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| "Alterum" choreographed by Melanie Lane |
Choreographed
by Melanie Lane, Jack Lister and Hofesh Shechter and performed by Chase
Clegg-Robinson, Tyrel Dulvarie, Harrison Elliott, Lonii Garnons-Williams, Lilly
King, and Jack Lister.
CANBERRA
THEATRE 24TH and 25th June 2025
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens.
“Three” is a
program of three Australian premieres of new works by three different
choreographers. Two of the works are by significant Australian choreographers
Melanie Lane and Jack Lister, and the third is by London-based Israeli
choreographer, Hofesh Shechter.
ADC is the
first Australian company to remount one of Schechter’s works, and certainly the
first time any of his works has been seen in Canberra. As it was also the first
time ADC has performed in Canberra this short Canberra season was highly
anticipated.
Therefore it
was very disappointing to arrive at the theatre to discover there were no
printed programs available. The information on the Canberra Theatre Website
gave some oblique information about each of the three works and the names of
the choreographers but nowhere on the website or in the media releases were the
names of the dancers mentioned. The names of the dancers listed above therefore
are taken from the ADC website as the ADC’s 2022 company and were presumably
the dancers who performed in Canberra in all three works.
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| "Alterum" - Choreographed by Melanie Lane |
The program
commenced with Melanie Lane’s “Alterum”.
There was particular interest in this work because Lane is a former
Canberran who earlier in the year had choreographed a large-scale work, “Metal
Park” for Canberra’s youth dance ensemble, QL2 Dance, as part of similar triple
bill. Though quite different from that
work, “Alterum” proved an arresting introduction for the six ADC dancers to
Canberra audiences, had we known who we were watching.
Costumed in striking shiny body-hugging costumes designed by Alana Sargent, with the three men
wearing over-sized great-coats for some of the work, and dancing to an
insistent, abrasive soundscape by Clark, the six dancers performed Lane’s
frenetic choreography with commitment and admirable precision. Affective use of
red and blue lighting which heightened the drama, together with combative, insect-like
movements made for compelling stage pictures. However the unison bottom
wiggling at one point seemed to indicate that the choreographer may have lost
inspiration mid-way through.
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| "Still Life" - choreographed by Jack Lister |
Whether it
was the gentle soothing soundscape, again by Clark, or Jack Lister’s beguiling slow-motion
choreography so superbly and luxuriously executed by the dancers, but “Still
Life”, is the work which will long live in my memory and one which I will look
forward to seeing again. Taking his inspirations from 16th and 17th
century Memento Mori artworks Lister has created a beguiling work of art of his
own in which, the dancers weave in and out of combinations. One commences a move
and then another gently takes over and completes the movement. The way Lister
has used the music is continually fascinating, as he switches the focus between
dancers. The work continues some
luscious pas de deux but with no way of identifying the dancers until I could
access the ADC website after the performance, it’s impossible to credit the
dancers.
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| "Cult" - choreographed by Hofesh Shechter. |
Although
promoted as the major work in the program, Hofesh Shechter’s “Cult”, although energetic,
even spectacular at times, proved something of an anti-climax. Much shorter
than both of the other works and with a similar driving sound-track as “Alterum”,
the demanding work seemed under-rehearsed compared to the others, particularly
for the three red dressed women who were often out of time with each other and
needed more attention to the detail of the hand movements.
Never- the- less, “Three” offered a tantalising introduction to this company and its six superb dancers. Just a shame we didn’t know who they were.
Images by David Kelly
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au