KAGE Presents –
for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Out of Earshot
Conceived and Directed by Kate Denborough
Created in collaboration with the cast.
Cast:
Anna Seymour
Elle Evangelista
Gerard Van Dyck
Myele Manzanza
Timothy Ohl
Designers:
Paul Jackson
Stephen Hawker
James Paul
At Chunky Move
11 Sturt Street –
Southbank
1 to 10 June 2017
– then off to Adelaide
The remarkable
aspect of this performance is that not all the dancers are hearing.
Out of Earshot brings its audience closer to an awareness of how
individuals experience sound and vibration and how it may and may not inform
movement.
We all have our
own unique rhythms - a kind of beat of your own internal drum. As a hearing person it is fascinating to
consider what a Deaf person actually hears or feels or sees with regard to
sound and rhythms/pulses.
In this dance
performance, that is part of The Melbourne Jazz Festival, sound is introduced
as body percussion played by Myele Manzanza on the dancers bodies. Eventually Manzanza moves to a featured drum
kit that he plays at intervals throughout.
The sound is both explosive and at times acutely sensitive.
Sound is echoed visually in a strip of illumination around the walls of
the performance space. In this way sound
cues are audial - literal sound and vibrations.
And cues are also visual - percussive instruments being played,
projected images of sound waves and other performers moving. All performers are positioned to respond to this
variety of stimuli.
Intrinsically Out of Earshot
appears to be about relating to others.
It is the non-verbal communication and the intimate dancing
relationships that really seem to be at the heart of what activates movement
and generates meaning in this work.
Dancers are
generally, uniquely completely visible - exposed through their presence in
front of an audience. Their integrity
and vulnerability allows them to speak genuinely and sincerely to us. I think this sense of openness is intensified
in with the inclusion of a Deaf dancer.
Anna Seymour who was born profoundly deaf works as an equal collaborator
– one of - a quartet of dancers.
Throughout there is an intensity of communication between performers
that is possibly a heightened awareness to the importance of visual cues.
Gerard Van Dyck
always beguiling to watch delights with his sense of humour, particularly
towards the end of the performance.
Timothy Ohl delivers some extraordinarily moves. I found myself gasping at a number of his
rolls. Elle Evangelista is enchanting to
observe.
As
creator/director Kate Denborough plays with perceptions of the embodiment of sound. And although Anna Seymour’s point of
difference is a pivotal aspect of the work there is no sense that she is
actually any different to any of the other dancers. In fact if one didn’t know she is Deaf one
would be none the wiser.
A very unique and
seminal ensemble piece that we are bound to be talking about for years to come.
Suzanne Sandow
(For Stage Whispers)
