Wayfinder

Wayfinder hails from Dancenorth Australia. This production successfully blurs the lines between movement, light, sound, sculpture and song and includes the audience as passive performers.

Directors/choreographers Amber Haines and Kyle Page have crafted a dance experience based on the ‘heart’ and have "allowed its wisdom to guide the process”.

With moody, atmospheric lighting by Niklas Pajanti, sound art & design by Byron J. Scullin, sound sculpture by Robert Larsen & Nicholas Roux, composition by Hiatus Kaiyote and visual design by Hiromi Tango,  the production is intriguing from the first glimpse of the Wayfinder carrying a mysterious white luminous ball.

There are multiple balls scattered throughout the audience. These balls are an integral part of the performance, lighting up in different colours illuminating the audience and providing a part of the soundscape.

The performers/choreographers, Marlo Benjamin, Sabine Crompton-Ward, Tiana Lung, Damian Meredith, Callum Mooney, Darci O’Rourke, Tara Jade Samaya, Felix Sampson & Michael Smith wear multicoloured costumes until the last section when they done rainbow ponchos for the final sequences.

The work together as an ensemble and in true synch with each other. I was particularly impressed by the section that had them all on their backs and slapping their arms on the stage in unison or patterns.

Their stage is inflatable, with the benefits of a rebounder. The dancers use it to bounce, crawl, writhe and jump for joy, often with smiles on their faces, unusual for modern dance where we are used to expressionless faces.

The other ‘performer’ in Wayfinder is multi-coloured salvaged wool. This is used as an extension of the dancers and is thrown in the air, used as a tower, and even an extension of one of the dancer’s heads. It also represents the energetic bonds that connect us all.

The use of fast flickering strobe lighting seems to give these lengths of wool a life of their own as they travel through the air propelled by the dancers.

As much as I enjoyed this collaboration of many minds, particularly the final sections with the ‘surfboard like’ inflatable giant piece of stage, some sections need tightening.

On a side note, the image used to publicise this production did not match the production values.

Wayfinder is a brave new direction in dance, and while it is captivating in many sections, its intent is not always clear.

Barry Hill OAM

Photographer: Amber Haines

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