Vitality, energy, rhythm and a lot of dancers formed the relentless flow of hip hop vocabulary and attitudinal aggression that is Dodeka.  

The sound was ear-splittingly loud and interspersed with a recorded announcer to tell us who each successive Greek god was as the work sought to portray the qualities of twelve Greek deities. Most successful of these was a solo choreographed and performed by Braedyn Togi – nearer a contemporary style, his Sea Monster was fluid and captivating . A real talent to watch.

Many of the segments started with effective lights and staging but then became large group dances with little relevance to the ‘gods,  and nearly all used a very similar use of repetition, canon and slick steps with punched-out and angry gestures. The items for Ares (War), Hephaestus (Craftsmanship) and Demeter (Harvest) stood out for me.

Throughout, the large cast of dancers really knew their steps and gave their all and the audience whooped and hollered and encouraged them. The atmosphere was very end of year showcase and in that context would have been fun.

As a theatrical offering, Dodeka needed more connection and awareness of context and a broader sense of compositional content to interpret these gods of a time gone by in the world of very confident ‘Me’ performers. Grayson Ziogas stood out as an excellent performer who let his body talk and my eye was constantly drawn to his quality in what were often very large groups in unison sequences.

Deafened and exhausted by the sheer energy of these young dancers I left the theatre exhilarated by all that talent but wondering how the world can harness their skills and confidence without so much anger? These dancers are the future and I feel quite apprehensive! The Infinity Dance Crew have power – let them take a lesson from these Greek gods that inspired them and use it wisely.

nb: Programme notes were very cursory with no acknowledgement of the dancers themselves or music credits. A little more information to connect The Infinity Dance Crew and who they are in relation to this performance would have been helpful?   

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