Saturday February 18th at 8 p.m. 10 incredibly talented dancers filled the stage at the Power Center, together comprising Wayne McGregor’s contemporary company, Random Dance.
The dancers were amazing! I sat in awe the entire performance of their incredible technical ability. They had the strength and control of seasoned ballet dancers, with an added fluidity and emotive quality that I’ve never seen before. The movements were very detailed, and choreographed down to the slightest finger movement or eye gaze, however the dancers moved as if they were creating the movement as they went along, oozing passion and self-expression. The choreography was so genius. I love that Wayne McGregor has such a strong ballet background, that shone proudly through his choreography, but with brilliant alterations to the classical ballet steps, the slightest tilt or turned-in position, or flexed foot making classical steps new and surprising. The dance flowed so beautifully, from one section to the next, with the dancers’ incredibly supple, flexible, expressive bodies moving fluidly but with such control over the slightest movements made.
The piece performed, FAR, inspired by Roy Porter’s “Flesh and the Age of Reason” was very inventive and original, using mixed media to complement the movement. A huge screen of LED lights was used throughout to create a very sci-fi, technological feel, also allowing for sort of a creepy, shadowy mood throughout the piece. Various lighting effects were used throughout the piece, with a warm amber glow covering the stage at one point, and two illuminated circles on the black floor in which the dancers moved the only light in the auditorium at another point in the piece. The music also varied quite a bit, with some moments of loud, mechanical sounding noise, building in intensity, and others of tender ballads with lyrics. The piece flowed so smoothly, however, that this wide variety did not feel choppy or out of place whatsoever, but instead made the piece that much more enchanting and engaging.
The piece was so expressive and meaningful, though I can only speculate as to what Wayne McGregor and his dancers were thinking as they created the movements showcased in FAR. The piece seemed to have a very animalistic quality in parts, and a very tender, intimate quality in others, making me think the piece said a lot about the tension between instinctive animalistic desires, leading to lust and conflict, and tender, loving human relationships, and the intimate moments we share together. At one point in the piece, the LED screen appeared to be a timer counting down, as the dancers moved each in their own set of choreography, a jumble of dance on the stage. This made me feel as if they were saying something about time and movement, and even about dance itself, being confined to time, and the often mechanical quality of the movement of the human body, even in dance. There were so many great ideas and emotions conveyed in this piece–I could see it many more times to extract more and more meaning. I have gained such a profound respect and admiration for Wayne McGregor, and I will definitely be watching his creative career! I’ve found a new favorite in Random Dance.
To learn more, check out their website: http://www.randomdance.org/
