Choreographed
by James Batchelor, Ruth Osborne and Eliza Sanders,
Composed by
Adam Ventura and Morgan Hickenbotham.
Lighting
Design by Mark Dyson. Costumes Designed by Cate Clelland.
Film by Wildbear Entertainment - Presented by
QL2 Dance
The
Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, 8 – 10th August. 2019
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens.
Over the
years, QL2 Dance, under the guidance of Artistic Director, Ruth Osborne, has
become a leader in youth dance with its unique focus on developing dance-makers
rather than dancers. Each year dancers from all over Australia, and indeed
internationally, audition for the opportunity to work with professional
choreographers in the annual showcase.
Although one focus of this annual event
is the opportunity and challenge it offers for emerging choreographers to
create on larger casts than would be commercially possible, it also offers the
dancers the experience of extending their skills and horizons by providing a
theme each year. This year the theme was
space and architecture.
The printed
program for “Filling the Space” contains an impressive list of QL2 dancers and
choreographers who have gone on to establish professional careers around
Australia and Internationally. This year’s choreographers are all QL2 Alumni.
Both Eliza Sanders and James Batchelor work internationally. Sanders divides
her time between New Zealand and Australia working as a choreographer/teacher/
dancer. James Batchelor is currently attracting attention in Europe for his
unique choreographic voice, while Ruth Osborne has built an international
reputation for her pioneering work in youth dance.
With
“Proscenium”, the first of three ensemble pieces which made up the program,
James Batchelor demonstrates why he is in such demand, continuing his
exploration of space and architecture by making the stage space itself the
focus of attention.
 |
| "Proscenium" choreographed by James Batchelor |
The work
commenced in silence, with the front curtain rising to reveal two dancers
standing motionless at two ballet barres. One by one, other dancers joined them,
before the background curtain rose slowly, to reveal yet more dancers positioned
at barres. Then the second background curtain rose to reveal the entire backstage
area and more dancers at barres. The effect of the slow reveal of the spaces
was stunning. As the music began to seep through, the dancers slowly moved the
barres around, before dismantling them and replacing them with rows of chairs.
 |
| "Proscenium" choreographed by James Batchelor |
Batchelor’s works are notable for the slow deliberate
pace they establish, which he varies unexpectedly to create striking visuals,
challenging his audience to make their own assumptions as to their purpose. “Proscenium”
follows this pattern, making huge demands both on its performers and its
audience.
The young
cast rose to the challenge admirably, maintaining focus and concentration
throughout, and the audience was left in no doubt that they had experienced a
work of striking originality.
 |
| "Naturally Man-Made" choreographed by Ruth Osborne |
Ruth Osborne
was inspired by the grand staircase in the New Acton Nishi Building to create a
beautiful work entitled “Naturally Man-Made”.
Each individually costumed in
Cate Clelland’s attractive russet-toned slacks and tops, the dancers began by
forming a series of sculptural shapes
inspired by the staircase before responding to the beat of the driving
soundscape and striking film of them enacting with the staircase in a series of
cleverly choreographed sequences.
 |
| "The Shape of Empty Space" choreographed by Eliza Sanders |
Eliza
Sanders’ joyous work, “The Shape of
Empty Space” utilised clever lighting effects to differentiate spaces on the
stage in which the dancers obviously delighted in performing her jaunty moves
seemingly inspired by the tall inflated figures often seen in car-yards, to
express reactions to the different spaces in which they found themselves.
The work provided
a perfect finale for an adventurous program, which ended, as has become
something of a tradition, with Ruth Osborne’s delightfully inventive bows which
ensure that each of the 28 dancers who make up this year’s ensemble enjoy their
moment in the spotlight.
 |
| "Filling the Space" Finale choreographed by Ruth Osborne |
Photos by Lorna Sim
This review first published in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 9th August 2019