Michaelis Theatre
University of Roehampton
Sunday 3rd May 2015
Hannah Spain’s Shift. And now
I’m smaller is a clever exploration of space and mass on stage. Set to Ultraista’s
Gold Dayz (Maribou State Remix), the
work is both hypnotic and relentless.
Spilling and melting into the space, Hannah Spain’s dancers
already seem to embody the hypnotic music from the outset. Forming a long,
tight line that seems to loosely resemble some kind of tentacle-encrusted
insect, the dancers swing their arms and whirl their heads. Already, Spain is
playing with the varying ways that space can be used and understood by both
dancer and spectator.
Interestingly, Spain opts to emphasise the shadows of her
dancers on the cyclorama, which adds another dimension to her choreography. The
dancers exit to leave soloist Chelsea Croft to perform a short phrase of
grounded turns, back bends and sustained suspensions. Yet, her two shadows,
slipping and pushing across the cyclorama behind her, create the feeling that
she is not alone on stage. They also serve to add a certain amount of strength
and power, since they allow the audience to experience Croft’s movement from a
different perspective and through a different lens.
Finally, with its expansive movement, quick changes of level
and tight spatial formations, Spain’s choreography is brimming with relentless
energy. Shift. And now I’m smaller appears
like a canvas of bodies, which Spain carefully constructs and deconstructs in
front of the audience. Ending cyclically, the dancers find themselves back in
the long, tight line from the opening. As the lights dim, they begin to crumble
and break away, slipping back offstage, as they did four minutes earlier.
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