"This is contemporary dance at its most abstract. This is not
the movement of the human body but the movements and the sounds of
the everyday, the home and the street. It presages a performance
which tested and extended our encounter with dance, theater and art
installation.
We next encounter a male figure with a large birds head. This
surreal figure alerts us to connections with Rene Magritte and Max
Ernst as well as Bill Hammond. We become conscious of the symbolism
which inhabits much contemporary dance and particularly that opf
Douglas Wright.
Then the fist dancer emerges, a female figure in a green tunic
which echoes the acid, green tones of Bill Hammond paintings. As
more dancers emerge, running rolling and leaping in Wrights
distinctive style, themes and ideas begin to crowd in creating a
densely packed work full of wit, despair, isolation, awakening and
renewal, all linking to notions about ecology, the human condition
and probably Wrights own personal journey.
At times it seems as though the movements of the dancers are
inspired by the graffiti like marks on the huge wall which
dominates the stage. The random lines of tracery and the copy book
lettering give a sense of both the random and repetitive.
The dancers' energetic movements suggest attempts to abandon the
physical constraints of the body and become birdlike or more
ethereal. There is a combination of nineteenth century Romanticism
mixed with contemporary reflection. At other times small everyday
movements are isolated and elevated taking on a monumental
profundity.
However it is not the dance which is most impressive in "rapt".
Wright has created some incredibly evocative, theatrical sequences
which are full of urgent little narrative, evocative symbolism and
a vibrancy which suggests personal and social metaphors.
Many of the dance sequences seem labored and slight in
comparison with the theatrical sequences, devices and actions of
the participants.
While much of the performance is full of angst about isolation,
loneliness and distance there are sequences with a great deal of
humour. Sometimes this juxtaposition works brilliantly at other
tiems it has all the panache of a corny joke.
The cast, whether they are in dance or acting mode provide a
physical and emotional base for the work, displaying a refinement
and power which alternates between high energy levels and ephemeral
contemplation and introspection.
"rapt" is a great piece of work which compares well with any of
the overseas dance and theatrical productions at the festival,
it is also an important work in divining and inspiring a New
Zealand culture."