Lost Movement Festival Theatre Studio Edinburgh 29th April 2023 Review
Lost Movement at the Festival Theatre Studio this evening was the second and last performance day (27 and 28 April) of Italian dance company Lost Movement which was founded in 2011 by Nicolò Abbattista, in collaboration with Christian Consalvo.
Tonight’s programme of dance presented a triple bill of works under the artistic direction of Nicolò Abbattista – Teseo, O and POPoff.
Opening this programme with the solo dance performance work of some 9 minutes, Teseo (Theseus) from 2021, Choreographer Nicolò Abbattista takes us back to an over 2,000 year old paradox – that being if all of the components of Theseus’s ship were to be replaced over time, is this object still fundamentally the same object, or is it now a copy of the original. Here this concept is taken further and asks us to consider that we are Theseus’s ship and as life’s experiences change us, both physical and spiritually, are we still fundamentally the same person inside?
This paradox opens up so many questions and Enrico Luly, with music by Paul Tinsley in a performance that is both very physical and gentle when required, invites us to explore with him in movement possible answers to at least some of the many questions raised.
To some extent, this concept interested me, but the over use of nudity which seemed to serve little purpose other than simply being there, added nothing to be said to the narrative or emotional impact of this work. Yes, there were some interesting moments using projection, and much of the time lighting and shadows concealed the nude figure of Enrico Luly on stage. My problem here was that this approach has been used so many times by so many people that it is really difficult to be original and the end result only diluted the performance for me.
Solo performance gave way to a duet with the second performance, O (or) with Choreographer Nicolò Abbattista exploring in this 17 minute work from 2018 the changing relationship between two men as a football match shifts from aggressive competitiveness to the emergence of new understanding of each other and into a new space that draws them closer together as both now explore an unexpected sexual encounter. Performed by Giole Casentino and Manalo Perazzi with music by Goldmund, Yma Sumak, this work had so many chances to really have something very special to say, but for me missed every opportunity to do so, leaving only an empty emotional space where there should have been so much more.
Perhaps my initial problem was the football, as anything that involves two grown men kicking a ball around usually loses my interest very quickly. The real issues for me though are that, although the very physical side of a sport like football is reflected well here, the developing relationship between this duo is all too often also large movements made up of overused dance movement clichés and those very small, very delicate movements that you would expect in such moments are often not there. Again, nudity is overused here and not only does little to advance our exploration of this relationship, but it actually distracts from it. Sometimes hinting at something about to happen can be a far more powerful tool for a story teller as it allows us the watcher, well almost voyeur in this case, to each imagine in our own minds the next touch.
The final work in this evening’s trio of performances, POPoff by Nicolò Abbattista and Christian Consalvo, with a 50 minute performance work, took up the entire second half of this programme and featured the seven dancers on stage. First performed in 2015, this work with music by Faraualla, Ludovico Einaudi was in sharp contrast to the other works both in its fun, lightness and attention to small movements, little moments between smaller groups of people, and a feeling that you too could be part of all of this too. What was the reason for all that was happening on stage? The answer to that question is simple, food, one of our most basic needs as a human being which also creates of one of the strongest bonds in society no matter how large or small the gathering, as we come together to eat, talk, laugh, cry and share our experiences with one another.
POPoff is just fun to watch, but if you have any sort of a flour allergy, beware, as towards the end of this performance there is a lot of it thrown about on stage and a lot of flour dust floating in the air.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Tonight’s programme of dance presented a triple bill of works under the artistic direction of Nicolò Abbattista – Teseo, O and POPoff.
Opening this programme with the solo dance performance work of some 9 minutes, Teseo (Theseus) from 2021, Choreographer Nicolò Abbattista takes us back to an over 2,000 year old paradox – that being if all of the components of Theseus’s ship were to be replaced over time, is this object still fundamentally the same object, or is it now a copy of the original. Here this concept is taken further and asks us to consider that we are Theseus’s ship and as life’s experiences change us, both physical and spiritually, are we still fundamentally the same person inside?
This paradox opens up so many questions and Enrico Luly, with music by Paul Tinsley in a performance that is both very physical and gentle when required, invites us to explore with him in movement possible answers to at least some of the many questions raised.
To some extent, this concept interested me, but the over use of nudity which seemed to serve little purpose other than simply being there, added nothing to be said to the narrative or emotional impact of this work. Yes, there were some interesting moments using projection, and much of the time lighting and shadows concealed the nude figure of Enrico Luly on stage. My problem here was that this approach has been used so many times by so many people that it is really difficult to be original and the end result only diluted the performance for me.
Solo performance gave way to a duet with the second performance, O (or) with Choreographer Nicolò Abbattista exploring in this 17 minute work from 2018 the changing relationship between two men as a football match shifts from aggressive competitiveness to the emergence of new understanding of each other and into a new space that draws them closer together as both now explore an unexpected sexual encounter. Performed by Giole Casentino and Manalo Perazzi with music by Goldmund, Yma Sumak, this work had so many chances to really have something very special to say, but for me missed every opportunity to do so, leaving only an empty emotional space where there should have been so much more.
Perhaps my initial problem was the football, as anything that involves two grown men kicking a ball around usually loses my interest very quickly. The real issues for me though are that, although the very physical side of a sport like football is reflected well here, the developing relationship between this duo is all too often also large movements made up of overused dance movement clichés and those very small, very delicate movements that you would expect in such moments are often not there. Again, nudity is overused here and not only does little to advance our exploration of this relationship, but it actually distracts from it. Sometimes hinting at something about to happen can be a far more powerful tool for a story teller as it allows us the watcher, well almost voyeur in this case, to each imagine in our own minds the next touch.
The final work in this evening’s trio of performances, POPoff by Nicolò Abbattista and Christian Consalvo, with a 50 minute performance work, took up the entire second half of this programme and featured the seven dancers on stage. First performed in 2015, this work with music by Faraualla, Ludovico Einaudi was in sharp contrast to the other works both in its fun, lightness and attention to small movements, little moments between smaller groups of people, and a feeling that you too could be part of all of this too. What was the reason for all that was happening on stage? The answer to that question is simple, food, one of our most basic needs as a human being which also creates of one of the strongest bonds in society no matter how large or small the gathering, as we come together to eat, talk, laugh, cry and share our experiences with one another.
POPoff is just fun to watch, but if you have any sort of a flour allergy, beware, as towards the end of this performance there is a lot of it thrown about on stage and a lot of flour dust floating in the air.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com