Weaving historical references with the current moment, Music and Dance in the Garden of Earthly Delights is both a celebration of the Modern Dance style as well as a reference to a famous painting by Hieronymus Bosch.

While Modern Dance is founded on the philosophy of the harmonious integration of the human spirit with nature, Bosch’s triptych, painted 1503-1505, depicts the history of mankind according to medieval Christian doctrine, and is a work that art historians remain divided in opinion over as to whether it represents a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost…

The afternoon’s performance, initially planned for the St Columba’s garden and labyrinth, is moved inside the church hall due to unstable weather.  While the loss of the natural performance environment is regrettable, upon entry to the hall we are greeted by large-scale photographs of the dancers in the labyrinth, which successfully communicate the nature-inspired ambience of the work. 

Arranged in a sweeping curve to one corner of the hall in cursive contrast to the rectangular shape of the room, is the Auckland Mandolinata Orchestra.  Music provides the springboard for motion, as the orchestra opens the afternoon’s program with the Troika overture.  The scope and emotive colour of the music is impressive as a dramatic rolling and melancholic brooding alternate with light-footed leaping of notes. 

The dance work that follows is divided into six sections; all accompanied by live music from the orchestra.  Respectively titled Air, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire to represent the various elements of nature, the work draws upon the vocabulary and spirit of the Modern Style, reflecting Isadora Duncan’s prescient rejection of the Cartesian divide. 

Duncan’s revolt against balletic "puppetry" as a form of "stiff and commonplace gymnastics" at the turn of the 20th century, in favour of a dance in harmony with nature, broke with all tradition.  Her free flowing movement and unstructured, thin costumes were considered revolutionary in the context of the Victorian moral code that defined the era.

The six elements of nature are brought to life in the afternoon’s performance through the use of breath, weight, flow, musicality, and emotional depth characteristic of the Modern Dance style. Producer Carrie Rae notes in the program that the work is not intended as a recreation of Modern Dance works by Isadora Duncan or those that followed her (Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis and Doris Humphrey), but rather seeks to embrace the spirit of their work. 

In this way Dee Landon’s choreography pays homage to Duncan and her Modern Dance compatriots through the interpretive artistry of contemporary dancers Colette Arnold, Kate Bartlett, Shannon Mutu and Janine Parkes.

A notable feature of the Isadora style was her integration of nature with references to classical antiquity.  Greek art, sculpture and literature were interwoven with her dance and incorporated into the principles of her dance schools established in France, Russia and Germany. 

These references are clearly visible in Landon’s choreography.  Earth opens with a line of dancers, flowers in each hand, transitioning to statues in classical poses as one steps forward to enact a ritualistic series of movements that convey a sense of the earth’s gravitational ebb and flow. 

Billowy costumes, designed by Vicky Pethybridge, further reflect Duncan’s love of the antiquities and bear a strong resemblance to costumes worn in performance by Isadora and company in the early 1900s. 

As I reflect upon the freedom sought by women through the Modern Dance movement style, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel comes to mind; a revolutionary of the same era, in the related world of feminine attire. 

Interestingly, both Duncan and Chanel were raised in abject poverty, without the security or influence of a consistent paternal figure.  Their genius therefore, could be said to have unfolded as the result of their shared position within a social interstice, the absence of patriarchal control allowing for an artistic flowering rarely granted to women of this era. 

While Metal brings softly shifting friezes that alternate with lyrical scarf sections, Water and Wood offer glimpses of Duncan’s Dionysian / Bacchic dance movement.  This is a dramatic movement of the entire body where the head is tossed back in ecstasy, the chest raised in an arch and the back leg lifted with bent knee as each step rhythmically connects and disconnects with the earth. 

Notable in the expressivity they bring to this work are Shannon Mutu and Janine Parkes, who respectively embody the sensual, released and at the same time uplifted body movement, and the serene, transcendent face associated with the Modern style. 

Fire concludes the work, revealing the Spanish influence embraced by the choreographic style of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn.  Red scarves are employed in swirling bolero patterns as the company alternately spin the air as if conjuring the large candy floss of life, then pause to frame their faces with bold ovals of colour.

I note this performance feels a bit hurried…  and I wonder whether, in keeping with the Modern style where breath is all important, perhaps more time could be allowed for the dance to unfold – for the audience to inhale and exhale, and for the musicians to luxuriate in their beautiful sound.

Overall however, this is an artful, gentle and historically reflective work, at the conclusion of which we are encouraged to visit the garden thereby allowing nature to complete the performative experience. 

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