I may have just walked into a classical sculpture museum, before me are the great Greek thinkers, perhaps pondering their existence. However a closer inspection reveals that they are not static, instead they are making subtle changes, moving from one naturalistic pose to another. So they are real, but who are they? Can I tell their persona just from the expression on their faces or the way they hold their heads?

Personae is a collection of works choreographed and performed by the students of the Hagley Dance Company and features a piece by one of their tutors, Christchurch choreographer Fleur de Thier. The students have been given the task of interpreting their own persona. I now wait with interest to find out more about the person underneath each of the dancers.

As the music begins, the dancers stretch blindfolds across their eyes as if they are trying to cast their view inwards. In unison, the blindfolds are dropped and slowly the dancers move towards each other to become a single entity for ‘Spirit’, choreographed by Sara Ninness Bartle. Moving as one, like a school of fish the dancers shift their weight and dreamily glide across the floor. This same energy quality is consistent throughout Jessica Lodwidge’s ‘Behind the eyes’. If a melted Cadbury dream bar could dance, this is what I imagine it to look like.

A song by Peaches quickly changes the dynamic during Kathrin Meise’s piece ‘I am free’. The audience welcomes this as a comic moment. The crass lyrics of the song brilliantly accompany the crude cycle of everyday living that Meise is trying to depict through her chore like movements. The shock value of this piece is exhilarating. 

An exploration of the pressure to be normal is the theme of ‘Expressionless’, in which choreographer Zara Skuse, has her dancers wearing nude stockings over their faces. This makes their facial features indistinguishable and devoid of expression. Four of the dancers are connected with ribbon to a dancer in the centre; they are drawn in and out of the middle like tentacles on an octopus. A contrast to Skuse’s work is a piece by Rebecca Mason, as the title suggests, ‘Showstopper’ jumps out at the audience. This is a sharp, sassy and upbeat dance that exudes personality. 

One of the most striking features of Personae is the dancer’s commitment to their performance. This is evident in their unwavering yet versatile focus which helps to explain the choreographic intention of each piece. They are able to morph from neutral to happy and change their focus from the audience to themselves or each other. This is a skill that is perhaps just as difficult as some of the aerial manoeuvres in the dances. These dancers are in this show 110%.

‘Goldfish’ by Elliot Salisbury, brings most of the company back on stage who connected by ropes struggle in opposition to each other. A sense of frustration is clearly portrayed in the dancer’s faces as they create webs around one another. I am struck by the sense of maturity and trust these young adults have in working with each other which allows them to be able to execute difficult and daring exchanges of weight.

Some quirky interactions with a box that has a mind of its own provide the audience with some more comic moments during ‘Out of the box’, choreographed by Skye Broberg. There is a sense of choreographed play as the dancers try on various masks from the box and take on the personas of those masks. Again we are exposed to the dancer’s versatility as performers, they move between characters with conviction. The individual talents and experiences of each of these students become clearer as the show progresses. Broberg’s strong circus background is evident as is Dylan Taylors experience as a musician in ‘Asperity’ for which he has arranged his own music. An effective moment from ‘Asperity’ is when a group of dancers move as one to drag another dancer across the floor with an imaginary force.

The inclusion of a Nepalese traditional dance, choreographed and performed by Anu Khapung is an interesting cultural experience and acts as the perfect bridge into her choreography ‘Lost in translation’. Khapung generously shares with the audience her journey adapting to New Zealand culture after moving here from Nepal. Seeing the two dances back to back is useful in enhancing our understanding of her experiences.

‘Alter Ego’by Will Tomkinson is rife with suspense and drama and presents an opportune moment to showcase the physicality of two of the male company members. These two dancers become engaged in an on stage conflict in which they throw each other across the room and lift each other up over their heads. ‘Alter Ego’ is powerful and has us holding our breaths.

To conclude the evenings show is Fleur de Thier’s work, ‘Listen to my thinking’. Like most of her work, the piece is cleverly layered with various choreographic elements. Clicking, slapping and swishing noises created by the dancer’s fingers contribute to the soundscape making the piece as interesting aurally as it is visually. The dancers move in and out of unison demonstrating sound ensemble skills and creating numerous movement pathways. The piece finishes with dancers standing on the backs of other dancers who are crawling on all fours exiting the space.

I leave feeling assured. If the future of contemporary dance in New Zealand is in the hands of these young adults then we have a lot to look forward to. They have been successful in realising their choreographic intentions. I look at these dancers now, comparing them to the statues they were at the beginning of the piece, I feel as though I can identify with them.