“We enter a little old warehouse in the back streets of Marrickville and are ushered into a cavernous industrial space…This is what makes indie performance so exciting”
“It was this focus and continuation of momentum from the opening moments to the final escape that made Dislocation so engaging.
– Lynden Jones
We enter a little old warehouse in the back streets of Marrickville and are ushered into a cavernous industrial space. There are a collection of random chairs and old lounges at one end facing the space, bodies lying in shadows and a central figure prone on the ground with torches illuminating her as they also lie prostrate. This is what makes indie performance so exciting.
Dislocation is the latest production from the Wild Hearts Youth Dance Company, a company for contemporary dancers aged 8-18. Eleven children awaken in an unfamiliar environment. They discover, explore, plan, collaborate and (sorry for the spoiler) and escape over the ensuing 40-50 minutes. Angela Hamilton’s choreography (assisted by Charlotte Twitchell with Billy Keohavong as contributing artist) is tight, energetic and engaging. We were transported to this unknown environment and were taken along with the journey of these young performers. At times the vulnerability of the children and the precariousness of their predicament was strong and unsettling, at others there was a strength and resilience. At times a sense of loneliness and isolation at others, a sense of unity. Some bold choices in the choreography at times really drove home some of these emotions, small torches held in the girls mouths as they moved, bodies thrown one way and then another were two moments that stood out to me as a little confronting. Was there someone else there? Where they being physically thrown around/intimidated? You were never quite sure, probably not but they were certainly being emotionally thrown about. All this swirled around the room throughout the night. If anything the act of trying to find an exit may have gone on a little long but the creativity and precision of the movement held us through the entire production.
This is a young company, both the dance company and the performers. I am not sure what the age range of the performers on the night were but they were close to the 8-18 demographic of the company and that is what made this most impressive. The creative teams choreography was not easy. After a slow awakening, the production ramped up and did not relent. Choreography shifted from small pockets of performers working together around the space, to individual solo moments to en-masse movements. Each flowing cleanly into the next piece, never easing up. Despite the youthfulness of the performers, very rarely were any of the performers not fully focussed and committed to the physical movement and also the motivation of the moment. Those moments where a focus was not razor sharp were only flickers and were washed away in the next movement. It was this focus and continuation of momentum from the opening moments to the final escape that made Dislocation so engaging.
Looking forward to more work from this company and these performers.
Lynden Jones, Theatre Now
Photo Credit : Josh Groom
