Her spine rises and falls though space as air fills and shrinks her lung cavities. With each breath a little more pushes its way in and out until her frame becomes a big flesh colour balloon threatening to pop. This huge action in and out creates a current running up and down her spine, and eventually these warm, focussed breaths take over her entire being. The space around her feels full with her slow luxurious movements until they are intercepted with sharp and unforgiving interludes of reaction against this. Body parts partner as phrases build up and fall away, repeat and dissolve. Her body looks in constant opposition with itself as her relationship with the space takes on a new framework. Buried into the stark white corner, wall supporting her, it is impossible to tell if she is trying to fit into it or if the space is pushing her there.
A 30-minute long solo performance choreographed and performed by Chimene Steele- Prior, In Formation II is a dance work that ebbs and flows like the soundscape that accompanies it. Steele- Prior is a master of her body controlling every muscle and breath in the most unlikeliest of positions. Her ability to create such interesting and amazing shapes is however undermined by a lack of overall context for the piece. The program states that the piece is about progress, which is physically explored through the building and deconstructing of movement combinations and improvisational tasks, but these exercises don’t hold together for a cohesive meaning for the entire piece. Steele- Prior has developed an amazingly beautiful movement vocabulary but the message she is trying to write with it is lost. This work is aesthetically pleasing and buzzes with an intensity that could so easily be overwhelming and encapsulating but alas the questions do hang at the end of this 30-minute work.
Can poignancy be achieved without context? Can movement be evocative without reference?
In Formation II runs from 19th- 26th September 2014 at The Fringe Hub Warehouse.
Click here for more information about the show and to purchase tickets.
