Protein Dance share their ‘Border Tales’
As the world gets smaller and smaller and
cultural identities begin to blur within each of us Protein treats us to a
sharp take on racial stereotyping in our current society. The performers’
various backgrounds and experiences, assumptions and prejudices hold the recipe
for a shrewd, witty, beautiful and thought-provoking feast of a piece that left
my senses satiated. It was everything I crave from a live work, with a side of
participation in the form of ‘landing cards’ or feedback forms which allowed
you to address your own part in the diverse web of cultures woven within the
quadrangle of space shared by the performers and their audience.
My appetite for both stunning dancing and
crystal-clear concept was fed by an assorted range of movement motifs and
spoken text including stories from the performers’ childhoods, theatrical
sketches and comic poetry formed of popular song lyrics, news stories and
take-away menus, all commenting on cultural difference and the human habit of
stereotyping. The prefix ‘I think you think’, a mantra repeated by the
performers as they proclaimed their assumptions of the audience’s
preconceptions of them based on their ethnicity, such as ‘I think you think I
only drink Guinness’ says the Irish dancer, illustrates the cyclical process of
conception between self and other.
It is said that you eat with your eyes and
the visual presentation of this work certainly does not leave you hungry. A
simple river of chalk divided the stage space until it was rubbed away by the
performers whilst the central welcome balloon used to depict a party, hosted by
the only British performer, became the poignant final image of the work as it
was left spinning in spotlight as the performers retreated. Theatrical scenes
such as the party provide a narrative that is interwoven with monologues of
physicality and thought from each performer whilst abstract group motifs cut
through it. For example, a diagonal line of all of the dancers performing
different stereotypical movements is born from an ‘international dance class’
scene.
The tear’n’share creative process of this
work is evident in the final performance as the musician becomes an integral
part of the on-stage performance as do the dancers live performance play a part
in the musical score. The addition of supporting dancers, possibly current
dance students, bring their own stories to the table and create a picnic of
inclusivity and development for the audience to indulge in.
Altogether a fqntastic sharing platter of
dance, music and diversity that gives your intellectual teeth something to
really bite into.
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