“Don’t miss the bus.’’

I’m sitting on the bus, outside Te Papa on Cable St, smiling already. I’ve heard about this performance before, but this is my first opportunity to see it. I have high expectations – which sometimes isn’t a good thing.

Anticipation surges as the driver starts the engine and drives off. All the passengers are happy. But wait – someone has missed the bus. They’re running along the road, arms laden with bags, chasing us. We have to stop to let them on, and so our adventure begins, as we navigate the roads of inner-city Wellington.

The performance is part of the ‘What If The City Was A Theatre’ programme currently playing out in our streets. It’s exciting and fun to be a part of it.

This show, Back of the Bus,is presented by Java Dance Theatre; the concept and choreography of the incredibly talented Sacha Copland, with cast Emma Coppersmith, Ella Williams, and Kia Jewell. They do not disappoint.

In fact they taunt, tease and tempt the passengers, never slipping out of character throughout the hour long experience.

Copland uses her rich storytelling skills to convey a wonderfully fresh, wildly funny ride. She combines slick spoken word, with the fabulous live music of Barbara Paterson and Tristan Carter, and with her cast manages to make complex movement on a travelling bus look easy. The sign of true professionals in their fields. 

This is one original and rewarding show with a high feel-good factor. It has you spinning in your seat, fearful of missing what happens next.  Don’t forgo this trip.   
[Sorry, this season is booked out – ED] 

Riding the bus will never be the same again. 

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According to the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival programme booklet:

Catch the dancing bus.

The dancing bus finally arrives in Hamilton! Come ride on a bus as dancers propel themselves along the aisles and hang from the roof. Physical comedy, kinetic energy and outrageous scenarios combine to create a magical mystery tour. Fresh from sell-out seasons at twenty New Zealand, Australian, UK and Asian arts festivals.

Sell-out season Edinburgh Fringe Festivals 2014 and 2015.

Top five Adelaide Fringe Festival 2012 as reviewed by audience and critics. 

What can I say? This show has been performed for several years now in various parts of New Zealand and the world and if the reviewers can be believed, it is fantastic! I am totally in agreement. Some years ago, I saw this work on video, but the video only hints at the riches of experiencing it live. There are many things that can be said about this show, including very accomplished and strong dance performances, strength, flexibility and endurance, beautiful dance lines, crazy, zany moments, and the ability of all of the performers to interact and improvise in their dealings with audience members… and also with general public encountered when the bus has stopped and we (the audience and cast) have disembarked to walk to a stationary site.

I understand that there have been numerous dancers performing in the work over the years, Sacha being the constant. Thus, the two current additional cast members have been invited to join Sacha from Wellington and Australia. The polished professionalism of these dancers is unquestionable. It is not an easy thing to interact and improvise with audience members (I shall call us ‘bus riders’ from now on), dance and perform acrobatic feats, show strength, flexibility, clean body lines, and use humour and interaction to the extent that audience members will do just about anything you ask of them, all while managing the challenges of a moving bus and the variations present in stationary sites out in the community!

On another beautiful, warm, still, sunny evening in Hamilton, audience members gather at the bus stop. Our host for the evening checks our tickets and guides us onto the bus, and the bus departs. I am able to pick out two of the dancers among the bus riders. However, we have driven only a short way from Hamilton Gardens when we see a woman running along the verge and waving frantically at the bus driver, while wielding multiple shopping and personal bags. This is, of course, Sacha. The bus stops to pick her up, and then the fun begins.  Shopping is spilled, bus riders are covered with popcorn, paper rubbish and dry grocery items. Sacha lurches precariously up and down the aisle while attempting to regather her shopping, perform dance moves to music, and look for her misplaced wallet. I heard Sacha identified by audience members as the ‘mad bag woman’ – they were clearly ‘sold’ on the performance. Then, one at a time, the other dancers begin to perform, swinging from the bus’s pipes and bars inside the bus, adding clothing and looking directly at bus riders. Bus riders continue to be jostled, sat on, gazed at, and affectionately patted or touched. Then, to add to the fun and interaction, we are offered chocolates, popcorn, marshmallows, flowers, the opportunity to assist the performers with their makeup on the still moving bus, and a continued experience of laughter that encourages us to become increasingly engaged and ‘warmed up’ – inhibitions lowered sufficiently that we are willing to participate fully in any interactions or small dancing tasks we are urged (often non-verbally) to do. Meanwhile, we are treated to an impressive exhibition of strong, fluent contemporary dance that includes lengthy balances, fast foot and body work, strength and endurance in upper body holds, wit, skilful judgement of individual moments with audience members, and management of bus movement conditions and the terrain. One of the stops is near an outdoor public site (always an interesting challenge), one inside a home (more predictable), and the final, in an enclosed space in the Gardens near the lake. 

