Red | Dancenorth
[Air is slowing emptying from a large transparent inflatable structure, ultimately sealing its inhabitants in preserved isolation.]
We all made jokes at the expense of redheads in school. It wasn’t okay but most of us did it. I remember quite distinctly numerous redheads being informed of the fact ‘their kind’ (gross, I know) would go extinct one day. Obviously, primary schoolers do not necessarily have a firm grasp of recessive genetics, but the threat of extinction was torment enough without an additional science lesson. Dancenorth Australia, regional Queensland’s pioneering dance company, uses RED to re-weaponize this bias and highlight the diminishing biodiversity of our planet to deeply disturbing effect.
This image + cover image: Amber Haines
The voyeuristic tone was set from the moment I entered the warehouse. A separate audience bank on the opposite side of the bubble along with the bubble itself were constantly there to remind me I was watching. That I was invading the privacy of the individuals contained within. What could have been read as an invasive observation of an endangered species’ mating dance very quickly became an allegory for the final members of a species scrambling to preserve their world as it collapses around them. Their ultimate failure a grave reminder of just how little time we have left to save our environment from climate catastrophe.
The vocabulary of the choreography started feeling free and exploratory but when similar steps were performed towards the end of the work, they became desperate and deeply sad. A resource (in this case space) that had been taken for granted was suddenly scarce. Something that can be directly correlated to the effect of human greed on the resources of the wildlife who live in the places they are taken from. The final image of the work is two groups of bystanders (the audience) staring at each other over the top of the deflated bubble and the performers – still inside – stripped bare both literally and figuratively. The nudity of the dancers giving an ‘Adam and Eve at the end of the world’ vibe to the final portion of the piece. They run out of space and so they must stop dancing just as so many species run out of liveable habitat, clean water, and food which leaves them with no choice but to wait for extinction.
This image: Amber Haines
The apparent lack of redheads in the audience I attended with added to this effect greatly. It truly felt as if these were the last two redheaded people in the entire world. Marlo Benjamin and Nelson Earl (who, yes, both have gorgeous hair) were paragons of strength, endurance, technique, and musicality. Their performances were captivating, visceral, and wildly impressive. The bubble becomes akin to a third dancer as it deflates. It’s movement in response to being interacted with was almost as transfixing as the performers themselves. The soundscape is droning and ominous with enough accents to allow for variation in the choreography without being distracting. All-in-all the production was deeply synergised and allowed for the dancers (bubble included) and the deeper message of the work to speak for themselves. Truly outstanding work from all involved.
On a personal note, being originally from Mackay it was wonderful to be able to experience the excellence I know the North Queensland arts community has to offer in such a reputable forum. It gives me hope for the future of regional arts industries.
