By Peter Maddern
Cultural Isolation is choreographer and dancer Fiona Gardner’s latest progressive work on the subject of mental mind games. Compared to her last, What’s Your Crutch, Cultural Isolation is a substantial leap forward for her audiences in terms of composition, comprehension and polish, no doubt aided by the resources of the Adelaide City Council’s Splash Initiative.
The premise is: do we ever wonder what goes on in the minds’ of others and do we ever assess the impact our own thoughts, secrets and fears have on our behaviour and beliefs, especially when they don’t conform with others’ realities?
Rather than deliver dance in some cramped locale, Gardner takes us, somewhat ironically perhaps, on a walk down own wonderful cultural promenade of North Terrace, past the University, Museum etc to the lawns beside the Parade Ground before ending in the courtyard of the Immigration Museum.
Of course, one needs some grace given by the meteorological gods to pull all this off but for opening night the five strong cast was blessed with a clear evening and a delightful sunset. The seamless use of technology and the spot on assistance of the show’s volunteers made it all a joy.
Gardner has also chosen her dancers well, incorporating the beautiful, the quaint and even some that may ordinarily, through our biases, be the subject of rejection, forcing upon them that cultural isolation.
Each of the six pieces speaks to their own dominant theme with beautiful Nicole Griffiths’ retreat in act 2 and Theo Cassady and Hannah Timbrell’s bold and brave unfreezing of the frigid in act 3 around the theme of ‘minds that cannot embrace change are not minds at all’ highlights.
But that may short change it all with Matt Shilcock’s belly slithering back tracking in the finale something one will remember for a while.
Since her return to Adelaide 18 months ago, Fiona Gardner has been chipping away at ideas that can both challenge and entertain Adelaide audiences sometimes locked into fearing the new. Now, with Cultural Isolation, she has hit a sweet spot. Join her tour.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
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