Un Nioc de Paradise/A Slice of Paradise
by Compagnie Montalvo-Hervieu
at the Oxford Playhouse
Monday 8th April at 5 and 8pm.

This is a paradise of artists of many nationalities living and working in an easy coexistence, on and off stage. The Parisian based company comprises dancers from many countries, and judging from today's event they are at home on the road, and perform and communicate effortlessly in a foreign culture.

Their show celebrates commonality and diversity in dance, and the richness of a creative process that draws on different sub-cultures and heritages. Is there really so much difference between Vivaldi and Fat Boy Slim? Or Rameau and popular French music? Or hip-hop and contemporary and classical dance? Or the physicality of African dance and ballet? Worlds, of course - isn't there? But this group locate them in an overlapping world which refutes notions of high and low culture, and primitive and developed art forms whilst bringing a stunningly high standard of performance to all of these modes. They bring African moves to Vivaldi, and classical dance to (admittedly well-chosen) pop music, and in doing so, present distinct, clean-cut sounds and images which show no sign of disintegrating, or getting lost in any kind of multi-cultural no-man's land. These artists appear to know exactly who they are, the world they envision, how they experiment, and what it is they are trying to achieve, and demonstrates that perceived great cultural barriers are not really as significant as we might imagine or invent them to be.

Besides music and dance, the show incorporates three-dimensional choreography in film footage developed during rehearsals. The film takes in other areas of life - the rhythms of older people, the circus, and brings new technology to dance and the theatre. The performers interact with (their) images on screen and appear to move happily between the screen and the stage, between old and new. In an after-show talk the director explained how they developed this idea to counter a passive response to so much of the technology pervading our lives. I hadn't quite understood and didn't entirely go along with it, but the many children in the audience - always a sure test - responded well to the interactive media and its humorous possibilities. I was however taken by the artists' expressed desire to create new means and language to express their awe of a world in change, which made itself felt throughout this one-off spectacle, opening minds and raising spirits.

Stephanie Kitchen