Slanjayvah Danza Blind Passion
Tania Soubry & Sam Alty Two People Coming Together
Richard Bermange Kaddish
Simple duets occupied two thirds of this edition of Resolution!, which might have been sub-titled Dancing in the Dark with swathes of each work cloaked in fading twilight, or suffering some other failure of illumination. Slanjayvah's Blind Passion, a sensual tease of a dance that delivered exactly what it said on the tin, had the performers blindfold themselves part way through to explore a tango-style intimacy, owing all to touch and trust. Single strips of floor-level light enhanced the erotic secrecy of barely visible, cascading flesh by occasionally casting giant shadows on the back wall; but if the pair danced directly in front of the sole illumination, it created moments of complete darkness, punctuated by the blinding yellow beam finding its way through their moving torsos to flash directly into inquiring eyes. This irritation aside, Jenni Wren and Phil Sanger danced the work with an expert, unsighted feel for each other's movement: a class, even if occasionally indistinct, act.
The next pair promised an improvised duet - a pledge I've come to be wary of - and their overlong effort did nothing to allay this caution. The first sixty seconds contained just a strummed guitar chord and a squat. Bluntly, nothing much happened at all, until many minutes into the tedium, monotonous guitar strumming was replaced with some real and believable dance content. But it was all too little, too late and these two talented dancers sorely needed structure and a pair of blindfolds.
The concluding work was altogether different although equally muddled in its intent. An episodic, ensemble journey through a day in the life of a café contained some pleasing balletic choreography and a knockout Swedish soprano, Cecilia Hjortsberg, who performed two songs in amongst an eclectic array of recorded music. The problem was a lack of connection between any of its parts and, although danced prettily enough, none of the performers - apart from the statuesque Hjortsberg - left any lasting impression.
Graham Watts
Powerful and seductive Slanjayvah Danza's Blind Passion is quite literally that; a fiery display of intricate Tango and Contemporary acrobatics, danced blindfolded by skilled performers and choreographers, Jenni Wren and Phil Sanger. Wearing only flesh coloured thongs, the sightless couple guide each other with trust and grace into seamless lifts and balances. Whilst their almost nakedness temporarily distracts from their more remarkable self-inflicted blindness, the work is too flawless to be overtly sexual. The strength and control of the pair is outstanding, the movement of their handsome limbs enough to make the most accomplished contemporary dancer envious.
In comparison, Tania Soubry and Sam Alty's disjointed and clumsy duet Two People Coming Together is akin to an awkward gangly youth. Misleadingly billed as an improvised duet between a musician and a dancer, the work is largely in silence as dancer and guitarist, Alty, quickly tires of his instrument. The dancers' quirky movements, probably derived from improvisation initially, are distinctly choreographed in the main; novel lifts and motifs are spoilt under the pretence of improvisation. Lacking in both the excitement of the unknown that is improvisation and the polish of the choreographed performance, Two People Coming Together is a promising work that requires some more attention.
Also suffering from a minor identity crisis, is Richard Bermange's Kaddish, inexplicably named after the Jewish mourner's prayer. This work overwhelms its audience with a platter of balletic choreography, live music, acting and the jaw-dropping vocals of live opera singer Cecilia Hjortsberg. A plethora of lifelike props and costumes support this seven-strong ensemble as they swirl around the stage but never successfully convey the meaning of it all. A collage of beautifully tender duets and comical character pieces, this work is choreographically intriguing but overreaching, considering it is all over in a rapid twenty minutes.
Jennifer Teale