Motionhouse Broken - Review

Motionhouse Dance Theatre - Broken
Outdoor performance on Salford Quays, 16.07.16 (presented by Quays Culture)

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of reviewing a free dance event for Salford Online. I was planning to go anyway and review it as I'm a Motionhouse fan, so it was great to get the VIP treatment!

The scene was set outside Media City; the large stage was waiting for the dancers to enter and a substantial crowd had gathered, eager to see this free performance. People of all ages were stood waiting in anticipation, (some had been clever enough to bring camping chairs) and for once the weather was on Salford’s side. Thanks to Quays Culture, the crowd were about to enjoy a thrilling multimedia ride into the shifting centre of the earth.

For the next hour or so, the crowd developed and people watched in awe as the epic scenes unfolded. Silence, which is unusual for large crowds, filled the atmosphere as we stood transfixed at the spectacle.

Motionhouse specialises in large scale outdoor performances, however Broken was devised as an indoor dance piece. Artistic Director Kevin Finnan had to adapt it for the outdoors, which included completely changing the first five minutes of the piece the day before, due to lighting issues. The original opening scene needed a complete blackout, which wasn’t possible at 9.30pm on Salford Quays. He also told me afterwards that he felt placing the show outdoors changed the feel of the performance altogether – the standing audience felt more connected to the performers and the themes, and the show grew in intensity as the skies grew darker.

The fluidity of movement and the exhilarating film backdrop created a mesmerising performance from start to finish. Athletic and poetic, the choreography was powerful and original, and enhanced by the creative scenes projected onto the stage. The audience was amazed by dancers hanging from bars, swinging around poles, dancing on stilts and falling from heights. 

The performers took us on a journey which represents our relationship to the earth, starting with the big bang which created our planet.  Other scenes took us deep underground, into the treetops and finally into a crumbling urban metropolis. The amazing ending scene was literally earth-shattering, as the dancers physically pushed themselves to the limits to survive the digital earthquake. 

Thanks to Salford Online and Quays Culture I was lucky enough to speak to the Artistic Director after the show and asked what had inspired him. It was easy to relate the scenes to his various stimuli – fossils and life underground, the Chilean miners’ accident and his travel experiences around the world.

I was amazed at the energy of the dancers, which truly brought the story to life. The powerful choreography was beautifully exerted, especially within the impressive duets throughout the piece. The piece is strikingly original; there is no other dance theatre company successfully integrating digital like Motionhouse. It was near perfect – the only improvements I’d suggest would be to do with the digital elements, which at times looked a bit unrealistic. The dancers can’t be faulted, but some of the choreography was a little bit cheesy or ‘obvious’ to the trained eye. However, this makes it more enjoyable and easier to follow for audience members new to dance theatre. This is certainly a show which can appeal to people of all ages and introduce new audience members to contemporary dance...and it was FREE!

Dance Review: What the Body Does Not Remember

13/3/15 - The Lowry, Salford

Fierce, visceral and relevant. If I had to describe this Ultima Vez revival in three words those would be my chosen ones, which is quite an achievement for a work which debuted 28 years ago. It is difficult to believe that this piece was made in 1987, before I was even born. The gripping choreography, the experimental and physical way of working with bodies must have been ground-breaking, as I still find it utterly compelling today.

Wim Vandekeybus is the ultimate movement experimenter, and to think that this piece was his first work – well it’s understandable why he’s had such a long and impressive career. Each scene slowly builds into a perfectly timed crescendo, with dancers hurling bricks, throwing themselves into one another and writhing around on the floor. Every action involves a huge risk, and every dancer executes each movement with a powerful intention. The intention in their bodies is real – it is not performed deliberately as part of their act, in fact none of What the BodyDoes Not Remember feels like a dance performance created to please the audience. The dancers’ intention is real, as if they don’t move exactly when they need to or exactly as rehearsed, they are likely to get hurt.

Aside from the dramatic and thrilling aspects of the performance, it is equally as enjoyable to notice the more stripped back side of Vandekeybus’ choreography. Subtle humour is included in most sections, and best of all the set didn’t include wings. Dancers strolled off stage, casually undressed and collected props at each side of the stage which are usually hidden from view – further establishing bodies purely as vehicles for movement, and breaking down the barriers of performance.

There are two duet sections which stand out for me – the first is primal, animalistic, aggressive and provocative. The final scene includes a number of duets with one dancer on the floor and one in a standing position, the standing body manipulating and intimidating the body on the floor in what seems like a million different ways. Bodies stomp and jump ferociously around their prey, as the audience is transfixed by every intense movement.

Personally I really enjoyed watching the female dancers in this piece. They are just as strong as the males, performing all the same movements, risking just as much and executing just as much power and control. Strong and fierce, I believed they could do anything on that stage.

For me, I’m not sure anyone has really pushed the boundaries of dance and physical theatre like Wim Vandekeybus. His first piece, nearly three decades on, holds more standing and is more impressive than anything I have seen recently. That includes Jasmin Vardimon’s Park, which I watched at The Lowry the week before. As much as I enjoyed it – I love her political and social messages which are entwined with powerful yet intricate choreography - overall the work seemed to lack coherency and structure, the meaning and intention getting lost in parts. With Ultima Vez each scene or section has a clear ending and a new beginning, and you are so captivated by what the bodies on stage are doing that it doesn’t really matter why. But of course, delve deeper, and you will always find a satisfying interpretation.

The revival of What the Body Does Not Remember is currently touring the UK – catch it while you can.