse Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre, 9 -11
August 2018.
Performance 9th August reviewed by Bill
Stephens
Quantum Leap, the performing section of QL2 Dance, celebrated
its 20th year, with an impressive program of new and revisited
works. Three of the works were remounts from previous programs, and five were
specially created for these performances, mostly by QL2 alumni.
Presented with the meticulous attention to detail we
have come to expect from Quantum Leap, with simple, appropriate costumes by
Cate Clelland, evocative video projections by Wildbear Entertainment and
compelling soundscapes composed by Adam Ventura and Warwick Lynch, they formed
a compelling demonstration of what has been achieved in the last 20 years by Quantum
Leap Dance, under the Artistic Direction of Ruth Osborne.
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| The opening tableau for "Where We Gather" by Daniel Riley |
The evening commenced with a film of the 2013 Quantum
Leap ensemble performing outdoors. As the film climaxed with the dancers
standing posed in the outdoor setting, the screen rose to reveal the current
ensemble posed in similar positions to provide a magical segue into Daniel
Riley’s moving “Where We Gather”. Remounted by Dean Cross, with the final rehearsals
overseen by Daniel Riley, this beautifully realized work was a thoughtful
exploration of the notion of the interaction of indigenous and non-indigenous
young people. Having seen Riley’s most
recent work for Bangarra Dance Company in “Dark Emu”, this opportunity to revisit
one of his earlier choreographies proved especially interesting.
Between each work in the program were filmed segments in
which the choreographers shared insights into their particular creations. With
her work, “Nexus”, Sara Black explored the moments of decision that provided
the catalyst to a lifetime in dance, with the dancers articulating those
moments as they expressed them in dance.
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| "Landscape" by Fiona Malone |
Fiona Malone’s 2006 work “Landscape”, re-imagined here
by Alison Plevey and Ruth Osborne, made imaginative use of hand-held lights,
projected onto the backdrop, and flowing skirts, to create a sense of the Australian
sky and constellations. Steve Gow incorporated impressive floor work into his
piece entitled “Empower”, which was danced against a background of
inspirational words.
Voice-overs of young dancers reflecting on the past
and future were effectively incorporated in her work, “ME/Us, by Ruth Osborne,
while Eliza Sanders made imaginative use of large Perspex magnifiers and energetic,
free-flowing movements for her all-female work “Bigger”.
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| "Bigger" by Eliza Sanders |
Perhaps the most memorable work of the evening was the
remounting by Alison Plevey of Jodie Farrago’s 2011 work “Identify – This Land
is Calling” which explored Australia’s migration history from early settlers to
recent refugees in a series of poignant images in which some dancers arrived
carrying suitcases, others in shackles, and still others with nothing at all.
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| "Identify - The Land Is Calling" by Jodie Farrago |
The final work was something that has become something
of a tradition for Quantum Leap presentations, a joyous finale, cleverly
devised by Ruth Osborne entitled “Celebrate”, in which the dancers reprised
sections from each of the programmed items, before being joined on stage by
numerous Quantum Leap alumni from the audience.
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| "Celebrate" - the finale to "Two Zero" by Ruth Osborne. |