Thus, we arrive back at the bus stop in the Gardens, and proceed to the final site, where ‘I Feel Good’ is performed with the usual skill and risk elements, including balancing on balustrade and table and fitting the dance to the available space…and the show ends.

It is significant that so many audience members linger to receive programmes, talk with the performers and hug them – the bus riders have laughed, chuckled and smiled their way through this ‘moving’ performance, and appear to be sorry it has ended. 

A very enjoyable experience, and I don’t envy those who have to clean the bus afterwards!

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I turn up at the meeting location for the show expecting the unexpected. All I know is that it’s a dance piece and it takes place on a bus. Does the bus drive during the performance? Will we be seated? How will the performer/s dance in such a small space?

There is something both intriguing and anxiety inducing about seeing shows in unfamiliar spaces. We know how to behave in a theatre. A social contract exists and we know what is expected of us but what happens when you leave the traditional and enter into the unknown?

Our host meets us off site, introduces himself then leads us to the bus. We get to a lovely old double decker and are invited upstairs to take our seats. Already I am intrigued watching how the audience slips into their public transport personas, awkwardly trying to avoid sitting next to someone they don’t know; impossible of course. It’s almost as if this display is the start of the performance.

Once everyone is seated our host lays down the ground rules: legs and arms are to stay in, photography is permitted and we are to leave our belongings on the bus when we follow the performers off. So the entire performance isn’t on the bus. This makes sense but brings creates a whole new range of questions. And with the housekeeping complete the atmosphere in the bus starts to bubble, quickly dying down as we pull away from the kerb. 

Within moments a laugh erupts down the left hand side of the bus as a performer sprints alongside on the pavement trying to catch up. She makes it on board, joins us upstairs and over the next few minutes we are treated to the most beautifully awkward clowning re-enactment of all those familiar moments we’ve witnessed on public transport.

Sacha Copland has the entire audience in fits of laughter as she navigates the awkwardness of the situation. Copland is charming, delightful and highly entertaining as she expertly navigates the confines of the bus aisle and by the end of the first song she has us eating out of the palm of her hand, metaphorically and literally.

The music operated by our host changes to a flirty, sensual tune and a second performer makes herself known as she climbs over another passenger to ‘take the stage’. Lauren Carr is the epitome of enchanting. A full embodiment of child-like charm and naivety, she reminds me of the character Amelie as she cheekily plays with the audience. As the music finishes she makes her way off the bus and without a word spoken it’s clear we are to follow. Every performer immerses themselves completely in their character. In this case Carr continues to interact with everyone as she had on the bus, hugging and ruffling the hair of strangers who accept her affection.

Back on the bus we met our third performer and she is just as entertaining and entrancing as our other two performers. Having also seen In the Wine earlier today I have to give it up to our third performer Sarah Gatzonis as she has come straight from that gruelling physical performance to this one. Gatzonis holds the attention of the audience as she performs this role with perfection and incredible energy. 

The music is wonderfully curated for each character and works well to support the show. The choreography is sensual, skilled and silly, utilising every inch of the bus in ways I would have never expected. Copland’s experience and incredible skill as a choreographer is in full force here. She has created a highly entertaining show and with the strength of these performers we are left in awe, between the laughs of course. The costume design is simple and subtle, helping the audience quickly identify our characters. 

Over the hour we are treated to incredible clowning and choreography and there is an energetic buzz through the audience as they leave. We have watched, laughed and at times participated in a truly beautiful show. Interestingly between the laughs and wide opened mouths the show also seems to challenge the social norms of public travel. When on the bus we spent the whole time looking inwards instead of out the window and many made friends with their neighbours.

Back of the Bus is a delightful show and if you’re looking for some adventure and a good giggle – book now!

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I give full credit to Sacha Copland and the Java Dance Company of Wellington for the most innovative idea for a show. The audience, waiting for the bus outside Founders, [where the rest of the Arts Festival is operating], openly shared with each about what might be in store. Most are already in awe of the idea and eager about what they were to see next.

The dancers start off as paying customers, the first of which is ‘late’ for the bus. We pick up the first dancer frantically waving the bus down while holding on to arm loads of purchases. What ensues next is a comedy show that Mr Bean would have been proud of. Not the first thought for which dance is known, but works brilliantly on the bus, combining typical daily events with dance through humour.

