Table 12

Ferrymead Friendly Societies Hall, Christchurch

14/06/2013 - 16/06/2013

Production Details


To an abandoned tram track in an historic corner of Ferrymead and a vintage hall, mix equal measures of warmth, sparkling aperitifs and entertaining wait staff, season with a dose of humour and a pinch of vaudeville, serve with a wedge of panache and you have the recipe for a fabulous night out.

Rebound Dance Company is a refreshing part of the Christchurch dance scene, giving audiences the chance to see quality works and performances by mature dancers who continue to share their artistic skill and vibrancy. The company returns after a sell-out season to present Table 12.

Reviewed in June last year by Kerri Fitzgerald …”it might well be named NZ funk/lounge”, this sequel dining experience confirms, once again, the diverse and mature fusion of choreography by Fleur de Thier, Candice Eagan, Sean James, Sarah Franks, Andrew Shepherd and Tracy Scott, and the deep dark chocolate vocal splendour of Bina Klose. From starter to entree’ and slipping into dessert, the company will delight diners with dance routines superbly matched and complementary to the mood and ambience of this vintage hall.

Dayle Hunt displays his prowess as the Maitre’d, artfully balancing the menu and the cast between contemporary, jazz, dance theatre, cabaret and hints of hip hop style. Andrew Shepherd opens the closet and delights in teasing the audience, whilst his backup dancers add to the glam; shades of the Pointer Sisters in full swing. And Sean James serves up a dessert of New York cheesecake proportions; rich, creamy and edible. The entire evening is designed to please your taste buds, tickle your funny bone and if you’re not up dancing yourself, you’ll find your feet tapping and your body responding to the rhythm, all the while grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Bon appétit!

BYO drinks / Supper platter included.
Tickets $30 / Table of 6 $180

Bookings essential: reboundtable12@gmail.com

Dance , Cabaret ,

90 mins

A clever pastiche of cabaret

Review by Elizabeth O’Connor 04th Apr 2014

Joie de vivre radiates from the Rebound troupe throughout the evening and is reflected by the large and enthusiastic audience.  Billed as a cabaret, Table 12 is a clever pastiche of the genre, with a few straight numbers amid a wide variety of quirky and tongue-in-cheek contemporary pieces.  The whole is set, more or less, in a restaurant.  Performers strut and huff as waitstaff, sprawl as liquid-lunching ladies and shine as entertainers. 
 
Rebound describes itself as “mature dancers who continue to share their artistic skill and vibrancy”.  It’s an accurate description.
 
Balance and loss of it, lively hand and arm movements, slow motion and often hilarious interaction among the dancers characterise the choreography, created by six people and led by Fleur de Their.  Given the uncritical popularity of burlesque at the moment, it is refreshing to see the mickey taken out of the sexual elements of cabaret.
 
While providing a welcome change of pace and focus, the singer’s words are barely intelligible and her performance generalised.  Sean James shows his ballet training in the charming “Table for One”, Andrew Shepherd plays an endearingly inept drag queen, Sarah Franks’ waitress simmers like a volcano, and every member of the troupe contributes to the ensembles with panache and discipline.  MC Dayle Hunt’s Scots accent leaves a bit to be desired, but he is energised and not afraid to look like a fool. 
 
The evening is deliciously rounded out by elegant snacks and bubbly.  A deserved success.
 

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NZ funk/lounge on the menu

Review by Kerri Fitzgerald 17th Jun 2013

These dancers are definitely no spring chickens but there sure is a bounce in their stride and their feathers are in fabulous form. If you want to experience the triumph of substance over form and feel assured that age is just a number, then be sure to see Rebound Dance Company in action. Table 12 has a menu to suit a wide audience and the genre is just perfect for these dancers’ bodies and souls.

So what is on the menu?  The taste buds are in for a whirl with blended servings of contemporary, jazz, dance theatre, funk, cabaret, snatches of hip hop and a touch of, well almost … burlesque. Fleur de Thier’s choreography is mature and skillfully crafted with loads of zany, rambunctious moves and, when dollops of Sarah Franks’ ideas are added in, there is a new dimension. This quirky combo of genres forms an entirely new style – it might well be named NZ funk/lounge!

Even getting to the venue is very, funky ‘New Zild’; the setting is in the Ferrymead Heritage Park. We begin with a muddy trek in on a tram track (lit by fluorescent balloons) that leads us to a cute, vintage hall. It is warm, there is champagne and the entertainers are clad in winsome shirts, ties and serving aprons. Driven by a lazy, jazz beat the dancers nonchalantly march around the audience bringing drinks and copious nibbles to the eleven tables. A twelfth table will be added as the ‘mains’ part of the evening’s proceedings …

Dayle Hunt, the long – suffering maître d’ (with something of a Basil Fawlty undertone), adroitly links each course offering. A series of ‘vinaigrettes’ unfold – from appetizers to ‘New York ‘style – each course titillating and tantalizing the audience keeping teenagers to octogenarians fully attentive. Duos, trios, quartets, and ensemble numbers, all of equal strength, simply burst into life. And then there are the solos: Andrew Sheppard devilishly delights with his chocolate (cockolate) number wearing highly desirable boots that are a marvel to behold, Bina sings cabaret style with verve, and Sean James’ ‘Dessert’ is rich, fluid and elegant.

It’s engaging, it’s tasty and it’s very satisfying. You can’t help smiling, you can’t help wanting to leap up, to join in the dancing, and just defy the years.  The sparkly faces say it all.  A superb menu!

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