Universal Hall, Findhorn, 13 April 2012

BODYSURF Scotland’s second programme in this series of inspiringly different dance opens with a darkened stage, a nested line of white plastic coffee cups, and a prone body on the floor.

Rosalind Masson

ALMOST imperceptibly a soundscape becomes audible and the body (dancer/choreographer Rosalind Masson) begins to move, apparently randomly, before lapsing into stillness, again and again. Masson has the enviable ability to make each move look as though it happens organically, involuntarily, without a hint of anticipation of the next. Somehow the progression from her sporadic waking up to chaotic (in the mathematical sense) whirling movements succeeds in conveying the underlying feeling of climate change heralded in the title, The Oceans are Drowning. As the lights dim, the white coffee cups, now scattered, glow enigmatically …. It’s both an effective and a beautiful meld of science and dance.

The second work is a solo improvisation by Dutch performer Benno Voorham, who’s been based in Stockholm since 1995 and brings with him that rich European traditional mix of mime, clowning, and physical dance/theatre which we rarely see in Scotland. His humour is refreshing and irresistible, particularly his marvellously economical seal – a seal in red tartan pyjama bottoms. How often, apart from the pantomime-ish Ugly Sisters in Cinderella, does dance make you laugh out loud? Like Ballet Boyz last month at Eden Court, Voorham’s work also makes the case that the male dancer, and here the older male dancer, is worthy of our attention as more than an accessory.

Seke Chimutengwende

Seke Chimutengwende performs another solo improvisation, another extraordinary mix of genres, this time dance, poetry and standup. Imagine, if you can, the anger of a young Billy Connolly, the surrealism of Bill Bailey and the eloquence of John Cooper Clarke, with a generous dollop of existential philosophy and environmentalism. Astringent, refreshing, and a fitting closer to a programme which successfully questions and enlarges our understanding of dance.

Bodysurf Scotland return to Universal Hall with My Skin Is Still Singing on 18 May 2012.

© Jennie Macfie, 2012

Links

• Bodysurf Scotland
• Universal Hall
• Jennie Macfie