Together with Lauren Carr, Natalie Hona, and a special appearance from a student from Nelson’s Peta Spooner Academy of Dance, we are transported, literally and figuratively, on the shortest hour long bus ride of my life. It felt like 10 minutes, their antics and dance were so involving. Each dancer takes a turn to induce laughter through dance and animation of a character. The bus stops as each takes us to a different site. Here the dancers involve the audience in dance at each – the most visually arresting being Anne Rush’s ‘Lucent Installation’. We are invited to follow the dancers around the lit hanging creations and under the full length sculptures to view the light refraction and sculpture form from the floor. Even the elderly managed, shyly laughing with the rest of us.

The last stop at Rhythm & Brown is a bar, which explains the reason why the dancers engage the audience on the bus to help them, hilariously, with their makeup and jewellery. James Brown’s ‘I Feel Good’ initiates dancing on the bar itself and takes new athletic forms inspiring gasps from the bar and bus patrons alike.  Combine this with the on-bus entertainment incorporating the poles and ceiling, I think we could all have stayed and shouted the athletic performers a drink. It is exhausting just to watch, much less execute.

This performance is truly unique. Almost every patron is included in the performance at some stage, so is not for the faint hearted or the professional by-stander in life. The effect is very energising, most patrons chatting animatedly to new friends and strangers as the exited the bus. I see a growing audience for this calibre of interactive dance.

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I will admit I was a little apprehensive when I received my tickets for the Java Dance Company’s presentation of Back of the Bus at the Otago festival of the Arts. Tuesday the 12^th of October rolled around and I found myself standing in the foyer of the Regent Theatre staring at a bus emblazoned with “Back of the Bus” down the side and Bus Driver Ken at the helm.

The Java Dance Company was created in 2003 and is known for producing high energy, innovative dances and this production was no exception. Back of the Bus premiered in Wellington in 2008 and the current show has been tailored to suit Dunedin as its location.

Three main characters played by Sacha Copland, Rosanne Christine and Natalie Hona take turns to portray their individual stories throughout the bus journey and at specially selected locations. Each character is perhaps an over-exaggerated version of the everyday bus passenger – a frantic and fumbling woman, an uptight business woman and a woman high on life. Local dancer Xzenia Witehira takes on the role of a cell phone obsessed young woman who comes into the piece halfway through.

This production aims for shock value – the tightly packed audience gasps and giggles nervously as the dancers swing around and in between them. The first dance on the bus leaves the floor littered with rice bubbles and 10 cent coins. As my companion mentions, we are dragged into the characters lives, seeing what we would normally turn a blind eye too – an incessant cell phone tone, clumsily dropped bags and that over-friendly passenger who you hope will sit somewhere else.

The selected locations are nothing like I expected them to be. Intimate spaces have been chosen; the destinations keep the audience up close to the action and ensure the sense of awkwardness never leaves you as the dancers display emotions ranging from delight to sadness and despair. Delicate ballet movements through to salsa inspired stomping is used to convey the characters’ feelings at any particular location. 

A rousing and varied range of music helps to tell the story and combined with the energetic display of dance ensures the audience is captivated from start to finish. This is definitely unlike any production I have seen before; the emotional connection with the story is stronger than usual due to the small spaces and the dancers invading your personal space, and you theirs.

The production ends back in the centre of town and it is with a sense of relief I disembark from the bus. This is definitely an intense production to witness, but certainly worth seeing with its combination of innovative choreography, high energy dance and emotional connection with the audience. 
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At the City Bus Exchange we are at first a bit lost as we search and ask for the right bus – you know – the dance bus?

Then we find the public waiting lounge and the adventure begins. There is already slight unease as to who might be here as intended audience and as unsuspecting passer-by. When and how will the dancers arrive? Just then a dancer makes an entrance through the crowd and from the seats nearby, other figures will unexpectedly rise up to join the dance. As the show begins, the dancers are quickly utilising all aspects of the built-in furniture, ramps and available space.

Familiar bus behaviours of managing bags and tickets, waiting for and securing a seat, and passenger persona are playfully reflected back to us through dance. Then we all clamber aboard the waiting bus. Unlike other bus travellers that evening we have not chosen our destination, of which there will be several.

Throughout the journey the dancers engagingly transform the interior space of the bus. They travel and swing through the aisle, around seats and at times suspend and drape from alarmingly high places. All this as the bus sways around corners, crosses inner city streets and thankfully flows with the occasional green light. Working within this moving room makes the dancers’ achievements even more breathtaking and wondrous.

