Reviewed by Matthew John Plummer, Monday 7th of March 2016
The Isabetta Project, performed in the tunnels under Flinders Street at Adina Treasury Apartments in Adelaide, is a Mediæval/modern production performed in a promenade style, presented by director and choreographer, Jessie McKinley, with dancers, Madeline Edwards and Samuel Harnett-Welk. As we enter the tunnels from the gardens in the centre of the hotel, it feels very much as though we travel back in time a little way, as the memories and history of the cosy, intimate space inside those tunnels permeated our senses and thoughts. Arranged closely together in a small room at the start of the tunnels, the audience at first has only the walls and low ceilings to take our attention as we wait for the dancers to emerge from the long hall in front of us. And suddenly there the dancers are, with long limbs and elegant gestures displaying obvious classical training in effortless high extensions of the legs, flying close to low ceilings, and skilful floor work, as skin makes contact with old, damp concrete floors. The movement is inviting and personal and yet expressing distant emotions, feelings and thoughts connecting the two performers that are not yet spelled out to us, but will be made clearer soon. And then the dancers pause and we are invited to move to a small room further into the tunnels for the next chapter in this unfolding story of human relationships.Videos