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RICOCHET ACTION
Geoff Gibbs Theatre
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Perth, June

Featuring new works by Alexandra Harrison and Ross McCormack, "Ricochet Action" was the first season for the latest crop of LINKers, postgraduate dance students who will spend one year with this Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts-based company.

This double bill revealed that the 2011 group is an engaging one but only hinted at the their technical capabilities. Featuring plenty of pedestrian and repetitive movement, both pieces were demanding artistically and the dancers rose to the challenge with maturity and verve. Neither piece, however, gave the audience a chance to see the dancers really "move" as a group.

Harrison's The Project in the Field evades easy definition. The work is described as "a collection of accidents, experiments and impressions”, and teeters on the edge of that fine line between artistry and self-indulgence. Fortunately, there are a number of lovely moments in this work that pull it back from the brink.  

A section that sees all nine dancers perform a phrase of undulating torsos and pendulum-like arms is mesmerising. Performed in silence, the circular movements of the dancers' arms rotating in unison has a hypnotic effect. The final section of the work is similarly captivating. This time the dancers are performing variations on a theme that sees their arms floating aloft as though they are describing an invisible shape in space to ambient electric guitar sounds. A stand-out performer here was Tarryn Runkel -- definitely one to watch. Also noteworthy was Jeanine Lui, whose solo of balances and falls was performed with grace and assurance.

I said Ha Ha, McCormack's offering, is inspired by the childhood behaviour, and if this sounds light-hearted then be warned -- there's a disturbing darkness to this work.  Perhaps it is the way the music, which features excerpts from songs by the Velvet Underground, has been mixed so that the sounds slide together menacingly. Perhaps it is the determinedly happy faces that pop up throughout the work. Definitely the character in a bear suit who ends up in a crumpled heap at the end is a factor. 

As with Harrison's piece, this work runs the risk of being too self-involved for some, and again, the sections that are more physical are the highlights. A solo near the start, performed expertly by pocket rocket Bernadette Lewis, is fast and furious, twitching and turning at a speed that is exciting to watch. An ensemble of four on the floor, rolling and flipping, is also an attention-grabber. 

Both works on the double bill are challenging in the sense that they do not rely on feats of athleticism to grab attention and the young dancers are to be commended for their stage presences which held the audience on the night viewed. Given that this is the first public season for 2011, however, it would have been nice to see a little more of the dancers' physical capabilities.

-- NINA LEVY

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