Lorna Irvine reviews two productions from this years DIG festival.
Give Me A Reason To Live @ Tramway *****
First, there is nothing but laboured breathing in darkness. Then a single sliver of light picking out the slender body of choreographer/dancer Claire Cunningham, alone in a cell-like space, trapped with her crutches.
At times, her crutches could be an extension of her body; at others, an impediment. But as she rises up, falls, then glides, extending to her full frame, proud and steely-eyed, her pure beautiful operatic voice fills the room, singing a Bach Cantata and the audience become as those spectators-judging, labelling, condescending, admiring or patronising. Cunningham forces those watching to re-examine their preconceptions of what constitutes choreography, disability and ideals of space and how space is filled.
Based on works by artist Hieronymous Bosch, who created medieval studies of society which deemed disabled people as lesser, and drawing explicit links with Nazi ideals of body perfection, as well as David Cameron's absurd law which included a test for those with sticks, crutches and wheelchairs to 'prove' the extent of their disabilities, Cunningham's graceful, eloquent defiance is political, challenging and utterly uncompromising. A devastating and unforgettable piece.
Geist @ Tramway ****
Colette Sadler's Geist, which is a world premiere, is less easy to define. Five frozen to the spot dancers in very early nineties rave gear (brightly coloured tracksuit tops, baggy trousers, leggings) are jolted into life by the hiss, thunder and crackle of Brendan Dougherty's soundscapes.
As they judder, they are in-between life and death, seemingly having seizures or propelled by unseen forces. They laugh mirthlessly and move between panels created by Philine Rinnert displaying apocalyptic and religious imagery.
Geist is an imagined, disturbing world where bodies struggle to exist together then coalesce into a human jigsaw. Sadler's choreography is brittle, spare and jarring.
Geist continues to Summerhall on 9th/10th May before going on to Inverness and Aberdeen.
www.tramway.org
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