BWW Reviews: IN THE BALANCE Looks At The Range Of Relationships That Occur In A Young Group

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Friday 17th October 2014

Restless Dance Theatre is presenting its latest work, In the Balance, which looks at relationships within a group. This is the first major Youth Ensemble production directed by their new Artistic Director, Michelle Ryan, who noticed the changes that occurred when new members joined this group of dancers, observing the various reactions and the change in the group dynamic. Her first production for the company bodes very well for the future.

Restless Dance Theatre comprises performers of varying levels of physical and mental ability, and includes some fully able people as well, so is it completely non-discriminatory. Their last production, Salt, garnered a great deal of praise, and many enviable reviews, and this production is going to add to their reputation for high quality and meaningful productions.

Ryan sees herself as the director of this production, but does not claim to be the choreographer due to the collaborative process involved, where the contributions of the individual members of the ensemble are such a major part of the end result. She explains that they began with four words: flirtation, rejection, inclusion, and exclusion. These may be at the core, but there is so much more that she and her performers have found in the subtle explorations within this excellent work.

The set is a dance club, but the broken disco mirror ball suggests that it is no longer what it once might have been. Gaelle Mellis and Meg Wilson are responsible for the set and costume design, while Geoff Cobham designed the extremely effective lighting. These are all important to the production, creating both a background for the action as well as atmospheric effects to fit each of the interactions.

During the evening the members of the ensemble perform to a series of songs and tunes, each looking at different aspects of the theme. The Audreys, Aria Award nominees Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall, had produced a film clip with four of the young men from Restless Dance Theatre for their song, Baby Are You There?, and this led to their involvement in this production, writing and performing the recorded music.

The various sections, however, are not confined to explorations of relationships and interactions exclusive to people with any particular mental of physical ability. They are universal, demonstrating that people who might be thought to have some form or level of disability are really not much different to anybody else.

A group of men sit in a tight circle, bonding by telling their inane anecdotes, even repeating them, while a woman tries to join in, but is strongly rejected and ignored. You have probably seen the same thing at a barbecue, where the men gather round to drink and talk, as one burns chunks of meat, while the women are ignored and expected to entertain themselves and do all of the other work involved in such a function.

There is the fun and lots of humour in a flirtation, as a couple, Michael Hodyl and Felicity Doolette, catch one another's eyes and gradually move their seats closer together, with dance moves at each shift of the chairs forming a sort of mating ritual, each attempting to impress the other.

Two men, Nigel Major-Henderson and Jesse Rochow, engage in competitive moves, beginning amiably enough then escalating at each turn and ending in a confrontation resembling sumo wrestling, the laughs at the beginning falling away as we move into this spate of violence, until they are broken up.

A completely different aspect is the very sensitive pas de deux, expressing the gentle love between two dancers, Chris Dyke and Caitie Moloney.

The members of the ensemble are Josh Campton, Darcy Carpenter, Felicity Doolette, Chris Dyke, Kathryn Evans, Jiana Georgiou, Michael Hodyl, Lorcan Hopper, Nigel Major-Henderson, Caitie Moloney, Dana Nance, Jesse Rochow, and Tara Stewart. From start to finish they exhibit everything that we have come to expect from this company, enormous enthusiasm, a willingness to open themselves up to the audience, and share their thoughts and ideas with us, and great focus on their performances.

At the end, they all come together, each encouraging another as they present a brief moment of solo movement, leading to a full ensemble piece, with total inclusion, mutual support, and togetherness, before they take their bows. One is left with a warm glow, and an appreciation for all of the effort put in by everybody responsible for this performance.

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