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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
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