Review - Dancing with Death

Asia Topa presents:

Dancing with Death

Pichet Klunchun Dance Company

Choreographer, Director and Set Designer – Pichet Klunchun

Lighting Designer – Asako Miura

Sound Designer – Hiroshi Iguchi

Costume Designer – Piyaporn Bhongse-tong

Dramaturg – Lim How Ngean

Dancers:

Pichet Kluchun

Porramet Maneerat

Padung Jumpan

Kornkarn Rungsawang

Julaluck Eakwattanapun

Pavida Watchirapanyaporn

Arts Centre – State Theatre

2-4 March 2017

Dancing with Death is rarified theatrical adventure and immersive journey through the medium of and extremely unique form of modern dance. 

Creator, Pichet Klunchun is a highly regarded Thai dancer and choreographer of international renown.  He first worked with traditional Thai dance and then went on to study in America and subsequently has participated in intercultural performing arts programs in Asia, North America and Europe.  This work has been commissioned through our Government’s funding of Asia TOPA’s commissioning program. 

It is not often that an audience is seated on a stage, behind the curtain.  But the State Theatre Stage is the perfect space for this unique piece.  The house lights are stage lights illuminating and, in a way, implicating the audience.

As we ascend to the stage - lively, cheeky, masked bird-like creatures greet us.  These revelers who are clad in fluorescent garb could have come from an Aztec tribe of antiquity.  As other worldly creatures they twirl and cavort like joyful mystics in a hypnotic trance.

Then one by one all six dancers, simply dressed in white day clothes, ritualistically enter the elevated stage space designed by choreographer Pichet Kluchun to represent a kind of limbo that souls go to.  This design is reminiscent of the infinity symbol.  From thence we get the chance to watch six superb dancers take on a weird demeanors usually in a focused disassociated way.  The first of these is created through the legs pushing forward, from the knees, away from the torso.   

There are many subtle choreographic surprises in each individual dancer’s opus, some murky moments and beautiful extensions that transcend.  At times much seems to be generated from the hands and arms - as one would expect from a Thai work.  But this is far from conventional and entrancing to watch.

The sound (Hiroshi Iguchi) is just marvelous.   In the early stages - to support the masked creatures it is of a fairly naturalistic earthy drumming.   However once the dancers rise to the more unearthly elevated space it morphs into white noise.  Gradually it changes several times and becomes more hypnotic and mysterious to the point of perhaps mimicking words.

The lighting by Asako Miura superbly endorses dancers contortions and maintains the otherworldly feel throughout.

With a desperately short season – getting there could require immediate action.

A unique treat.

Suzanne Sandow