[Profile of Sir Jon Trimmer published in November – track this down.]
Review: Tierra Flamenca at The Concert Chamber, Tempo 2008
Published in Theatreview, 18 October 2008
While the programme did not include the slower forms of flamenco, in their solos Alegrias de Somorrosto for Miro and Jere ‘Zelanda for Sweet, there were moments of respite, when the dancers would turn oh-so slowly with elegantly winding hands slowly raising from hips to above the head, or take up a stance which accentuated the arch of the spine, or pause a little before launching into the next barrage of sound and action.
Read the review
Review: Tent by Michael Parmenter and Commotion Company, Maidment Theatre, Tempo 2008.
Published in NZ Herald 15 Oct 2008
The dancing is fluid, with a shifting combination of dancers – solos become duets or trios or quartets; men and women mix and match, or remain separated by gender groupings. The sequencing is episodic, interleaving short, tightly choreographed and mostly unison sequences, movement-based rule games similar to those of American postmodern dance, longer passages of collaborative structured improvisation, sections where the dancers talk to each other inanely, and some wonderfully emblematic solos (Craig Bary, Sarah Foster, Christopher Tandy, Claire Lissaman) which are a joy to watch.
Read the review
Review: Tama Ma by Okareka Dance Company in The Concert Chamber, Auckland, Tempo 2008.
Published in NZ Herald 11 October 2008
Tama Ma presents a cyclic tale, starting in birth and ending at the gates of heaven. Autobiographical in nature, it revisits an array of the life experiences of the dancers, in the process acknowledging the significance of family members and spiritual and cultural practices in sustaining their personal and professional lives.
Read the review
Review: Prime Cuts, Tempo 2008
Published in NZ Herald 8 October 2008
Former New Zealand Ballet soloist Geordan Wilcox dances smoothly to the music of Sinead O’Connor’s Just Like You Said it Would Be, playing off the lyrics in key moments to give his choreographic debut just a hint of drama. He flows rhythmically through sequences of movement littered with spins, rolls and leaps punctuated by an insouciant signature double pirouette-into-a-fall which makes this dance very much his own. Read the review
Review: Touch Compass at The Maidment, Atamira Dance Company in Mapunapuna at TAPAC and The Story of Stuff by Backlit Productions at The Concert Chamber, opening week Tempo Dance Festival 2008.
Published in NZ Herald 4 October 2008
From the opening moments you know that Ava, the Spiderwoman, in her low-cut frilly red and white polka dot dress with her six dangling legs and her subtle webbing of light, is both queen of all she surveys, and very hungry. So when Argyle, an upside down, inside out, extremely agile and insouciant creature yearning for love comes within her reach, you just know it isn’t going to go well for him. Choreographed by Suzanne Cowan, with a carnivalesque score by Charlotte Rose, the dance becomes a saga of seduction (from his perspective) and parry and feint for domination (from hers), almost entirely achieved through extraordinarily responsive partnering. Tailor-made to exploit the capabilities of these performers, the dance draws sustained applause.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/theatre/news/article.cfm?c_id=343&objectid=10535639
allmyownwords 