Presented by: Chunky Move & Restless Dance Theatre
Reviewed: 26 October, 2022
In the first ever collaboration between Chunky Move (Melbourne) and Restless Dance Theatre (Adelaide), Rewards For The Tribe is a brilliant piece of contemporary dance that speaks to the audience on many levels.
Rewards For The Tribe features five dancers, with and without disability, who wrestle with archetypes of divine geometry laid out by artists such as Da Vinci. This is a brilliant example of how when five individuals work together in symmetry and unity, a magical piece of ensemble dance is formed.
Jianna Georgiou, Benjamin Hancock, Michael Holy, Cody Lavery and Charlie Wilkins work seamlessly as a team. They breathe as one, move as one and handle Antony Hamilton’s choreography with ease. Throughout Rewards For The Tribe, each member of the ensemble has moments to feature their individual skills as dancers. Their technique and years of training shone through as moved with fitness through the performance. Much like the choreography, the score was contemporary in style and, in most parts, more of a soundscape than ‘music’ exactly. At times, the ensemble added to the soundscape through the use of cries and sounds, aided by microphones that were enclosed in the set pieces.
The performance space was simple but very effective, consisting of a white floor, a white scrim at the back and a small white curtain that lifted up and down to reveal different moments by the ensemble. The ensemble were all dressed in black, which made every bit of their choreography really stand out and shine against the white surfaces. The cast also had several geometric foam shapes that were used effectively throughout the performance, along with a 3D black square frame.
Rewards For The Tribe is a thought-provoking piece of contemporary dance. If you are a lover of something more traditional, this may not be the show for you, but the ensemble dance this piece of theatre with such passion and drive that you cannot help but be entranced by what they are doing. It was a constant reminder that the Arts strips back all barriers and highlights that through the arts, we are all equal.
Reviewed by: Ben Stefanoff
Venue: The Odeon Theatre, Norwood
Season: 26 – 29 October, 2022
Duration: 70 minutes (no interval)
Tickets: $31 – $41
Bookings: https://restlessdance.org/show/rewards-for-the-tribe/
