BATS Theatre
September 19-22 | Reviewed by Shruti Navathe

First Flight does for contemporary dance what Young and Hungry does for theatre: it allows young dancers and choreographers to stretch their wings. The opening night consisted of five short dance pieces choreographed and performed by students of high schools and universities around New Zealand.

The first piece of the night aimed to bring to life Hone Tuwhare’s ‘No ordinary Sun’. The intention was to use nature and traditional Maori symbolism to create a sense of new beginning and eternal regeneration. While the piece had a great deal of potential the dancing and the choreography failed to live up to it. The treatment of the poem was unfocused and would have been improved by picking one specific aspect of Tuwhare’s poem to express, rather than trying to incorporate all the elements. Perhaps as a result of the lack of clarity in conception, the movements of the dancers seemed to lack conviction and grounding. The music jarred with the mood of the poem and the overall impression was one of confusion.

‘Emulation’ was the next dance presented. The subject for the piece was more focused and therefore allowed the dancers greater scope to explore their subject. Some parts of the dance worked very well and conveyed the tension that exists between following the crowd and breaking free of the mould. The music and lighting for this piece worked effectively and highlighted the mood, and the choreography was tighter than the previous dance. I would have liked more attention to be paid to ensuring that the lines of the dancers’ bodies were clearer and did not take away from the choreography.

‘Weighted’ was an exploration of teenage angst and relationships. Like ‘No ordinary sun’ I think this piece was trying to do too much with too little, and consequently ended up feeling somewhat superficial. The piece was more tightly choreographed and danced than any of the other pieces. The movements were sophisticated and the dancers used their bodies to good effect to create a tangible sense of their turmoil. The use of music and props was effective and appropriate. In all respects I found this the best piece of those performed last night.

Next came ‘Mediator’. This piece intended to illustrate the idea that in order for there to be anything of any intellectual value created by the head, it must be mediated by the heart. Unfortunately the choreography was unable to capture either the tension or the intensity that comes with such a mediation. The dancing felt stilted and the dancers seemed to be going through the motions rather than internalizing the movements and expressing the mood.

The night’s final dance was ‘Elephants never forget’; a lighthearted look at the complications inherent in even the most uncomplicated friendships. The choreography was interesting and there was potential for a great deal of innovation in terms of movement as well as mood. Unfortunately the treatment of the subject as well as the dancing lacked depth and consistency, and left me with the sense that this could have been a really interesting piece if explored sufficiently.

First Flight is daring move by dance practitioners, and I hope it will become a regular yearly event to showcase up and coming talent for new dancers. Having taken the first step and created new works I look forward to seeing better, more polished performances from these artists in the future.