We soon forget to stare straight ahead at familiar scenery (with the occasional glimpse of the Port Hills), as our own habitual bus behaviour is at first distracted and then beguiled by the acrobatic use of metal poles and seat frames that is happening not only at the ‘back of the bus’ but all over. Which way to look?!  And will anyone outside this moving spectacle notice the strangeness going on? One dancer amusingly attempts to seduce the attention of would be observers in the nearby traffic.

Throughout the journey the four dancers alternate and re-combine to offer diverse movement sequences and moods, with music that ranges from Vivaldi and Bach to Paris Combo. Already part of this installation on wheels, the audience is showing obvious enjoyment at the creation of various bus characters so close by and intrigue about what will happen next.

At each planned stop, dancers exit and lead us on a short stroll around the streets to a fresh dance destination. Familiar places are becoming magically different. At a shop stop the merchandise becomes integral to the dance. At a house we crowd into a more intimate domestic space as dance unfolds to mark the end of the day. And there is the quirky use of the shower !

Walking in the fresh air becomes a natural moment to share conversations with strangers about the pleasure of this imaginative experience and local knowledge of the show. Through the body as a way of knowing, there are chances with the dance to feel and see the everyday with fresh eyes and unexpected outcomes.

The final stop is perfect: the audience may even stay on for a drink after wards. We could have danced, bussed and danced all night. Which is just what the dancers themselves – Rosanne Christie, Sacha Copeland, Natalie Hona, Jessica Kennedy – and Geoff Rump the bus driver must do, for they now disappear and begin all over again for the nights’ second expressive and energetic performance of this heart-warming site specific mystery tour.
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[Apologies for the late filing]

Sitting on the designated ‘performance’ bus outside the St James Theatre there is a sense of relief to be outside of a theatre waiting for a performance event to begin. Congratulations to Java on their 5th birthday for the grit they have shown and the commitment, founding members Sacha Copland and Roseanne Christie have made to each other. They are one of the hardest working units in the country. I admire them and the originality of this concept for their latest show.

The performers are scattered around the bus as we take off, there is a sense of anticipation. One of the strongest moments on the journey happens early on when Emma Johnston waves the bus down and staggers on under a load of shopping. The craziness of her solo is fabulous.

Anything could happen on this bus and the company and the choreography could push at the boundaries of acceptable behaviour more than they do. Too polite but very engaging and gorgeous movers; all those mentioned already plus Salena Govind and Natalie Hona. Each dancer has a solo that explores the spaces and architecture of the bus as well as subtly building their character. I am particularly drawn into the intensity of Natalie Hona’s solo.

Sacha Copland choreographed all on board sequences. She has a precise way of placing movement together but I feel she could find more original phrases within this confined space.

Some lovely moments occur when the movement of the bus affects the movement of the performers. This sense of variation is refreshing and we are all in a kind of kinaesthetic soup together. Add the vistas whizzing past and there are moments of real magic – this familiar city seems altered, not sure what country I am in. It is a special journey.

The bus stops and we follow the dancers – the first time into the railway station where the dancers move around a giant compass on the floor in intricate weaving patterns. They move with great synchronicity hurling themselves into the dynamic phrases of Emma Johnston’s choreography. Copland is a stand out in this section with whipper snapper limbs, clean lines and a beautiful spatial intensity – she is dancing really well.

Back on the bus with more on board antics to an interesting collection of music and before you know it we are in Newtown. As we follow the dancers into a house it is a surprise to know that one of them lives there. This is very cool, following fellow travellers into a bedroom. Christie and Copland dance themselves into a frenzy while two other dancers sleep in the bed. This work choreographed by Copland is called ‘The Sanctuary’ and is described as "A moment that is hidden."

The energy and commitment is sterling and yet I think this choreography is still very public; still movements that I have seen these dancers do before in a theatre setting. I would have liked to see them take more of a risk by doing less to really draw us in. Get some dirt under the nails. My mind has been buzzing with possible scenarios ever since. Such a brave move to invite us in and if they had just settled and been with us without the veneer I would have stumbled out transformed. But still I can tell my fellow travellers were very struck by this setting.

And so to the last phase with some great on board choreography to lift our spirits again. We pull up outside the Embassy Theatre this time. We are coaxed up stairs and the dancers finish with a light hearted up beat number on bar stools by Roseanne Christie before toasting us with glasses of champagne.

This company have an image of themselves that leads them to work that is accessible and entertaining. They could afford to dismantle this image in order to dig deeper into the pulse that drives them. They have the talent and their audience would still go with them on the journey.
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