Presented by AC Arts
Reviewed Wednesday 8th September 2010
http://www.tafesa.edu.au/news/10-09-01/See_a_future_star_at_AC_Arts_this_September.aspx
Venue: The X Space, AC Arts, Light Square
Season: 8pm nightly to Sat 18th September
Duration: 50min
Tickets: adult $10/conc $5
Bookings: Venuetix http://www.venuetix.com.au or phone 8225 8888
This was a combined effort by the Technical Production, Design and Second Year Dance students, presenting a production conceived and directed by the highly respected professional choreographer, Leigh Warren. This would have been a great opportunity for the dance students and presented a challenge to which they have responded well. This work, inspired by Warhol’s studio, known as The Factory, was originally performed by Dance North in 1993.
The work draws on the extraordinary life of Andy Warhol, with dancers bewigged and dressed to represent him, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, whose images formed part of his output, along with others of his entourage and social set. Some of the music was written by Sascha Budunski but the soundtrack also featured recordings by Warhol’s band, Velvet Underground, live interviews with the on-stage ‘Andy’ and quotes from the Scum Manifesto, an anti-male diatribe written by Valerie Solanas, who shot Warhol.
Although it is a light hearted piece, with plenty of good humour, it is not an easy piece to perform and it often places considerable demands on the performers. The dancers are Morgan Barry, Nicole Calabrese, Tony Currie, Alex Fibrosi, Callan Fleming, Rebecca Fletcher, Ellen Hodgeman, Krisz Lajumin, Jessica Symons and Jake Walasek and all do a creditable job of handling the complexities of this work, including the extra demands of delivering dialogue. There are a few standout performances that are worth watching for.
In keeping with the theme of Warhol’s work, several artists work around the perimeter of the performance area producing silk screened pieces and hanging them to dry, slowly adding to the set design, which is based around a red couch. The set and costume design is by Myf Cadwallader with assistance on the set design from Manda Webber and the costume design by Clare Timpani and captures the feel of the era well. Alan Turnbull’s lighting and video design also adds a good deal to the production.
It was interesting to see the work of these students, part way through their course, dealing with a piece created for a professional company and being choreographed by its creator. A fine effort from the whole team.
Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor, Glam Adelaide.
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