Review - Henri Oguike Dance Company
Date Reviewed: 27th February, 2009
Venue: Contact Theatre
Founded in 1999, the internationally acclaimed Henri Oguike Dance Company marks its 10th anniversary with a retrospective programme. Since the Company’s inception, Nigerian-Welsh Oguike has worked at a frantic pace - creating two new works a year, as well as 35 independent commissions. This touring show includes 3 pieces plus the short film Falling; a brief duet – inspired by a NASA spacewalk – featuring two dancers floating above the rim of the earth. ‘We are dust, precious dust’, implores the voice over.
Oguike has been dubbed one of the most musical choreographers of his generation, and his eclectic instinct find expression in all the pieces here. Front Line – first produced in 2002 – features the third movement of Shostakovich’s 9th Quartet, performed live by the excellent Pavao Quartet. The music’s harsh tones are mirrored by the staccato movements of the dancers. Physical contact between male and female is offered and rejected, creating a sense of dysfunctional attachment. A lighting change throws twisted shadows onto a screen at the rear of the stage, producing a near nightmarish effect. Front Line closes with another: a single jarring note, a stage in semi darkness and a line of 6 dancers, arms outstretched, their hands eerily illuminated. It’s an image worthy of a modern Spanish horror film.
White Space is the light after the soul’s dark night. Set to the joyful baroque music of 18th century composer Domenico Scarlatti, the company prowls the stage like a pack of regency peacocks. Extravagant gestures abide. It’s a game of royal courtship that slowly becomes more ornamental and absurd. A projection of a geometric Mondrian painting punctuates the movement; a visually arresting touch if ultimately a rather distracting one.
Closing section Finale is set to the lively Latin rhythms of contemporary French composer Rene Aubry. Warm orange lighting ably conveys the shift in mood. The overall sense is of celebration; a carnival atmosphere wherein everyone puts their troubles aside to join in the dance of life. Significantly, the company all link hands, working as a single unit. It’s the most purely entertaining part of the evening. The fact the dancers are smiling so widely is an extra treat; it made me want to get up and join them. Why not? Tomorrow I could be dust.
-Steve Timms