Thu 23 Jan: Athena Choi-Ha Leung, Lucy Turner and Maria Garcia
News Story
Last night’s triple bill featured diverse vibrantly explored themes—from Michaelangelo’s The Creation of Adam to Confucianism to Girls Just Want To Have Fun and Endometriosis.
Athena Choi-Ha Leung’s Barbie’s World begins with three women under spotlights, each in a girlish costume—the playful pink aesthetic evoking Blondie or Cindy Lauper, but Asian. The piece is about the female role in East Asian societies. The dancers’ undeniable strength and precision shine in Leung’s choreography, which merges Chinese opera, hip-hop, and ballet. From astonishing acrobatics to playing Rock Paper Scissors with the audience, the show juxtaposes doll-like smiles and obedient femininity with kung fu and robotic movements, critiquing societal expectations. Eclectic music and the lighting design transcend Asian boundaries, making this playful yet profound performance a vibrant journey into the complexities of womanhood. Leung’sBarbie’s World is a must-see cultural celebration.
Taking Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic drawing as an inspiration, Vitruvian Man by Lucy Turner and Sonny Cwynarski highlights art and geometry. The start of the show is promising, with the dance duo entering on stage, resembling Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The costumes evoke The Kiss by Klimt. Cwynarski’s breakdancing and cartwheels are also impressive. However, excessive visual art references and a mysterious flashlight sitting centre stage, distract and overshadow the detailed hand choreography. The music engages but the show still feels dragged out.
Bees and Beasts and the Horrish FishTales by Maria Garcia, performed with Ruby Antonowicz-Behnan, is a somatic experience—more physical theatre than traditional dance. Trigger warning: the story effectively engages with endometriosis, but if you are into tragicomedy style stories, Bees and Beasts and the Horrish FishTales is laugh-out-loud funny and eerily gripping in the best way.
To sum up, a very entertaining night.
- Sumi Xiaomei Cheng
Lucy Turner's Vitruvian Man (co-choreographed by Sonny Cwynarski) is presented as an exploration of human proportions and fine art's often idealistic interpretation. The title is derived from da Vinci's famous drawing of a classical figure trapped within a square and circle. Danced by them both, in reality, it encompassed a much broader range of movement, but frequently returned to the dancers closely examining their individual fingers and arms. And sadly, after a while, that becomes tedious rather than absorbing. But occasionally Cwynarski would let rip in some fabulous cartwheels and spins, and I wanted more of that excellence. I also appreciated a section where they cast gorgeous shadows on the back wall, if the flapping costumes were not always supportive of the movements' inherent clarity. A work of highs and lows.
By some margin, the best and sharpest dancing of the evening came from Yochen Chiu, Christina Lai and Ying Yen Wang in Athena Choi-Ha Leung's Barbie's World. It offers a private glimpse into East Asian girls and teenagers simply hanging out and having a good time without boys/Ken. To often catchy pop music, the ever-smiling dancers frequently partner with one another and knot their limbs in clever ways, as well as shimmying and freely noodling. Some notable experiments with high heels are both amusing and, like everything in Barbie, highly choreographed with precision timing that delivers an apparently casual and carefree atmosphere. Good costumes from Siyu Wan differentiated the dancers' personalities — it's a make-believe yet real world. However, there was also a voyeuristic aspect, like seeing Jane Fonda in Barbarella. A thoughtful, clever and ultimately highly professional work. Bravo.
I'm not at all sure what to make of Maria Garcia's Bees and Beasts and the Horrish FishTales, an absurd and surreal tragicomedy about "pain, pollination, and captivity." Performed by Garcia and Ruby Antonowicz-Behnan, it had an ad hoc feel, despite featuring prepared monologues about fish, bees and the female reproductive system, all played out in front of a professional video of Garcia unconsciously floating in the sea. Occasionally funny, it was a work that bewildered and flummoxed rather than providing illumination or full entertainment. It may have been a telling perspective on what it's like to have endometriosis or female reproductive problems, but if so, its billing really needs to be less opaque. Count me "confused of Euston."
- Bruce Marriott