Fabricate is the product of collaboration between five fresh Unitec graduates (Reece Adams, Lydia Connolly Hiatt, Caitlin Davey, Cushla Roughan, and Rodney Tyrell) showing for two nights this week in Q Theatre’s Loft as a part of Tempo Dance Festival.

Fabricate’s premiere season was performed in the Basement Studio earlier this year. It is interesting to watch how a work revolving around architectural design, and spatial influence of movement has been translated to a new residence. 

The black box Loft is set with balls of string lying against the walls. Each performer arrives into the space one by one, unravelling a ball between hooks in the wall, threading a dense and complex web spanning several square meters. The web quivers and flickers as each performer ducks and contorts to pass through to their next hook. A loud, synth-based soundtrack (written by Caspar Connolly) offers serious but hopeful tones, pulling the work into a contemplative state.

Caitlin leaves the web to perform a series of gestural movements separated by a staccato suspension in time before flowing back into the next series of gestures. She is joined by Lydia and then Cushla in a following and joining of movement and suspension. The group assimilates into a sequence of unison, away from Lydia, who goes on to slowly extract an unbelievable amount of string from her mouth with a careful and deliberate elegance of focus. The group continues to move around her, floating and swooping in unbreaking momentum. Their synchronicity and connection make it clear this is a group of well-oiled friends moving together.

Reece moves to create a new web, the other performers holding the string taut around him, and inviting an audience member to hold a point from the seating block. He travels fluidly within the spaces carved by this new structure, intertwining and extricating his limbs. The performers holding each point begin to adjust their own space and level, the web hovering around him, creating a series of constantly shifting images not unlike a kaleidoscope. His space is shaped and reshaped, and it is a transfixing moment. The tone snaps into a starkly contrasting duet against the stage left wall. Cushla and Lydia return to gestural and sharp movement.

As each section progresses, the lighting shrinks and grows the space effectively, diverting focus and tone. I can’t help but reflect on the gentle but firm control the space has over the performers and over the audience. The actions of the performers are determined by the possibilities offered and restrictions set by the web’s presence. As an audience member I am guided by lighting where to look, what to watch, and even to turn around as a leap-frog trio happens behind me.

A gentle yet bold trio sweeps across the stage, each member swinging into unexpected lifts with an oscillating rhythm. Some opening night nerves reveal themselves in the trio sequence, but are resolved by the next section. A table is brought out and Caitlin and Cushla cling to it in the dark, the only lighting provided by the erratic torches of the other performers- another instance of our controlled experience, an unthreatening question of gaze. Cushla emerges dramatically into a solo, direct and regal, commanding the space with ease. Rodney follows with a solo of his own, carrying a neutral and gentle strength. The work ends on a darker note as Caitlin collects the web in her arms and clings to it tightly as the group greedily eat the string out of her arms.

Fabricate is a cohesive work with an organic flow. The performers’ relationships are genuine. I spotted a few smiles exchanged between them throughout the work. Though perhaps some of the intimacy of the work, and a sense of the daunting scale of the web is lost with the move into a bigger space, the themes of refraction and influence are just as well explored.   It is satisfying to see recent graduates forging their own work in the Auckland contemporary dance scene so naturally and successfully.

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“Unsettling” is a compelling publicity buzzword, but it puts a significant onus on a work to provoke beyond mainstream entertainment, and, subjectivity aside, the opening night audience remained rather “settled” for the duration of Fabricate. As a venue, the Basement Theatre is a haven for emerging artists to hone their respective crafts and find their audiences, and there’s no reason not to support these young dancers in the early stages of their respective careers. Fabricate may not fill you up, but it will leave you hungry for more.

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Fabricate is an intimate and uniquely exploratory show. We are welcomed to the show by the dancers entering one by one into the space and creating an intricate web made from twine in one corner. The dancers acknowledge each other with glances as they weave in and around one another, creating a calm, almost mesmerising, atmosphere. The geometry of the web of twine in the background creates a noteworthy contrast with the fluidity of the movement.

Dynamics in Fabricate often change abruptly, both within phrases of movement as well as between sections of the piece, keeping the audience on their toes. Giving the audience the chance to participate in creating the dancer’s space by holding twine while one dancer slowly confines himself within the web gives an interactive, tangible element to this piece.

The venue for Fabricate is truly perfect. The Basement Studio is full of nooks that beg to be explored, and the audience are almost intruding on the dancer’s space. Fabricate is a confrontational and intricate piece and the small space does it so much justice.

Skilled and exciting choreography reconstructs the small studio as a space full of opportunities for exploration. Pedestrian moments that transition into clean, well-executed phrases of movement create a unique balance of a playful and unsettling dance experience. The focus of the dancers, the ownership of the space, the arrival of a table, and the unexpected use of twine create a very enjoyable, but too soon over, show.

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