Carmel ThomasonNigeria’s QDance Company embodies the youthful vibrancy of Lagos in its ambitious 90 minute show, Re:Incarnation.
It starts with the rhythmic banging of a drum resembling a heartbeat as the dancers, huddled together pulse as one. From this life-force the dancers emerge as individuals, all appearing to do their own thing in a burst of energy and fluorescent-coloured costumes. It feels like we are watching a riotous street festival, complete with city soundscapes.
Choreographer Qudus Onikeku says his show aims to capture ‘the energy of Lagos, the vibrancy, the youthfulness, the craziness, the madness, the beauty, the ugliness’. The result feels like we have been thrust into a bustling centre which is almost an assault on the senses, leaving little space to bring our own emotions to the piece.
The rawness of the moves gives a new meaning to the term ‘dirty dancing’ as couples simulate sex on stage before a loud, screaming birth scene. Equally there are some violent outbursts, with a beaten man left writhing on the floor as others discard their clothing over him.
The show fuses Nigeria’s modern-day youthfulness with ancient philosophies of the Yoruba people. It is split into three parts representing the circle of life – birth, death and rebirth. Each section is marked visually with backstage projections, but they run simultaneously with no interval. As such, it is a challenge both for the 10-strong dance troupe and the audience to maintain the burst of energy experienced at the start. But perhaps these lulls are intentional as part of the ebb and flow of life.
Towards the end of the death scene, the energy lifts again with a moving spoken word section where a dancer recites old Yoruba proverbs while being smeared in a silvery, black body paint. The paint absorbs and reflects the stage lighting, creating some psychedelic effects.
Two live on-stage musicians, Simeon Promise Lawrence and Daniel Ifeanyi Anumudu create an absorbing sound-track and bring coherence to the whole piece. There is also a rounded feel to the choreography that returns at the end to the high energy with which it starts – the dancers moving so quickly their legs could be on vibration plates.
It could end here with uplifting exhuberance, but the finale is much quieter, almost inviting contemplation. As the dancers disappear towards the back of the stage there is finally space to absorb what we’ve just experienced – now it is the crowd’s turn to go wild. And they do.
Dance Consortium brings The QDance Company’s Re:INCARNATION to The Lowry, Salford on Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 October 2024.
Steve Timms
Liz Ratcliffe