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| Yui Kawaguchi in Andropolaroid 1.1 |
Andropolaroid 1.1
Choreographed and danced by Yui Kawaguchi. Theatre 51-grad in coproduction with MA scene nationale.Lighting by Fabien Bleisch.Sound by Sibin Vassilev. Costume Sasa Kovacevic. Dramaturgy Rosi Ulrich. Space Theatre. Adelaide Festival Centre. OzAsia Festival. November 9 – 10 2018. Bookings BASS 31 246 or www.ozasiafestival.com.au
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
In a forest of neon, suspended like
stalactites of fluorescent light, a figure in white stands in the stillness of
the darkness. Suddenly lights flash as the force of life inhabits Berlin based
and contemporary dancer, Yui Kawaguchi. What ensues is the awakening of the
body, the possession of the spirit and a phenomenal display of physical
dexterity and awakened flexibility of the dance. Sibin Vassilev’s soundtrack draws us into Kawaguchi’s
unfolding mystery. As the lights pulsate, Kawaguchi is instantly possessed,
flung into existence, each part of the body activated by the pulse of light and
sound. In an instant music explodes in an instant of sound, flinging the dancer
in white into a foetal stillness upon the floor, before once again being thrust
into life by the renaissance of the white neon light, now patterned and
sequenced differently as her existence evolves.
The dance has no distinct
narrative and for forty minutes the audience is left to create their own interpretations
of the movement and gestures, to construct their own narrative, inspired by the
sheer skill and artistry of this exceptional contemporary exponent of the dance
form, drawing on classical point work, hip hop, ballet and Butoh. What is so
amazing is the phenomenal elasticity of Kawaguchi’s body. She twists and turns,
extending the body, arching the physique and separating parts of the body as
she twitches the feet, alienates fingers and hands from the arms, extends the
torso and once again slides into the supine. Almost androgenous in her
performance, Kawaguchi creates sculptural flashlights of body in motion and magnetic
stillness. A red pullover falls from above into a white spot and transforms
into a partner in Kawaguchi’s dance as she twists and turns during attempts to
clothe herself in the brilliant red garment. Eventually she succeeds and the
stage begins to fill with mist and the human form becomes again a shadow in the
mist, transformed and transfixed by luminescence and the electronic pulse of Sibin
Vassilev’s soundtrack.
What I am left with is the
extraordinary display of a dance that inhabits each part of the body, feeding
every nerve from the head to the toe with the evolutionary awakening of
existence. Each sequence presents a new awakening until the final fulfillment of
being. It is a thoroughly absorbing performance that leaves one with the
striking image of light and life force and an unforgettable admiration for a
dancer with the power to activate body, heart and mind in an unforgettable expression
of the life force that exists within us all..
