I Liked it.... But | Joel Bray
The last time I saw a work Joel Bray’s it was 2019 and I licked icing sugar off his arm. A whole pandemic later and I find myself at a trivia night hosted by a man who I have licked in the name of performance art. A trivia night which is designed to make fun of the type of work that leaves two people bound forever by a single lick. Of course, there was no licking this time around, but Bray managed to make I Liked It… But memorable in other ways.
The format of the night aligned with what one would expect from a pub trivia night – casual vibes, live music, friends drinking and laughing together – the theme of the night’s trivia was a little less usual. Contemporary dance. Luckily, I ran into some friends, so I wasn’t competing alone. Spoiler alert: we did not win. However, it was reassuring to have multiple tipsy minds working together rather than just one.
The first round was a run-of-the-mill pop quiz style series of question all of which pertained to the history of contemporary dance. The second was a game of ‘dance-tionary’ which is like Pictionary, but the clues must be given via contemporary dance. This led to some delightfully awkward, giggle inducing, and deeply memorable audience participation, something I’m sure most would agree is a staple of pub trivia.
The work did feel a little self-congratulatory on Bray’s part from time to time, but this was very well balanced against the ‘tongue firmly in cheek’ tone of the night. As someone with contemporary dance training I found the jokes made at the form’s expense accurate and hilarious. However, I’m not sure how they would come across to someone who knows little to none about the form.
Bray himself seems very sweet and personable. He has a charm to him, but I would not necessarily recommend he go into trivia hosting full-time. The choreography he performed throughout was the highlight of his performance here. The musician onstage with him was phenomenal and I will be looking her music up online. All in all, I Liked It… But makes for a fun night out with friends where you can also learn a little something about dance history and the inner workings of a leading Australian dance artist’s creative process.
