Lorna Irvine finds much to like and be impressed by in this latest production for the Dance International Glasgow festival.
Playlists: they are individual as snowflakes, and every song we know and love is significant for a myriad of reasons. It is this premise that choreographer Jerome Bel uses as a frame for his fun, moving and playfully raucous show, which first premiered in 2001.
It may in future be impossible not to associate David Bowie impelling a twenty-strong group of diverse people (all shapes, sizes, colours and ages-- some able-bodied, some not) to 'Let's Dance', but at the present moment I doubt it. They explode in a freestyling melee of styles at the chorus, as though somehow animated, then just as soon, stop, completely deadpan.
Or there is the singular 'Move It', with Tattooed Bearded Guy dropping his trousers, while others twerk, shimmy or straddle their friends with troubling grins. Bel's an iconoclast, one who challenges his dancers, whatever their ability, to take the audience to new territory--to reinvent familiar songs. Awkward is a state of mind, after all...and poignant.
The wonderful thing is, no song is too cheesy or mawkish--hence the inclusion of John Lennon's truly ghastly 'Imagine', the hated Celine Dion and her 'Titanic' vomit-ballad, 'My Heart Will Go On' (where the cast re-create the Kate and Leo boat scene to mixed results) or the plastic Euro strains of 'Macarena', which becomes oddly sensual thanks to the wriggling hips of Sweet Skinny Guy.
Here, pressing random on your iPod is an excuse to cast off shackles of any notions of cool or good taste. Even the DJ can't resist getting in on the act, throwing some Dad shapes to 'Private Dancer' under his own spotlight--and it's not often you see a walkout ON stage, such is his dubious enthusiasm. No takers? Ah, well.
Yet the tender segments are touching entirely because of their simplicity-- Nick Cave's beautiful 'Into My Arms' has embraces swapped, and 'Killing Me Softly' mimed by all. There is no such thing as a silent disco in Bel's world, with such unique interpretations of Snap's 'I've Got The Power' or The Stones' 'Satisfaction' on MP3 players.
We've all done it. Danced like maniacs in the comfort of our own rooms as teenagers. Danced drunkenly or on substances in order to feel free. Bel's ensemble don't need your permission, and the freedom--and stage--is all theirs.
Part of DIG festival
www.tramway.org
www.candoco.co.uk
RSS