A QUIET LANGUAGE AUSTRALIAN DANCE THEATRE AND ADELAIDE FESTIVAL

 

Tayla Lee Hoadley in A Quiet Language Photo Zoe Wozniak

 A QUIET LANGUAGE

Director/concept Daniel Riley. Co-director  Brianna Kell. Choreography. Daniel Riley, Brianna Kell and ADT Company Artists: Sebastian Geilings, Yilin Kong, Zachary Lopez, Karra Nam, Patrick O’Luanaigh and Zoe Wozniak. Guest artist Tayla Lee Hoadley. Dramaturg Alexis West.Composer and Musician Adam Page. Production Design. Matthew Adey. Costume Designer Ailsa Paterson Lighting Associate Mark Oakley. Production manager Ninian Donald. Company and Stage Manager Katya Shevtsov. Technical Manager Ellen Demaagd.Sound technician Sascha Budimski.Venue Technician Ben Johnston. Operator Reece Vilder. Australian Dance Theatre in association with the Adelaide Festival. The Odeon. February 26^th – March 7^th. 2025

Reviewed by Peter Wilkins

 

 

A Quiet Language. Photo: Jonathan van der Knapp

Australian Dance Theatre’s A Quiet Language is a triumphant and glorious celebration of the company’s 60^th anniversary. Australia’s contemporary dance legend and creative collaborator on A Quiet Language, Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM established ADT in Adelaide in 1965 to introduce an exciting new style of contemporary dance to Australian audiences. Having just returned from dancing with the Nederlands Dance Theatre Cameron Dalman was inspired to establish the first fully professional contemporary dance theatre in Australia. For 60 years different artistic directors with different artists have maintained an enviable legacy which remains vibrant and innovative to this day.  A Quiet Language, the language of dance, illuminates a new phase in the artistic work of ADT, which began with the appointment of Daniel Riley as Artistic Director. Previously a dancer with Bangarra Dance Theatre, Riley brings to the dance a force and vitality of a  new era. 

A Quiet Language gives a powerful voice through its dance to today’s society, while recognizing its significance through the decades. The dance is visceral -the dancers luminescent in their technique. A Quiet Language traces the company’s different journeys from the age of protest, rock and roll, Vietnam, women’s liberation and the referendum of 1967 that finally gave aborigines the vote to the current age of reconciliation, the failed Voice, new protests, COVID  and the euphoric celebration of the  survival and success of the iconic Australian Dance Theatre A Quiet Language chronicles the key events and experiences of the nation and its people. The ADT Company of Artists through their artistry and imagination find a synthesis of spirit and body through their dance. Their talent and athleticism are electrifying  as they weave their bodily patterns of interconnection. Their dance becomes the language of rebellion, of collaboration and of unity against the forces of oppression. Audiences on two sides experience inclusion that turns to exclusion on one side as dancers move to the other side to turn exclusion to inclusion in a moving cycle of total engagement.

Through the expressive power and interpretive physicality of contemporary dance, A Quiet Language breaks down the barriers to social change and care for the environment. It is the dance of a nation, the expressive acknowledgement of struggle and oppression, of survival and community. The dance closes on a celebration of togetherness and the celebration of love and joy. A sole dancer counts down from 60 to remind us of the years, the conflicts and the triumphs, the changing nature of the dance bonded over the decades by Caneron Dalman’s Legacy and fired for today’s audiences by the amazing artistry of Riley’s present company.

A Quiet Language.  Photo: Zoe Wozniak

I watch in amazement at the sheer dynamism, physical flexibility and emotive power of the dance company of five dancers from different backgrounds, dancing in unison and while celebrating the times and events past pointing to a future of promise and fulfillment. Throughout a saxophonist (composer and musician  Adam Page) accompanies the dance with the magical spirit of the instrument that touches the soul. Alternating between vocal and musical accompaniment he transports us through time and experience .

The overarching themes of People, Place, Politics, Voice and Body inform the power of their storytelling as they present the evolving experiences of a nation through social change, Nature’s fury, political upheaval and world conflict and pandemic. In the realm of dance A Quiet Language, is a testament to the survival of the artist in society. It is the lesson taught by Cameron Dalman in the creation of ADT and carried through from one period to the next. The audience sits spellbound, releasing their imagination and interpreting their response to the story of the dance. If this is a salute to the enduring power of contemporary dance in society, then ADT can look forward to another 60 years. Be sure not to miss this celebration if you are in Adelaide before the season ends.  A Quiet Language raises a cry of celebration and joyful commemoration of the artist and the dance