Thursday 14 May 2009

HOT: Rafael Bonachela's 360, Sydney Dance Company, Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne

Sydney Dance Company has always been synonymous with Graeme Murphy for me, so I was interested to see what their new Barcelona-born artistic director, Rafael Bonachela, had in store for their latest work.

360 degrees is an abstract hour-long piece which is all about the kinetic force of physical movement. Sitting in the very front row meant that we had no choice but to admire the sinewy strength, flexibility and forceful dynamism of the dancers' barely-clad bodies as they jumped, twisted and balanced in front of a silver wall which reflected every move.

I have to admit that I don't know much about modern dance, and all that abstractness can just go over my head. However, the one thing that I find exciting about it (and really all forms of dance) is that professional dancers can express spark, tension and meaning in every part of their body, right down to their fingertips. Combine that with a pumping techno beat, a dizzying video of freeway driving and precision-timed movements in some sections of 360, and the effect was very exciting.

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