Dancing in the dark
19 Apr 2011
The light brightens the bare wooden stage floor and plain black curtains. From the darkness two silhouettes appear of a man and woman. Dressed in simple black long-sleeve shirts and grey trousers, both face each other standing dead still. This scene continues until it becomes an uneasy itch. Without cue, the two engage in screaming. In silence. Slowly their mouths shut again and their hands become relaxed once more. A dance slowly develops with mechanical angular movements, with typical relationship gestures of that between a man and woman shining through. This is the show. There is no music, props, colours or script, no one else is coming, this is it. Nothing else. When the lights go out again a piece of flamenco follows with applause.
Gentle persuasion
This apparently unfinished pas de deux, Romance-S, is the ninth piece created by French-born Swiss dance duo Laurence Yadi and Nicolas Cantillon, who make up Cie 7273. Using the barest of necessities, Romance-S gently (I use gently cautiously) persuades the senses to enjoy just dance with no influence of music. There are hints of ballet and theatre, and this performance will no doubt enjoy an academic review.
From absurdity to humour
And therein lies its entertainment and value, by making you think. The thinking that happens in the intimate half an hour of this abstract dance piece ranges from absurdity to humour to a complimentary smile. It's unfinished because the dancers are continuously working on it. A question and answer does follow afterwards, in which Laurence and Nicolas offer their insights into the dance and its origins. Both find it amusing - very well aware of what they are doing - to know what their audience suppose of Romance-S.
Reaching for purity
Like all abstract art, this piece stands on shaky grounds with the layman, but the travelling duo are on to something. Dance, as in the practice, the movement and art, has become garish through tasteless movies and music during the last two decades. Romance-S is in many ways, perhaps, a tabula rasa, a method of finding dance again without place or certainty. In many ways it reaches for purity rather than novelty. It should be interesting to follow up, but I doubt it will catch on.
