Benjamin Goode looks forward to deepblue at the Lilian Baylis Theatre
Once upon a time, contemporary dance and performance art were perceived to be the classical medium's eccentric, wilfully subversive, attention-seeking younger siblings, and deserved to be treated as such.
Not any more! Recently we have seen the works of Rafael Bonachella on such populist events as So You Think You Can Dance? which has done him no harm, despite some disapproving tittering from the contemporary dance cognoscenti. Meanwhile, other artists such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaouie, Akram Khan, Wayne MacGregor and Bill Forsythe are finally getting the widespread recognition they deserve, playing to full houses the world over.
In this regard, Sadler's Wells have justifiably made concessions to the law of the proverbial bums on seats by putting on pieces high on production values and popular appeal but arguably low on challenging content: Bourne's Dorian Grey anyone? But if pieces such as You Are Here by Belgian company deepblue get to see the light of the day, then maybe it is all worthwhile. deepblue, founded by choreographers Heine Røsdal Avdal and Yukiko Shinozaki with media artist Christoph De Boeck, considers the shifting balance act between human and technological forms of communication, and You Are Here is no exception.
A hybrid piece of dance and art installation You Are Here presents a vast archive of possibilities and ideas, which of course is exactly what a house of art and dramatic spectacle should do. Within the confines of this structured installation the roles of audience and performer are constantly adjusted, taking the audience on a journey of discovery which, like most voyages of this kind, must be taken alone.
This might sound like the kind of thing that would appeal only to those who happily debate their own significance over a block of Cathedral City and some posh wine. But nonetheless I'd urge you to take a fifteen pound risk, and discover something you never knew you liked beyond the rarefied world of the pas de deux.
Photo Credit: Giannina Urmeneta Ottiker
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