DANCE DANCED DANCING (2024) has the vibe of a punk dance version of Whose Line is it Anyway? It is fresh and exhilarating as much as it is nostalgic. Reminiscent of early postmodern experimental improv but without the need to be cool – the dancers embrace perfectly awkward moments with grace and humor. When the dancers tumble out of a collective shape, pure mirth spreads across their faces, and the audience giggles right along with them. We were all in on the joke. 

The audience finds their seats as dancers warm up on stage in mix-matching band tees and oversize slacks. Occasionally the performers exchanged a word or a look among themselves. In one beautiful moment a dancer addressed a friend in the audience, “showing up at the last minute?” This small interaction set the scene for the next 60 minutes. There was no program, the audience sat in house lights for a large portion, and our presence was acknowledged like an old friend sitting in on a dance class/party/performance/jam/extravaganza. 

The score beautifully built the energy across the duration of the performance and gave the work a recognizable arch ending in a lively climax. A score works to build a scaffold that the dancers improv within and through. It is a holding container for them to respond to and create compositionally with in the moment. Unlike a choreographed performance, very little of what an audience witnesses in an improvisational work is predetermined.

Before the show starts, I half expect creators Josie Archer and Kosta Bogoievski to address the audience and provide context for the work. My assumption is quickly dashed aside as the house doors close and the dancers unceremoniously compile themselves into their first shape. How refreshing it was to see bodies moving for movement’s sake, without trying to assemble meaning or distil context from an address or program! 

This work was about form, shape, and process. The performers intimately bring us into the work by deconstructing the mystique of traditional repeated and rehearsed performance and reconstruct it as an active creative happening. At one point, the dancers perform a series of repeating movements to heavy metal music while standing in a clump. Shortly after, they leisurely break down the movements while the names of each action are read aloud to the audience. Later, a dancer reads a written version of the entire score aloud. Leaving no room for mystery but opening space for us to see exactly how the dancers are doing what they do. 

I would be remiss not to mention the performance of Tony Black, the lighting magician as well as dancer. He moves easily between his tech rig (setup side-stage on a foldout table) and the dance floor, incorporating his body into the flow just as actively as he manipulates the light and sound. In an epic solo, he improvisationally “plays” the lights while a live dramatic guitar solo booms over the speakers. He is a figure of legend in his kitten t-shirt and red pants. 

How refreshing and joyous it is to see a dance show that doesn’t take itself too seriously and understands exactly what it is. DANCE DANCED DANCING (2024) is an ode to the process as product, to the act of creation as performance in and of itself, and the performer as an artistic being capable of creating and not just repeating rehearsed actions. 

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