Transposition

I dithered over which performance to attend for the evening. Flamenco virtuoso Israel Galván's 'Solo' would be mesmerizing. But I wanted to watch something done by Singapore dancers, and that would be 'Transposition', a showcase of a variety of choreography in 5 short dances fleshed out by young students from LASALLE. Do remember, while it isn't exactly a student production, you'd have to watch this with an open mind. Each guest choreographers only had 2 weeks with the students to go through the creative process for their respective pieces.

No.1 'Transposition' by Roberta Shaw is interesting, a mesh of human form within architectural spaces. The dance itself that was shown tonight wasn't impressive. But the film of the dance broken up in its various segments was a much better composition. No.2 'Vary 2' by Albert Tiong was a little mind-boggling. I could feel the 2 dancers making so much effort not to bump into the chairs or each other, almost mouthing the beats to follow the music till the idea of exploring momentum, weight dependency and counterbalance was lost. The concept is cool, but I feel that stronger lines and expressions are needed to showcase its philosophy.

No.3 'In the middle of It, at the Same Time' by Loretta Livingston could be shortened a little in order to be succinct. The 6 tiny chapters of sound samples (from Freesound.com) that made up the 6 segments of this dance were poignant, and it's up for debate if certain postures and moves aid your interpretation. My main beef is with No.4 Salve Regina by James Sutton. It was very painful to watch. It wasn't properly classical nor could I classify it as modern dance. Let's just say, if they were dancing a spell on Midsummer's Night, I'm not really sure if this spell would be potent. No.5 'White Light' by Elizabeth Lea is my personal favorite of the evening. It was finally, a unanimous agreement of movement among the dancers, lending coherence to the piece.

I attended this evening with no expectations......although I had hoped for a little bit more. Alot of effort, energy and heart had been put in to live up to the theme of 'Transposition'.  I'm going to be frank- the students need a lot more work on their technique, especially when I compare them to other dance schools/colleges, and if in a year or two, these students are to become professionals. Genuine, sincere expressions were shown on stage. However, it was a bit disconcerting to see a different interpretation on the various faces. The arms were very messy and totally distracting. Of course, there would clearly be one or two dancers who are much stronger than the rest. On a personal note, I dislike chairs to be used as props in a dance performance. Arrrrgh. I hate those chairs.