Sydney Opera House
August 31 2012
As part of Spring Dance
By Renata Ogayar.
Clouds above Berlin was an 80 minute work comprised of two sections: Tilted Fawn and Black Project 1.
Tilted Fawn, choreographed by Melanie Lane, explored the relationship between objects, sound and the body. The dance piece utilised sound and visual props designed with orchestral audio equipment within cardboard like boxes. These constructed architectural formations as the isolated dancer navigated her way through the ever changing space. Though stripped back and raw from the usual dance scenario, Tilted Fawn drew you into an intense space of concentration and spheres of sound.
Black Project 1, created and conceptualised by Antony Hamilton, extended on from the above, yet on a very different, distinct and stylistic manner. The objective of the piece was to transform the space and the environment through physical movements and actions creating visuals objet d’art within the space. This was a masterpiece most certainly driven by the subconscious, steering away from common narrative approaches.
The two metallic like robotic figures featured in the piece moved with precise unison, accompanied with a mechanical sound track. As the music evolved with intensity the dancers progressed through the darkened space and restructured the blackened landscape with white spray paint, exposing white linear designs that completely converted the stage into a whole new world. The lighting design added to the atmosphere and transfixed the audience into a new time and place.
This strikingly apt concept of physics propelled the dancers’ energy into the ever-changing space, demonstrating the succession of actions and their effects on the environment.
To be able to witness what was captured and conceptualised in Hamilton’s mind and to see it executed on stage with all its detail and quantum elements was just incredible! He transformed a blank canvas into a masterpiece.
Photo by Jess Bialek.
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