REVIEW | ‘Wisdom, beauty and charisma’ – Nina Levy

Traditionally dance is a young person’s game, partly because of its toll on the body, partly because there aren’t many performance opportunities for dancers over 40.

But there’s a beauty that’s present in a body that contains decades of performance and life experience.

So it was pleasing to see Co3 Contemporary Dance program Momentum Dance Perth – an independent ensemble for dancers over 45 – for its annual In.Residence program, which supports the development and presentation of new work.

It’s a big step for Momentum. Founded in 2016, the ensemble has self-funded its four previous shows.

Comprised of a mix of ex-professional and amateur dancers, Momentum has gradually attracted more dancers with professional experience. Add the time and resources afforded by the Co3 residency, and there’s extra polish to this fifth program, Momentum Unveiled.

And in comparison to past shows, all three works on the bill lean towards the abstract and athletic end of the contemporary dance spectrum.

The first, Sharing Space, takes as its starting point the gap between the way we imagine we’d like to start our day, and the way our day actually begins.

Choreographed by independent dance artist Storm Helmore, there’s a lightness to this work for 13 dancers, which opens against whimsical piano notes from The Vernon Spring. Overlapping solos, duets and trios echo early-morning sleepiness. Shoulders lift with a sigh. At the end of a deep stretch, fingers wiggle. Hands cover eyes adjusting to the rising sun.

It’s the final section of this work that’s my favourite, as the morning, perhaps, gets derailed.

Prompted by Felix Laband’s toy-town like mechanical beat, the ensemble is swept up by the momentum of a joyful hip-swinging phrase. A strange buzzing fractures the group into duets and trios, peppered with gestures like extravagantly curlicuing hands. It’s a buoyant performance.

The mood shifts to pensive in Wrinkles, created by dance artist and founding Momentum member Liz Cornish in response to the memory of her then four year old son describing the lines on her forehead as “a stave”.

Those lines are echoed by a series of crocheted ropes that form a giant stave across the back of the stage and by the strings of a harp, played live by Anthony Maydwell.

Beyond this, the theme of cherishing one’s “lines” described in the program is generally not explicitly played out by the 13 dancers but there is a sense, instead, of relishing the body’s capabilities, in numerous overlapping solos. All beautiful, there are several standouts – Virginia Norris for her expansive, elastic style; Fiona Hull for her glorious arabesque lines and spiralling hands, Hayley Schmidt for her fluid twisting and unravelling, and Andrew Hull for movement that magically morphs between puppet-like and putty-like.

Maydwell’s harp is haunting and moments of interplay with the dancers are especially rewarding. Emma Macmillan’s beautifully constructed open satin robes flow and flip with the dancers despite having no ties or buttons.

The final work on the program, independent dance artist Evgenia Plotkin Mikhailov’s Purple Patch, is the most physically dynamic. It’s also the most emotionally demanding of its cast of 11, delving into themes around finding peace, purpose and freedom.

All cast members rise to these challenges with aplomb. Of particular note is a soaring and elegant duet by Hayley Schmidt and Ronnie van den Burgh to Zoe Keating’s urgent cello. Fiona Hull, Virginia Norris and van den Burgh’s trio of overlapping and unfolding checks and balances is brief but beautiful. A scooping, slicing ensemble section featuring Hull, Norris, Schmidt, Caroline Stevenson and Catherine Antulov is also eye-catching.

One of the work’s most powerful moments, however, is its quietest, physically. As the words of Guy Burgs urge us to embrace simplicity, the dancers’ arms float upwards in their own airy embrace.

While each of the three works holds its own, as a whole the program doesn’t feel like it showcases the breadth of these dancers’ capabilities and life experiences – the movement style and dynamic isn’t overly varied.

But it’s a pleasure to see the wisdom, beauty and charisma of older dancers showcased by Co3 at the State Theatre. As Momentum’s chair Liz Chetkovich remarked after the show, this season feels like the start of a new era for the ensemble.

I look forward to seeing Momentum’s next step.