Balance - Thought-provoking dance.. with a giant tongue, Zorb ball and no added sugar!
Balance - Keneish Dance Company. Photo credit Chris Nash.
‘Balance’ ThinkTank, Birmingham. Showing from Monday 28 October to Friday 1 November, ‘Balance’ is an artistic interpretation of science in living organisms brought to Birmingham’s ThinkTank museum by Keneish Dance.
Review by Ellie Blackwell
It’s probably quite rare to see ‘Cell Biologist’ credited on the back of a dance show flyer. It certainly piqued my curiosity.
I was more fascinated still when I took to my seat and noticed PowerPoint slides on cell biology above ThinkTank’s multipurpose stage, on which five women stood motionless in its shadows. Soon after, music, that I could only describe as profoundly contemplative, began to play and the small, yet attentive audience watched as one performer crawled into a deflated Zorb ball whilst a fellow dancer proceeded to blow it up.
This creative introduction was followed by an unearthly dance display that became more and more expressive by the minute, and at times, quite eerily beautiful. At first, as the dancers wobbled, contorted and interestingly pulsated, I struggled to link the curious choreography to my limited biological knowledge, and I think the medical student sat next to me did too (the no-added sugar sign was also difficult to comprehend).
But as time went on, with the soft amber lighting, melodical music and enigmatic movement, I had a strange feeling of being in the depths of a living organism, fascinatedly transfixed watching a very artistic mitosis occur.
Balance - Keneish Dance Company. Photo credit Chris Nash.
Coincidently, that was exactly what choreographer Keisha Grant had set out to do. After chatting to her it was clear she was steered by sensations, aiming to give her audience ‘goosebumps’ with the ‘radical imagination’ behind her work. So I think if you stop trying to unlock the science behind the metaphor and enjoy it, she really does achieve this. Thought-provoking and therapeutic ‘Yoga Nidra’ music enhanced emotions throughout the forty-five minute piece.
Suddenly, the atmosphere took a complete U-turn and the performers became more than just mesmerizing shapes to introduce themselves as ‘regenerator cells’ and give us an enthusiastic little preface on the topic. It felt slightly like a hallucinogenic dream. One sported a big felt tongue, and the other a giant nose, making the overall effect quite comical; I struggled to suppress a giggle.
Almost as abruptly as it had stopped, the dancing continued, and really began to showcase the undeniable skill and grace of each performer. Amidst the audience of mothers and children, a little girl even stood up in her seat to join in from afar, which was very sweet.
To finish off with, we had another, more detailed yet accessible introduction to the cells in our body.
An engaging contrast between entertainment and education makes ‘Balance’ suitable for the whole family. However, I personally felt that its factual side was surprisingly more understandable for some children who may have struggled with the metaphorical concepts embedded in the dance. Even still, the overall effect was fun, comical and often quite enchanting with floaty dresses, Zorb balls, giant tongues and no added sugar…
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