Behind Closed Doors is a showcase of works and talent by the Whitirea Commercial Dance Graduates, directed by Leigh Evans. This action packed evening is full of 18 different works performed by 18 incredibly committed dancers. Their energy is outstanding, full of an exuberance for movement and expression that makes each work a pleasure to watch. Some of them have choreographed pieces as well, but on the whole the choreography is created by Leigh Evans and a cohort of other choreographers. 

The performance begins with Crying For No Reason – a solo performed by Charlotte Martin whose strong back-bends and sharp movements play wonderfully between lightness and solidity. This short work segues into Welcome to the Asylum, a dramatic work using the whole ensemble as a chorus of patients, featuring dense tableaux and lines in unison and cannonade which break into writhing knots of chaotic movement. It ends with a fantastic solo by Ella Burge that manages to capture an innocence and awkwardness while maintaining a sure footed, light, and supple control of her lifts and leaps. Ding Dong… Mormons is a fantastic pastiche of our favourite door-knockers full of lip-synching and caricatured gesticulation. In the solo Purrrrrrrrrr a supple and acrobatic Molly Hickling plays feline grace wonderfully, joining Michael Sinnung to support Hannah McFarlane’s confident and jazzy performance of What’s Under the Bed?

 The first work choreographed by a students in the evening is The Argument by Molly Gare, performing in her own work with Lucy Everett. It is a standout piece with a powerful grounded energy, and a sharp, well-timed push and pull between its two antagonists. Avon Calling marches eight immaculately dressed Avon Ladies on stage for a whirling rainbow of confident, cosmetically enhanced prancing where the dancers really get to show their stuff. This is followed by a beautiful solo The Office, where Sophia Ristossa as a typewriting tap dancer brings two staccato rhythms of fingers and feet together in a very clever piece. The first half draws to a close with two larger works of contrasting character: first the opulent Cinderella’s Ballroom, followed by a moodier, more polemic work The Last Post.  Michael Sinnung and Sarah Lauder show strong form as the ‘principals’ of the former’s balletic pageantry, while Eddie Brunton opens the latter with a beautiful solo using strong, wide legwork and stances, moved by the music and the dance. Brunton has a great stage presence even in the silhouetted sequences, where sinuous movements and slow articulations create a haunting stately scene. This piece is a fantastic closure to the first half: lights flash through a series of tableaus where bodies move through lamentation, stressed and exploratory movements to faint strains of Middle Eastern drones and Edith Piaf. There is a gentle evocation of contemporary crises and events that simmer just underneath the reach of language and articulation.

Following the interval we are thrown into the gothic horror of Disturbia Lane: a wonderfully creepy opportunity to show off the fantastic range in these dancers. The Burning is an incredible conflagration of fiery energy on stage, with the entire company dressed in bright red. In a fast chorus of action they whirl ribbons and banners in the same red, turning the entire stage into a roaring furnace of activity, wonderfully fronted by Katelyn Craig and Taryn Baxter. Sophia Ristossa and Steph Walsh return for a short and very masterful The Ritz – with movements that are immaculately fast and in time, spinning through snappy and elaborate hand, arm, and stepwork. Once I Was Loved is a romantic, tender duet, full of gentle touches and well executed partner-work between Michael Sinnung and Harika Akbaba. As the only male in the ensemble, Sinnung works hard throughout the evening and delivers every time. The Other Side takes the energy from the previous work further, with some eloquent solos and a lovely swelling of beautifully felt movement and group choreography.

The evening finishes with three works that use the whole cast, amplifying the energy on stage for a fantastic finale. It starts with the precocious Let’s Get Ruckus! featuring three groups of dancers: a bevvy of preppy cheerleaders and popular girls; a mob of hip-hop dancers; and the police who arrive to break things up. The choreography is full of music-video styled chorus work, sassy strutting, and youthful confidence. Sarah Lauder as the lead cheerleader closes the work with a really standout performance, revealing the inner angst of a mean girl. This is followed by The Audition, which turns up the posturing and mincing to new levels altogether, with the dancers all competing for limelight and recognition. Finally, The Club is a burlesque showpiece, full of sumptuous feathers, inky black costuming, and the most saucy performances of the evening. But above all, what is the most memorable about it is the sheer joy that these dancers bring to the choreography and to their roles. Molly Gare is sharp and dramatically in control, Sydney Reynolds struts and flounces wonderfully to ‘Welcome to Burlesque’, Molly Hickling is stately and elastic at the same time, and Michael Sinnung shows his best moves to great cheers.

To dance is to celebrate the control that we have over our bodies, To dance is to let that control go, allowing our bodies to become our minds and our voice for a moment. To dance is to turn movement into an art form that can be understood by other bodies: bodies that watch or begin to move with us. These dancers move with that joy that makes movement infectious.

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