IPP2 showings

On Tuesday 6th March, my class and I spent part of the afternoon watching Dance and Theatre second years' perfoming their work in progress in different spaces around the university. The point was to see what sort of things we would be doing next year, and also to allow us reflect on our own practices.

The first performance we saw was 'The traces left behind' by Fiona Jackson, and was set in the Lanchester Gallery studio. As we came in, long pieces of paper with footprints on it, had been laid out on the floor for us to walk on and leave our own 'traces'.  There were also long pieces of paper along the wall with imprints made using mainly chalk and pastels. On one side of the room, Fiona was drawing on herself and moving along a long piece of paper, using herself like a paintbrush to make an imprint of herself.. Several pictures were hanging on string from the ceiling down the middle of the studio with pictures and writing.

It was interesting to watch Fiona draw as she moved. The only thing critical that i could comment upon, is whether she could have been a little more risky or experimental with her movement, and it seemed more like an art exhibition than a performance. However, her message of looking at the different ways we imprint ourselves definately came across.

The second performance was 'Stages' by Oana Rolanu, and was set in the ICE dance studio. We walked into a room with no light on, except for a small table lamp behing long pieces of material hanging from the ceiling in a short ling, creating some sort of wall. Oana is improvising with these, as well as other parge pieces of material on the floor. She intertwines herself amongst the materials, using them to scrub the floor, even creat the image of a pregnant woman and holding a child.

It felt weird being in the studi with no lights on, i would have felt quite enclosed and a bit uncomfortable. It was quite intimate though, having the audience being so close to the dancer and the setting. Oana performed with a great movement quality even though the whole thing was improvised. I could clearly see some of the images she was showing us, like the stages of a woman.

The third performance was 'Behind the mask' by Julia. It was situated in a downstairs corridor at the end of some stairs. The audience was asked to form two small clusters on either side side of Julia . She was kneeling on a sheet of plastic and cloth. There was a large mirror in one corner, a bucket of water with sponges in the opposite corner, and lots of make up items in front of her. She started by arranging them into a particular order, then started applying it to herself. At first it seems light, but then she keeps putting on layer after layer until she goes over the top.  Once she has finished, she pours water over her face and removes all her make up whilst displaying emotion.

The set up in the corridor was a nice idea, making the scene quite close and intimate, but the only problem with it was the audience one the one side could see properly because Julia spent most of her time facing the other way. I ejoyed watching the natural movement, it was as if we werent there and she was completely alone. I did question whether she needed to spend so much time putting on all that make up. I found that there was something quite sad about the way she put on and took off her makeup, like she had some deepemotion issue that she was trying to cover up.

The final performance was 'Fieldwork' by Joana Tischkau. It was performed in a smaller studio within Ellen Terry that i think is used more for theatre rather than dancing. We sat all around the studio, lining the walls. Joana comes in with lots of bags full of her possessions. After making a cellotape sqare on the floor and placing a book in it, she starts laing all her things in a particular way all over the floor. These things included stuff like clothes, records, shoes, bottles and a record player. Whilst changing her clothes, rearranging them into different order. She plays different records and moves to them to reflect different moods. She puts items in a line and names them in german saying everything out loud. Joana finished by going back to the book in the square and begins writing  in it.

My thought was 'Is she trying to show us the sort of person she is by showing usher possession and how she behaves with them?'. Continuously changing, continuously moving except a few pauses to think, this is what kept my attention her the whole time because i so keen to find out what Joana was going to do next. It was very experimental and unique.