★★★
Dance is a curious creature. There’s an immediacy to it, a boldness and an inherent sexual magnetism that it exudes, as well as the aura of watching gifted performers engage in their craft.
But there’s also the sense that, without some training in the form or some intimate knowledge of its meaning, much is lost in translation. This collection of both new and old compositions offers both experiences.
Triptych, as its name suggests, offers a three-fold night of dance pieces from renowned choreographer Rafael Bonachela in tribute to the compositions of Benjamin Britten. The pieces themselves are energetic, loaded with sensuality and always revolving around intimate relationships.
The first two movements of the dance before interval are both contained and vibrant, with an extremely well-practised chamber orchestra, the ACO2, accompanying four performers as they engage in what could be described as some sort of wholly innocent partner swap. There’s a playfulness on display that keeps the audience attuned.
It’s the second part where something truly special unfolds, as national treasure Katie Noonan steps up to the microphone to perform – in French – as accompaniment for the second movement. Being such a vivacious and passionate performer, it becomes difficult to tear your eyes from her to focus on the dancers. Their second piece, sharper and with more adaptive lighting, is intriguing in the way it spacially isolates each dancer before bringing them together in breathtaking lifts and waltzes.
The third part, however, suffers from its comparative length. It’s truly wondrous to watch a stage of 20 dancers moving in absolute unity – less so when the whole sequence, its narrative kept in the dark, runs twice as long as those that preceded it. It also lacks Noonan’s accompaniment: a shame indeed.
Triptych offers a classy night out to those in the know, but to those outside of the world of dance, it may provide little illumination.
Triptychis playing at Roslyn Packer Theatre until Saturday October 10.
