Tue 10 Feb: Danyna Mearns and Adam Havsky, Antonia Latz and Luke Maher, and Rebelo Dance Company

Danyna Mearns and Adam Havsky The Final Frontier

Antonia Latz and Luke Maher REM

Rebelo Dance Company MYSTIQUE

The Final Frontier opens with a series of fragmented memories between two individuals. I appreciate the concept of presenting various small stories, each memory concisely expressed through different disciplines. A strong, humorous tone runs throughout the work. The fragmented memory structure holds significant potential, though it could benefit from further development. However the examination of dying and death could be further articulated and embodied. It would be valuable to articulate more clearly how the chosen elements — movement vocabulary, circus techniques, and live music—specifically engage with the theme of death. What is the relationship between the physical language and the underlying concept? Why were these particular artistic choices made? At times, it seems that opportunities to expand or deepen the improvisational moments are overlooked.

Mystique presents the fortune teller as a guide in a dark and mysterious atmosphere. The lights attached to the dancers' wrists create a captivating visual effect that enhances this ambience; however, the transitions between the lights that the dancers hold could be further developed. The group formations and patterns often appear too similar, resulting in a somewhat blurred visual composition on stage. While the character of the fortune-teller is intended to embody sensuality and intrigue the audience with mystery, this aspect feels only partially realised. The dancers demonstrate strong technique and effectively convey struggle and intensity through their movements. With improved clarity in spatial composition, props and character development, the piece could more fully capture the vision outlined in the program.

REM is a vibrant solo performance accompanied by live music, characterised by clear and effective dramaturgy. The piece compellingly explores how trauma manifests within and through the body, revealing psychological experiences through physical expression. The movement vocabulary is precise and varied, encompassing hand and foot gestures, body alignment, shaking, and self-touch—each element contributing meaningfully to the embodiment of trauma. The body becomes a visible site where these ideas are transformed. The expression of breathing motion is particularly articulated through various body parts; its audible presence deepens the work's intimacy. Subtle articulations of the hands, back, and breath create a strong sense of internal processing made external. The choice of costumes enhances the thematic elements, while the live music intensifies the emotional impact, resulting in moments that are both uplifting and profoundly moving. Overall, REM presents a sensitive and cohesive exploration of trauma through the body, showcasing strong interdisciplinary collaboration.

Ophey Nasira

Antonia Latz’s self-possession is something to behold. In REM she presents a body disassembled, using fragmented shapes that speak of resistance and surrender. Her legs coiled and torso torqued, she unfurls from a foetal crouch only to find her limbs retracting instinctively. An open-backed leotard shores up the sense of distortion, exposing a broad slice of flesh that takes on all sorts of creaturely visages when the dancer faces upstage, arms clasped to her core. There’s a hint of mime to her meticulous contortions – outstretched fingers, pigeon-toed stance – and an animal vulnerability too, especially when she tucks her head to the side, like a wolf baring its neck. Latz is joined by Luke Maher and Dom Ingham, who play Maher’s bespoke composition live on stage – a soulful eddy of strings and keys. Latz’s outstretched, front-facing denouement is as delicately conceived as the bowed phrases that precede it, with striking use of line and posture.

In Final Frontier, Danyna Mearns and Adam Havsky are in limbo, and so are we. Are they friends, lovers, siblings? Does their destination await, or are they already there? The piece leaves these questions dangling, meaning we drift along with the dancers as they roam a netherworld that never quite asserts its purpose. We start out with boilersuits and pounding bass; later it’s accordion tunes and clownish whimsy before velvet, sequins and a melancholy violin come into play. Snatches of circus are bright spots in this hinterland, especially a lithe, ribboning turn from Mearns on the aerial ropes.

The high-octane ripples of Mystique, from Rebelo Dance Company, throttle in like a hot-rod. Eight women encircle a fortune teller whose predictions are biblically unpleasant – think plagues and convulsions. Snaking torsos and curlicue arms match the undulating music, with formations synced to its upbeats. There’s a flashy commercial edge to all the body-pumping and hair-tossing that feels more in step with a music video than the contemporary stage. The drama’s at its best in the later scenes, when it casts entertainment aside and goes for something more guttural.

Sara Veale

The Final Frontier is hardly a conventional contemporary dance work. The two choreographers integrated a lot of techniques into the piece, including juggling and highly technical partner lifts. What stands out most is the wonderfully humorous dynamic between the two performers: the female dancer shows some breathtaking movements on two ropes suspended above the stage while the male dancer plays the violin in a clumsily endearing manner. Although the program described the work as an exploration of the experience of death, I felt none of its weight or anything uncanny. On the contrary, the piece was filled with light, playful humour.

Mystique by Rebelo Dance Company is full of feminine strength and mystery. The piece opens with scattered blue lights in the dark, coming from tiny lights on the dancers’ wrists. Together with the crystal ball held by the lead dancer, these elements create a mysterious vibe. As the dancers suddenly move in a convulsive way, the tension on stage gradually builds. They leap into the air and fall directly to the floor, repeating these weighty, powerful movements continually. I felt the strong energy from the female bodies, and it was deeply exhilarating.

REM is a creative and surprising work. Antonia Latz dances with her back to the audience for more than half the performance. Her costume looks like a simple black bodysuit, but it exposes her whole back from neck to waist. As she dances with her back to the audience, her back muscles shift and unfold, accompanied by her arm movements, creating a unique visual effect — something like a human, but not quite human. The live music for piano and violin blends the softness of deep sleep with the otherworldly quality of dreams, leaving me calm and drawn in. Just like REM sleep, this piece left me in a state between dreaming and waking, wonderfully unreal and deeply memorable.

Zhenzhen Yan