That said, the work of Russell Maliphant has always made a powerful case for the abstract. With no story to tell, abstract choreography needs to capture the eye and trust that the mind, and even the heart, will follow. Maliphant is good at this. Very good. ‘Broken Fall’, a 2003 piece created with for Sylvie Guillem and the BalletBoyz, was a breathtaking blend of dance and daredevil athleticism.

In contrast, the emotional impact of this evening’s offering, ‘Silent Lines’, is calming rather than thrilling, which in itself makes it something of a bold piece.

Subdued, dappled lighting plays across the bodies of the five dancers, to a soundtrack of a slow, monotonous drone.  Movement, as it will be for the duration of the piece, is mellifluous, slowed, graceful and deliberate. The effect is as if watching an underwater contemporary ballet – one is drawn in and soothed, almost a meditation for the eye.

From the opening pas de cinq, we move into other configurations; pas de deux, solos, occasional threes and twos. The music gains rhythm and a little tempo. From the floor, projections of concentric circles, often framing and centering the movement, pulse outwards or inwards (creating a fascinating optical illusion of the dancers growing or shrinking, according to the flow of the pulse).

The circle is the dominant motif of the choreography, from the ring-a-roses patterns of the opening, to the ‘slowed motion’ of individuals. Just like the soundtrack, the choreography samples – deliberately, explicitly – not just from the canon of dance, but from other physical art forms. Maliphant references Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art (highly apt, since the plantation slaves who developed it concealed its true purpose by disguising it as a form of dance). Elsewhere, there are hints of the dervish or the spinning Kathak dancer (though always at this gentle, considered pace).

Maliphant eschews the dazzling athleticism of earlier work. ‘Silent Lines’ is a reflective study of the human body in motion, with few lifts or leaps in evidence. Indeed, there is a notable paucity of physical contact, even in the pas de deux. At one point, the music seems to sample the Gotan Project and one cannot help but yearn for some closer engagement between the two men on stage. (My imagination turned in vain to that marvellous, man-to-man, tango in Carlos Saura’s movie). Silently, separately, stage left and right, the dancers shadow each other’s movement, but hold their lines. And perhaps that is the point – communication but also isolation. Only at the opening and finale is there a sense of human connectedness.

Stevie Stewart’s costumes are simple, the clean lines and absence of colour complementing the rather beautiful and intriguing lighting design (by Maliphant and Panagiotis Tomaros – Tomaros also designed the video projections).

At the risk of sounding like Emperor Joseph II (who infamously accused Mozart of writing “too many notes”) I will say ‘Silent Lines’ felt about 10 minutes too long. The magical trance into which it had lured me could not quite hold me to the end. Still, quite a treat.

The Russell Maliphant Company bring Silent Lines to The Lowry, Salford Quays on 29 May 2019. For full tour details visit russellmaliphantdancecompany.com

Interview with choreographer Russell Maliphant.

The post Russell Maliphant’s Silent Lines Dance Review appeared first on Quays Life.

Can you tell us a bit about your new work Silent Lines?

Silent Lines is a work for 5 exceptional dancers – with projections used to create a fluidly shifting atmosphere using animations by Panagiotis Tomaras. The music has been created by Dana Fouras and passes seamlessly from classical to electronic and the costumes have been created by Stevie Stewart of Bodymap.

What was the inspiration behind its creation?

The intention for this piece was to use some of the elements I am often exploring behind the scenes that effect movement and use those elements to create an aesthetic language. In this way, ideas and images from inside the body were projected to create spaces and textures within the stage environment to be manipulated by the dancers’ movement.
Their movement language has a shared ground but is also unique and personal to each dancer and their participation was another inspiration behind the project.

Why did you choose to work on this with video artist, Panagiotis Tomaras?

I had already undertaken a few days of research and development for this project when I met Panagiotis. I knew I wanted to use projected images and when I met Panagiotis   I believed he would be able to understand what I wanted and also bring his attitude and eye to the table. 

How does Tomaras’ work enhance the audience’s experience of the dance?

It’s hard to separate the dance and the image that the audience see. In creating, we are working with where the elements meet together. The light and the movement are often created side-by-side and inform each other. The light might transform the movement by giving a texture or setting it within a visual environment that’s fluid and dreamlike.

Why is the impact of lighting so central to your choreography?

Because it’s another fluid, moving element that can have a subtle or enormous impact on the stage space and the image of the dancers within that space. It can highlight or conceal choreographic elements and transform the apparent environment.

What drew you to research anatomy, biomechanics and the body’s fascial system?

I have had an interest in anatomy since I first experience an injury and felt relief from seeing an osteopath. They gave me information about my body that I didn’t have before (for example, one leg longer than the other, one hip higher and rotated forward or twisted to the left etc. Rt sidebend in the lumbars and left sidebend in the thoracic spine – scoliosis) Also from seeing some good masseurs I realised how much better my body could feel when worked on effectively. I wanted to know why, and how so that I could begin to apply some of that information to my practice and thereby improve the balance of my body for movement. That lead me to a ‘foundations in bodywork’ course and then training in the Rolfing method of Structural Integration, which has a particular focus on how the  fascial system effects the body’s structural balance and movement patterns.

What fascinates you most about experiential anatomy?
 
The way it influences and alters movement flow and connection or co-ordination patterns.

Knowing something intellectually might not make the same changes, but exploring connections physically seems to shift something about inherent patterns of movement and can fill in blank areas of proprioceptive understanding and give more choices about the subtle elements of how a movement might be carried out – which for me is a very choreographic concern.

How has this influenced your work as a choreographer?

It has influenced my way of seeing movement and therefore what I find myself digging down into. In this work in particular, it has also influenced the aesthetic of Silent Lines through the visual projections into the space or onto the body, as a lot of the images are drawn or inspired by images from the internal environment of the body (relating to the internal structures and processes of the body).

Outside of work, has it influenced you in any ways personally?

I would find it hard to know where what I think about professionally, is not what I think about personally – it influences and infiltrates how I dig the garden or brush my teeth, or how I ride a bike at times

Are there any other art forms you would like to incorporate in future work that you haven’t embraced yet?

I have very rarely worked with a set designer and would love to have more opportunities for that. 

What do you hope audiences will take from Silent Lines?

I hope that they will be transported for a time and that images or moments that they witness will remain in their minds for some time.

The Russell Maliphant Company bring Silent Lines to The Lowry, Salford Quays on 29 May 2019. For full tour details visit russellmaliphantdancecompany.com

Read our interview with choreographer, David Bintley.

The post Russell Maliphant on his dream-like new show Silent Lines appeared first on Quays Life.