Dance Nation

Dance Nation is a terrific show that is riddled with spontaneous full-bellied laughs.  Nine consummate actors work as an ensemble to unleash their inner pubescent selves, to play the mostly girls of a small town dance school, striving to shine and win an ever more prestigious series of interstate dance competitions. 

The story is centered on this provincial school that is run by an obsessive compulsive and rather foolish male Dance Teacher Pat, who is played with levity by Brett Cousins.  He is harmless on a sexual level but not particularly perceptive or insightful and therefore less then emotionally supportive for the girls.  Dangerously, he winds his charges up into a frenzy of ambition to be idolized as fetishized stars.

As audience we are caught up in the adolescents’ exuberance, passion, neurosis, vulnerabilities, competitive impulses and disappointments.

All actors capture moments of glistening essence, of that strange twisted period in life that is a weird, sometimes progressive and sometimes recessive, bridge between being a child and an adult.   And these performers actually are adults - so in amongst it all there are moments when the conceit slips out from under them - and they don’t really seem to be kids at all.  This beggars the question of how formative the years between 11 and 14 really are, and, what permanent behavioral patterns do they propagate, in some, or all of us.

There is the most delightful scene of burgeoning love between the one token boy, Luke (Casey Filips) and Zuzu (Zoe Boesen).  Fortunately this vignette is written in such a way as to be a gentle letdown for Luke, who is completely and helplessly besotted by the feisty capable dreamer Zuzu.

Shayne Frances plays a very pushy ‘Dance Mom’ most convincingly.   All cast shine and each doubtless engenders favoritism from factions of the audience.

Director Maude Davies has a lovely warm light touch.  There is so much joy in the strangeness of the various and changing realities of the developing characters.  One gets the feeling that Ms. Davey keeps her actors comfortable by promoting having fun and not taking themselves too seriously.  Which is a bonus for the audience.  It is always great to watch performers who really seem to enjoy the wackiness of what they are doing.  The evening transpires smoothly and joyfully.

Sound by Peter Farnan is at times unexpectedly fashioned and choreography by Holly Durant skillfully and smoothly integrated.  Set and costumes (Adrienne Chisholm) have a sense of transience about them.  There is the tacky shiny brightly lit dance studio with a mysterious curtain and even a hint of the Greek Chorus in the costuming.

It is a long time since I remember feeling so relaxed and charmed in a theatre audience.  After the initial, marvelously inspired, upside down tap dance I was straight away plummeted into something so strangely, cloyingly familiar – remembering the intimacy of teenage friendships and the awkwardness or being a kid.   And l loved being in a position to laugh at the craziness of it all. 

Suzanne Sandow

Photographer: Teresa Noble

Credits:

Set & Costume Design – Adrienne Chisholm

Lighting Design – Clare Springett

Sound Design & Composition – Peter Farnan

Assistant Director – Angelica Clunes

Choreography – Holly Durant

Cast:

Brett Cousins – Dance Teacher Pat

Caroline Lee – Ashlee

Zoe Boesen – Zuzu

Casey Filips – Luke

Shayne Frances – Vanessa/The Moms

Hannah Fredericksen – Sofia

Natalie Gamsu – Maeve

Tariro Mavondo – Amina

Georgina Naidu - Connie