On The Rocks

They’re young, they’re beautiful, and they are totally committed to the idea of narrative contemporary dance as envisioned by director Stephen Agisilaou. They are the dancers of Vertical Shadows.

Stephen’s latest work On The Rocks shows us how to think outside the square where dance is concerned. It’s about as far away from anything you will see at the Arts Centre as it could possibly be, and far more refreshing.

The programme opens with an eight minute Pas de Deux. First night nerves were apparent but didn’t mar the performances. Donna-Mae Watson has exquisite lines and an expressive angelic face, and the nerves were only apparent through a stiffness of shoulders and neck. There was some excellent partnering from young Adonis-like Geoffrey H Watson, whose nerves only showed through some hesitancy in the transition of some lifts. Nevertheless, the innovative set and the dancing were a great teaser for what was to come.

There’s a recurring theme in Agisilaou’s work – a philosophical storyline, rather than a conventional one. It’s all about belonging, whatever the cost, becoming who you are meant to be through the exploration of who you are now, and that includes sexual exploration. The sexual tension in the performance is palpable and every bead of sweat could be seen in the small performance space. There is a scene with a bottle of beer in On the Rocks which has to be one of the cleverest sexual metaphors I have ever seen in dance anywhere. Full of clever and innovative ideas, such as the opening with the dancers’ hands, the piece has an exquisite and tasteful musical score drawn from a variety of sources. How wonderful to hear Nina Simone’s Lilac Wine and Rod McKuen’s The Single Man which Nina makes The Single Woman. Lighting and sound were excellent throughout and the use of the chapel stained glass window as a backdrop to the “scrim” of bottles and debauchery, was a master stroke of metaphorical imagery.

And so to the Dancers:- With ages ranging from 18-25, there is a disparity in strength that’s evident in some of the unison choreography. Isolations are not uniform, nor are extensions, and again opening night nerves did lead to the occasional balance problem. But these are minor flaws (and only seen because I was in the second row!). As the younger dancers mature their body strength and muscle mass will increase, that’s inevitable.  Even so, every dancer had moments when they shone and made us hungry for more. It was a delight to see Jayden Hicks, who impressed me so much in “La Cage” recently: A strong dancer with great extension and a charismatic presence on stage. Joshua Austin was athletic and masculine and very impressive. He’s the kind of dancer your eyes are automatically drawn to when he is on stage – real presence like this is a gift.  But all honours to Jessica Mortlock, who engaged us emotionally in her journey and her struggle between “what do I want, and what do I need?” and who danced her bare feet off in some difficult choreography without ever once losing the truth of her character - Wonderfully expressive, and the stuff that good theatre, not “just” dance, is made of.

It’s interesting to note that this was one of THREE opening nights last night at Chapel off Chapel and my favourite venue was bursting at the seams. All of which proves theatre is alive and flourishing in Melbourne outside of the mainstream. Vertical Shadows only do two short seasons per year, so catch this if you possibly can. They are a young company not to be missed; a delight for the senses and the emotions.

Coral Drouyn

Photographer: Matt Denton MDMedia