TERRA FIMRA | STAGE REVIEW
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Thu 8 Feb.
****
National Dance Company Wales began its 2018 spring tour, Terra Firma, at the Sherman theatre premiering Atalaÿ, and a significantly changed company of dancers. Rehearsal director Lee Johnston has worked incredibly hard to re-stage three other works in the repertoire whilst Atalaÿ was being created, and overall the programme is incredibly successful. It takes time for a new company to gel onstage, and the tour will help them grow from strength to strength.
In the brief time that Caroline Finn took artistic leadership of the company she has created a distinctive repertoire grounded in her practice and the work of her choreographic peers. Terra Firma is testament to the rich vision and community of practice she has sought to develop at NDCW.
Folk by Caroline Finn
A group of outsiders gather beneath an upturned tree to celebrate, and lament being ‘other’. Through vignettes we observe the interactions of a community seeking to acknowledge itself whilst reintegrating those it casts out. This misty village feels on the edge of collapse, turning itself over like the tree looming large in the sky. Whilst it may seem dysfunctional, the community heals divisions, giving space (or companionship) to those who need it.
Folk (2016) was the first work Finn made for NDCW, and it has become a core part of their repertoire. The quirky, articulate, and affective vocabulary sets out the groundwork for Finn’s choreographic approach to the company. On its third major recasting the work still engages and delights with this new, youthful cast reminding us that the complexities of communities are experienced by all. However, some of the poetic richness brought to the work by the more mature experiences of the original cast is missed.
Atalaÿ by Mario Bermudez Gil
From a high vantage point we observe four people exploring the changing seasons, elements, and directions in life and space. There is a constant ebb and flow giving the impression we are watching years and decades pass by. But despite this passing of time, a cultural thread remains intact through the practice of rituals and sharing of experiences.
The richly layered sound score includes Turkish folk music, pointing towards migration and globalisation. This theme is reiterated in the music and lyrics that accompany the intoxicating final section: “I don’t know what I don’t love, and I can’t love what I don’t know, be it white dove or a black crow, I keep going, I keep flowing on” (Toz Pembe by Mercan Dede)
The movement is sinuous, percussive, spiritual, and in places relentless. At various moments a light shines from the back of the stage creating sunrise, and sunset-like effects. The dancers are bathed in golden glow as they continue to move, transforming from flesh to light.
Tundra by Marcos Morau
In challenging environments, communities survive by coming together. Tundra is located in such landscape, the treeless Russian uplands which also come across like a sterile dystopian future. Immensely detailed, and meditative, Tundra’s visceral score, spectacular design, and precise movement lingers long in the memory.
Moving ‘as one’ the dancers negotiate their individual needs with those of the group. This is not a socialist conformity, but a mode of belonging that reflects our engagement with social media. Cascades of fragmented, and synchronised unison drift across the stage like powdered snow in the wind.
Tundra also looks to the past, reimagining Soviet Union ‘folk’ dance like a 21st century The Rite of Srping. The mesmerising floating section is a homage to the costumes and ‘sliding step’ of the Berezka Ensemble, and the ‘caterpillar’ arms reference the Folk Dance Ensemble of the USSR. A percussive marching section suggests Russian sailors dancing with outstretched arms in a show of pride and force.
The dancers are dressed in close-fitting jumpsuits made from layers of patterned fabric sourced from diverse ethnic communities in Russia. The costumes are not cut in a traditional style; rather, the organisation of the materials has been prioritised to give an overall effect. Such an approach is reminiscent of Russian Futurist and Constructivist art movements that prioritised aesthetic combinations, whilst echoing the choreographic approach of Morau.
The Terra Firma tour also includes Green House which is shown as an alternative to Folk at selected venues.
words MATTHEW GOUGH
photos RHYS COZENS
Terra Firma is touring the UK until May. More info: http://www.ndcwales.co.uk/en/what-s-on/terra-firma/