by guest critic Lara Alier

“Dance, dance, dance, otherwise we are dead!”

Pina Bausch was the person who opened my heart to dance. And this seems to be the case for most of the performers on stage in Still We Dream…

The show begins with an active audience – there’s no time to recline busy minds on a chair, what with everyone at the same level as the performers. There are two different elements to the composition. The first half of the dance features four men, and in the other, a large ensemble of female performers.

From the beginning, you are swept away by the energy, the strength, precision and vulnerability of the male dancers. There are really exciting sequences of movement blending contemporary dance with hip-hop styles such as locking or krumping.

In the latter half, one of the dancers introduces us to a visually powerful troop of women. He calls them, as if it was a Haka. Their breathing feels like a volcano announcing it’s forthcoming eruption. The tension they create is unbelievable, yet what follows is intelligent ensemble choreography, but lacking dimension. Some of the dancers aren’t telling any story, just repeating movements while their gazes wonder slightly lost the space.

Sweet, short, with some exhilarating moments.

Still We Dream… runs through 25 February.

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