Laura Ganotis, Lucy Palmer Dance Company and 201 Dance Company
Resolution 2017
The Place, London
Laura Ganotis Revolution Opera
Lucy Palmer Dance Company How am I not myself?
201 Dance Company Skin
Three different perspectives of the human condition were put under the microscope in last night’s Resolution. The evening commenced with the societal desire for change and resolve in Laura Ganotis’s Revolution Opera. The trio of dancers performed a gratifying movement style, fusing sharp and smooth qualities whilst preserving an awareness of humanity. Moments of stillness punctuated the work and the dancers' strong presence kept things engaging, despite the lulls in action. Distinct indications of a regime were established from disciplined marching patterns but the ideas of revolt were not as powerfully formed, essentially missing a sense of angst and abandonment from order.
Lucy Palmer’s solo How am I not myself? managed to retain stronger purpose in its euphoric exploration of self. The work was performed by the captivating Harry Parr who executed a complex and curious movement vocabulary. This seemed to be unconsciously initiated within the depths of his torso, causing convulsions to ripple throughout the body. Although the piece presented a solitary performer there was a sustained sense that Parr was not alone. He continuously held a direct outward focus with a particular section of the auditorium creating the impression that his discovery of self was subject to an external validation.
201 Dance Company combined a powerful hybrid of contemporary and hip-hop with emotive storytelling to convey an intimate journey of gender transitioning. Skin progressed through a vast emotional range. From its aggressive beginning as Michaela Cisarikova desperately tried to shed her female identity, to tender moments of tranquillity as the young Sophia Sutton helped Cisarikova transform. The four remaining dancers embodied social constraints that forcefully oppressed this exploration of gender identity. It was disappointing that there was not more of the compelling choreography however, what it lacked in dance content it surely made up for with its courageous narrative.