I like to think that I can understand dance, as someone who used to dance and studied it as a subject- I hope that I understand performances on stage.
But after watching EDGE at Queens Hall, I question my knowledge on dance and movement. As hard as I tried, I could not understand the pieces that were on tonight so this is my interpretation/feelings/reaction to EDGE.
The first piece ETHICS was drama and dance- as we see the dancers re creating what looks like Rugby practice. It represented the dancers as athletes and showcased their strength and stamina.
I did enjoy the duet between Oliver Bell and Fanny Pouillot, very fluid piece that broke the dynamics in the routine. It was a very energetic piece, I just did not entirely understand what was going on.
The second out of the four dances, Evaporated People again left me bewildered as to what was going on. With plastic bags littering the stage, I assumed it was about trying to save earth from plastic- yet I was very wrong.
The dance explored what it is like to have those you love go missing. A very slow and staccato piece, the movements were animalistic. Although I did not understand it, I found myself memorized by it- I could not take my eyes of dancer- Mary Sol Martin Del Castillo. The piece appeared to be centered around her and with her emotions and story telling through facial and body gestures, I seemed to connect and understand what she was trying to say through dance.
Half way through the production, I questioned myself if it really mattered if I did not understand what was going on. I would have my thoughts and compare them against the programme and I was totally off the mark. I like to think that art and dance can be whatever it wants to be and there is no wrong or right answer.
Twenty First Sensory was like a filtered version of the first piece, I really could not get into this one. There was no music and the dancers were prating around on stage, it looked like children were doing a physical representation of atoms or magnets or something like that.
It was very tiring and awkward to watch the dancers jump and bounce around. Imagine if dancers had no choreographer then I imagine that twenty first sensory would happen.
I had high hopes for the fourth and final piece Quite Cinematic, hoping that I would understand it. Sadly I didn’t. Though I did like it- picture the audition scene from chorus line and that is how the dancers looked, there was a disco ball and the sound of a film reel moving.
I enjoyed the physical representation from what we could hear, each sound was like something out a film and the dancers would move around the stage to show what was happening in each scene. It was very fluid and a great use of story telling, movement bouncing off music.
I really wish I could have understood it but sadly EDGE did not get me on the edge of my seat.
To find out more about EDGE click here
Gemma's Journey 