DANCE DANCING DANCED – Josie Archer and Kosta Bogoievski
Auckland Fringe Festival
Thu 22 – Fri 23 February at 7pm
MOTAT 2 – Aviation Display Hall
By Raewyn Whyte
It is an exceptional pleasure to sit in the vast Aviation Display Hall at MOTAT at dusk watching Josie Archer and Kosta Bogoiveski in Dance Dancing Danced. Dwarfed by the gleaming fuselage of the restored Sunderland hanging above and the oversized bronze statue of Sir Keith Park behind them, they nevertheless seem larger than life and distinctly present. They move smoothly and sinuously through a richly detailed, intricate series of manoeuvres, dressed in mechanics overalls. The painted concrete floor gleams under their feet and reflects their bodies, doubling their presence.
Space is explored, distance and scale played with. Provocations become performances without pretension, yet there is no doubting their passion for movement, so clearly communicated. Their movements are crisply articulated, precisely delivered, never spectacular, always purely movement.
You can sense their bodies thinking.
The pace is mostly even, enlivened by sudden contrasts such as speeded up flailing arms or a slide across the floor. Jumps and spins and floor-based sequences are riven with paradox, with different parts of the body pulling or pushing in contrary directions, becoming contorted and strangely beautiful. Poetic utterances punctuate exchanges of alternating sequences, as we all share the experience of twilight in this space.
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NB a shorter, edited version appeared in NZ Herald, to fit the space. The commission was 200 words.
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