DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Sense of Centre

Dance Base (Venue 22), until 28 August

Who amongst us hasn’t sought, but failed to find, a feeling of belonging? Whether it’s to a place or people, we spend most of our lives trying to connect in one way or another. Which is why Jack Webb’s Sense of Centre, despite citing circumstances very particular to his own life, feels easy to latch on to.

The work brings together four distinct parts – Webb’s recorded voice, reminiscing about places he has lived and his desire to feel at home there; a video backdrop of ‘white noise’ visuals which give way to footage of waves and forests; a table of miniature trees, hands and torsos that sit still on a tray or spin on a bespoke turntable; and Webb himself sharing his cerebral brand of graceful contemporary dance.

The action at the table is fascinating. After a spell of movement, Webb returns to it time and again with renewed intent – as if this time, he’ll finally get it right and find solace. The tiny revolving figures projected onto a TV screen no doubt have specific relevance for Webb, but we can make of them what we will. Certainly the trees, both static on the tray and speeding past on-screen, evoke a sense of nature calling us home.

Some will find the slow movement of the second half over-extended and soporific, others will find it hypnotic. I was somewhere in-between. But when he does move, Webb’s wide arms and painracked face pull as back in immediately. This is a man trying to find his place in the world, geographically and emotionally, and in this intimate space at least, he fosters a connection with us. KELLY APTER