Review

Chameleon Dance collective

Review

The performance that I was on the 8^th of December was put together by the Chameleon Dance Collective. There were two parts to the performance which took place at Coventry University. The first being a solo by a dancer named Kristie Richardson, this solo consisted of a women who was in a studio dancing about her marriage. The movements used and the repetition gave me a sense of uncertainty, as if she was not sure if she made the right choice or not. Each time she did the same movement she either did it with more energy or added something different, this was effective as I found myself indorsed to see what was going to happen next. She used different levels which is always effective because it keeps the audience focused on what is being performed. At the end of the performance she had a slide show, which to me came across as if he had made the right decision as the pictures were of her and her family, she seemed very happy.                                

                The second part of the performance was the Chameleon Dance Collective which also took place in the university but was not set in the studio. This piece was all around the building. The performers where dancing in different room and spaces around the building and the audience were taken to where they were dancing ,  I found this very interesting as I saw people dancing in places I would never of thought for example stair railings, a small room with a piano, little gaps between the stairs and the wall. This was a lot different from sitting down in one space and engaging in a performance I believe they were taking the audience on a journey but just did not understand what and what we were meant to learn from it.                                                                                                 

              Even though I found the performance interesting I was also frustrated as I did not understand the concept or the meaning behind the performance, my interpretation of the performance was that the company wanted the audience to experience what they were experiencing and all at the same time. Which I believe to be restriction, as all the dancers were either in a confined place or showing some signs of restriction. We were taken to different parts of the building to see the performance and while doing so we all had to huddle up in order to see the performance and for someone that suffers for claustrophobia I did not enjoy it.  The performance was very challenging for me as I have a high value of meaning and did not get the meaning at all                   

              The costumes worn were purple leggings with a white t-shirt which seemed to have no relation to the dance piece. I found it hard to connect the costume to the performance I was viewing. These are the reasons I found the performance challenging to comprehend.   

Jendayi Selassie