Dance work New Animal unleashes the beast within
Dana Gingras’ choreography shines in high- energy dance
While it’s funny to watch the chaos that occurs as lemon pieces are flung around the stage, it’s also frightening to think of how easily the pack can turn on one of its own.
605 COLLECTIVE: NEW ANIMAL Where: Historic Theatre, The Cultch When: nightly to Saturday at 8 p. m. Tickets: from $ 16; tickets. thecultch. com and 604- 251- 1363
New Animal is a roaring, playful beast of a new dance work.
An exploration of the animal that lives within us, New Animal is performed by five explosive dancers from the 605 Collective: Amber Funk Barton, Lisa Gelley, Shay Kuebler, Josh Martin and David Raymond.
Dancing on and around a yellow square on the dance floor, they size each other up like creatures on the hunt. They sniff each other and scratch themselves and leap around the stage like wolves running with the pack.
They play games too. Working in pairs, they destroy several lemons. As one dancer holds one in his mouth, another tries to grab it with his teeth. As they both bite down, juice drips onto the floor and pieces of lemon fall onto the stage. With leftover bits of the fruit in their mouths, the dancers shake their heads like creatures who have just won some great battle.
In one section of the lemon war, Raymond is singled out as the target. As he moves in the centre of the ringlike container, he’s pelted with bits of lemon.
While it’s funny to watch the chaos that occurs as lemon pieces are flung around the stage, it’s also frightening to think of how easily the pack can turn on one of its own.
Dana Gingras’ choreography brings out the best in the collective’s talented group of dancers. They really never stop moving on stage. And when they do, it’s really just a pause that’s as intense and compact as a spring about to explode. They’re a fun group of dancers to watch.
New Animal is performed to a killer soundscape and electronic score by Roger Tellier- Craig and music by groups including Shining Path, Boredoms, MIA and Brigitte Fontaine/ Areski/ Art Ensemble of Chicago.
New Animal includes video that works in its own right and as part of the larger work. The video opens the show and is used again to give the dancers a break. That allowed me to watch without worrying that I might miss something on the dance floor.
One short shows the dancers in pairs destroying lemons with their mouths to a soundtrack that makes them sound like creatures roaring with satisfaction after a kill. Another shows unbelievably cute little dogs turned into snarling beasts when they fight over what looks like a chew toy.
New Animal is 60 minutes with no intermission.