REVIEW: RONiN, preview performance at Dance City
Dance and technology unite
Spectacular might be an over-used word but it fits the bill when applied to Yukiko Masui’s RONiN which had its first performance ahead of a national tour at Newcastle’s Dance City.
The Japanese (though London-based) choreographer and director brings a love of anime and martial arts to her tale of a female ronin (traditionally a freelance, lone wolf samurai) – and a background embracing hip hop, contemporary and Latin ballroom, though not much sign of the latter here.
But while the story – make of it what you will – is undeniably hers, the finished work is as much that of digital artist Barret Hodgson.
In a Q&A afterwards hosted by Dance City artistic director and chief exec Anand Bhatt (one of his last before he moves to pastures new), Hodgson, who revealed that he’d studied for his degree in Newcastle, said he’d merely tried to realise the scenes Matsui imagined.
His projections, constantly moving and mutating, cover the floor and the three walls enclosing the performance area, and occasionally overlay the three dancers.
Technically and performatively, RONiN depends on absolute precision, requiring dancers, visuals and often pounding soundtrack (composed by Ruth Chan) to correlate perfectly.
One dancer a little out of position on stage and the effect of the ever-morphing landscapes would be compromised.
This was billed as a preview performance, the one-and-only before a tour taking in several regional cities and The Place, the London dance venue which was one of the co-commissioners along with Dance City, DanceEast in Ipswich, where the official premiere is to take place on March 20, The Gillian Dickinson Trust and arts development organisation Certain Blacks.
But it’s hard to imagine there’s much that can be improved on.
It begins with the sole female dancer prone on stage, Cher Nicolette Ho a tiny figure against snow and mountains behind and around. Rising, she picks up a long sword, brandishes it and scythes the air.
The two male dancers, clad in black to her white, are also soon on stage, Jacob Lang and Nathan Bartman demonstrating equally impressive swordsmanship and athleticism.
But however good they are, they’re up against those truly spectacular visuals which become more colourful as the show progresses, with flowers and trees and what appear to be fish… and climaxing in a fabulous eclipse of the sun.
It’s a multi-media dance show that may well seduce a lot of people (young people, I imagine, in particular) into dance when it hits the road… or maybe into music or projection art.
In the Q&A Yukiko Masui revealed how the show came out of lockdown, when theatres and studios shut down and a friend invited her to try some martial arts swordsmanship in a park.
One thing led to another, all those backers were seduced and this is the memorable result.
A humorous and engaging individual, Masui said her dancers had had to overcome a sense of disorientation, a “kind of motion sickness”, when performing with the projections.
Full marks to them, then.
Masui spent a few weeks in Newcastle fine-tuning her show and taking time to work with dancers at Dance City. Many were among Friday night’s large and enthusiastic audience.
The affable and inspirational Anand Bhatt, meanwhile, will be saying his farewells at the end of the month. He’s off to be director of creative programmes at Birmingham Hippodrome, the home of Birmingham Royal Ballet.
“It has been an incredible privilege to lead Dance City over the past six years,” he said when the news was released.
“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together – from supporting artists and commissioning new work to engaging communities and celebrating our 40th anniversary.
“Dance City will always hold a special place in my heart and I look forward to seeing the organisation continue to thrive.”
Dance City chair Lyndsey Turner-Swift paid tribute, saying: “Anand has made an outstanding contribution to Dance City and the wider dance sector.
“His vision and dedication have strengthened Dance City’s position as the North East’s leading development organisation for dance and his leadership, creativity and commitment have left a lasting legacy.
“We wish him every success in his new role at Birmingham Hippodrome.”