This was published 7 years ago
SE7EN review: Limitless Dance Company season lacking despite its vigour
Choreography lacking expression, motivation or meaning.
By Jill Sykes
SE7EN
NIDA, May 12
★★★
The title of Limitless Dance Company's second season, SE7EN, is a reference to the "sinful entities inside all of us", according to a program note. To see it unravel over 90 energetic minutes, you really wouldn't guess that theme.
There is some grotesque face-pulling to start with and brief confrontations between three then two dancers later on, but no tension, angst or extreme behaviour. And then there is an extended sequence of simulated laughter – is laughing a sin?
The group's artistic director and choreographer, Mitchell Turnbull, devises grounded gymnastic movement that the dancers do very well. But his choreography is curiously without expression, lacking in motivation and meaning.
So all the vigorous floor work, waving arms, pratfalls, rippling torsos and angular limb geometry become mere visuals, despite Turnbull's crisp handling of the ensemble, often working with eight or 10 of his 11 dancers – nine girls and two boys.
At one point, I did wonder if the piece was powered by a subtle undercurrent of humour. What could be seen as an orgy – minus any sense of lust or even desire – suddenly reverberates with a sound like a giant fart and all the dancers disperse to a rushing sound like a toilet flushing. Judging by the ripple of laughter, others in the audience got the same idea.
Not long after, a standing, heaving huddle is interrupted by a noise like a large burp, leaving three girls clutching their stomachs. Punishment for the sin of gluttony perhaps?
My description of the audio might seem unlikely, but the accompanying soundscape by Paul Tinsley has some lively, mostly pop rhythms and a collection of found sounds like squeaky doors and a buzzing machine. So anything is possible.
Choreographer Turnbull has also designed the costumes. While the men sport bare chests and long pants, the women wear a neat combination of bra and briefs outlined by eye-catching reflective tape and covered by a pretty, long-sleeved lacy top. As the lighting changes, the costumes go from green to blue and back again, adding welcome variety.