DANCE Theatre of Ireland has again brought innovative choreographers from abroad, this time for its two week season at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, which opened on Wednesday. The resulting piece was acrobatic, funny and trendy, yet satirising the trendy at the start with the exhibitionist men in their shades and girls in vivid coloured wigs and Helen McCusker's velvet tunics.
To striking music from the Balanescu Quartet, Prodigy, Flaming Lips, Gang of Four and Nino Rota, and with disco style lighting by Stephen McMaus, Suzy Blok and Chris Steel from Amsterdam drew spontaneous applause throughout Deseo for their very physical and convulsive dance style, though the "touching" sequence seemed over long and the piece lost impetus towards the end. All six dancers responded admirably to the high energy demanded of them.
Perhaps working with Blok and Steel influenced artistic directors Loretta Yurick and" Robert Connor because their Body Travels Time was more acrobatic than their previous work, with a far wider vocabulary. Now isolated within the confines of their bodies by, McManus's fine lighting, now in tender or violent contact with others, the same six dancers (who include the choreographers) all gave fine performances, helped by an excellent score by John Ryan. Sean Dwyer makes a welcome return to the company, newcomer Niki Hart is a definite asset, but if I had to single out any one performance it would have to be that of J.J. Formento.
