The Details
What: Dry Spell, presented by Footnote New Zealand Dance
When: April 30 to May 18
Where: North Island tour
Details: footnote.org.nz/events
Reviewed by: CATE PRESTIDGE
It feels good to step back into the Clarence Street theatre after a break and there's anticipation in the crowd. We're here to see Dry Spell, a new creative work from Wellington-based Footnote NZ Dance company.
Devised by choreographer Rose Philpott, Dry Spell started pre-lockdown in 2020 as an original short work and has grown into her first full-length show.
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Advertise with NZME.Philpott explores the idea of a "dry spell" in both literal, and metaphorical form and in the contrasting themes of drought and plenty, heat and cooling, lack of and excess.
Performed by Footnote dance artists Oliver Carruthers, Emma Cosgrave, Veronica ChengEn Lyu, Levi Siaosi and Cecilia Wilcox, the work explores what it is to be human by "following five individuals through one night together".
Philpott is influenced by how the mind can play tricks on us and the mystery of what is real and what is fantastical. The choreography and music take the audience through some exhilarating scenes of inner monologue and fantasy as well as real, bodily collision and interaction as the night unfolds.
The dancers are not just supple material for the choreographer to manipulate, but an integral part of the development of the work. All five are extraordinary in their control and skill, and in the way they lead the audience through a range of individual scenes and configurations of character. You can't fail to be impressed by their physicality, character and artistry.
We are introduced to them in stages. Initially, a tentative figure (Siaosi) explores from the back of the stage, seeking the group. He finds them, seen only from below the knee, corralled behind a curtain under a striking pendant light. The slow reveal of the cast from movement of their feet, interplay of legs and then torso as the curtain rises slowly is the first of many clever uses of deep blue drapery on the stage.
The opening section was a real highlight, heaving with activity, and movements both large and small, independent and in unison. It was an energetic, exciting, pleasure-trip, punctuated by snappy small hand movements and rapid focus changes between the dancers.
A feature of the work was the use of dialogue, shouts, laughter and breath to enhance the narratives. I like the way Carruthers, leaping onto a stair, speaks directly to the audience, inviting them into the space inside his head
Sound was also effective at the end of an intense movement between Carruthers and Siaosi, when the music fades and breathing, evident in the emptiness, signals a mood change. Laughter from ChengEn Lyu and Cosgrave in different moments also showed a rising in excitement and dying away, which added to their characters.
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Advertise with NZME.The costumes, by Hannah Lee Jade, had thematic ties in colour and shapes, while expressing individuality. I enjoyed the way Wilcox was in turns, feminine and more androgynous in role, her physicality and versatility emphasised in her costume.
The sound design by Eden Mulholland uses modern beats, words and has melodic waves creating a soundscape which expresses the many moods and changes in the work.
The set design, also by Philpott, makes clever use of a sculptural and practical staircase, curtains and a pendant light, as well as dark spaces behind. This is supported by Lisa Maule's lighting design, which is effective in establishing mood and focus.
Dry Spell is an exciting work, and an impressive full-length debut from an innovative choreographer.
