"‘Out of Context’ is situated in a mental space. It gradually became a trip down memory lane. A dive into the caverns of human existence in search of the roots of childhood and prehistory. Of something in-between man and animal, a kind of harmony that passes by (or precedes) the duality of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, me and you, individual and community”
Dramaturge, Out of Context: for Pina
The curtains opened onto a bare stage, containing only two microphones and a pile of red blankets. There was silence, a prolonged, uncomfortable silence, during which you wondered if someone had missed an entrance cue. Then, out of the audience, nine people emerged, walked onto the stage, stripped off to their underwear and wrapped themselves in the blankets. And thus started one of most mentally challenging, confusing, physical and unexpectedly humorous pieces of dance theatre I have seen.
Presented by Belgian modern dance company, Les Ballet C de la B for the Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF), Out of Context: for Pina is directed by Alain Platel, and aims to explore ‘the language of movement connected to the unconscious, the arbitrary, the uncontrolled’. This exploration covered a wide range of movement, from minute ‘spasms, convulsions [and] tics’, to the ‘whole repertoire of silly walks’. It started small with looks, head turning and sniffing, and progressed into tumbling, lifting and running.
There was a stripped back, or bare bones approach to the presentation. The soundtrack ranged from silence, to animals noises, disco beats, spoken lyrics, or monosyllabic grunts and sounds produced by the dancers themselves with the aid of the microphones. Coupled with the bare stage, and (mostly) bare bodies of the dancers, it enabled your focus to remain on the choreography, and its search for the essential and unconscious.
Overall, Out of Context: for Pina possessed a kind of Jekyll and Hyde duality. It alternated wildly between ‘small tics’ and ‘big swings’, group movement and individual solos, synchronicity and chaos, the primal and the cultured. And, unfortunately for the audience, between understanding and alienation.
At times, especially during the opening ten minutes, the stripped back, unconscious aesthetic of the show worked against it. In Platel’s explorations of ‘the tension between the wide range of uncontrolled movements and the traditional building blocks of choreography’, it seemed any preconceived notions of modern dance forms were stripped back as well. You had no point of reference for the movement taking place onstage, and thus no idea what was going on. As a consequence, you became alienated from the dancers, and couldn’t join them in, or understand, their explorations.
At other times though, you simply ‘got it'; a framework for the movement would appear and suddenly you were witness to a ‘daggy dancing’ style disco, the tentative courtship between a shy couple or children waking from a nap. There was humour and warmth, and your ability to partake in the experience of Out of the Context: for Pina became a lot more enjoyable.
This is not to take away from the dancers themselves, who were without exception, brilliant. The sheer physical skill, strength and artistry they displayed proved breathtaking. As co-creators with Platel, they were dedicated and fearless, giving their all to the performance. I particularly appreciated Rosalba Torres Guerrero and Ross McCormack, who showed excellent expressivity and humour when singled out in the choreography. When the company returned to the audience at the end of the show, they were embraced and their efforts greatly appreciated by the audience.
Inspired by and dedicated to influential German choreographer Pilippine ‘Pina’ Bausch, Platel and his company of dancers aimed to push the boundaries of modern dance theatre, and explore movement in its most essential, unconscious form. It teased and challenged you, giving you moments of understanding and recognition, then whisking them away again and leaving you lost in the chaos. Unfortunately, more often than not, I was too busy trying to make sense and meaning of the chaos to let go, tap into my own unconscious and really enjoy the primal, uncontained expression of universal humanity Out of Context: for Pina embodies.
2011 Perth International Arts Festival
Out of Context: for Pina
les ballets C de la B
Directed by Alain Platel
Venue: Heath Ledger Theatre, State Theatre Centre
Dates: Sat 19-Tue 22 Feb 2011
Duration: 1hr 25min no interval
Tickets: $65.50 - $45.50
Bookings: bocsticketing.com.au