Wayne McGregor I Random Dance @ Peak Performances – Lovely Bodies In Motion!

Dule in "Atomos"

It’s all about the way these bodies move and how effortlessly they embrace the movement in Wayne McGregor's Atomos at Peak Performances.  Loosely clumped, bare-legged and in full or cropped leotards, dangly arms, dagger-like legs and rubbery bodies shift in and out of vignettes on a misty stage to a sea of humming chords.  The succession of different groupings and dynamic dancing that follow are topped one after the other .  Ahhh, but this is what McGregor is known for.  This, like other works by McGregor, is an investigation.  This time around it’s about how bodies move and how they are similar to atoms, or not, in their ability to weave; to be unpredictable, malleable.  We are given 3D glasses and directed to use them only when the screens are present, in this way we “see” the different images emerging from small to large sizes, multiplying or changing colors as they come towards us.  The screens are lowered from the ceiling, and though it’s hard to see both the action on the stage and pay attention what’s featured on the screens all at once, when we get what we are to do, the juxtaposition is quite nice.  It seems unfair to single out one dancer, but in one of the few faster-paced moments when a bright bar of red light appears across the back wall and slowly travels up, Alvaro Dule is alone.  Like finely composed particles his torso slithers in a full circle, he rolls his shoulder in another circle, follows through with a leg far past his ear, still in mid-air, then balances.  arms splayed to the sides.  At different intervals, the others may throw a leg to their face and hold it, or pause for a moment to trace fingers up and down their waist with bent elbows. To finish, couples spin incessantly (men carrying women hung over their shoulders, legs extended), a trio remains, Daniela Neugebauer on the shoulder of Michael-John Harper, she continues to spin and James Pett circles around them until the curtain falls. The atoms/dancers and collaborative team are: Catarina Carvalho, Travis Clausen-Knight, Dule, Harper, Louis McMiller, Neugebauer, Anna Nowak, Pett, Fukiko Takase and Jessica Wright.  

Wayne McGregor I Random Dance runs until Sunday, March 23.  Find out more here

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