Review: Ana Music and April Vardy, Susan and The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I create it” ·
Paper Mountain, 30 January ·
Review by Nina Levy ·
Running at less than half an hour, Ana Music and April Vardy’s double bill of contemporary dance makes for a perfect pre-show show, a performance hors d’oeuvre of sorts that finishes with enough time to get to a 7.30pm main course at any of the other Northbridge Fringe venues.
The two short solos that make up the bill are certainly snack-sized and easily digestible, appropriate given that these two local choreographers are in the very early stages of their careers as makers. First on the menu is Susan. Choreographed and performed by Music, it’s a light-hearted tribute, of sorts, to her parents.
The Paper Mountain gallery space makes for an intimate viewing experience but Music boldly meets our eyes as she charges past in a folk-style dance that pays homage to her Serbian roots. Fast paced, it makes the spoken interlude that follows something of a challenge but she catches her breath eventually and keeps us entertained with her observations. The movement that follows sees her roll and fall to ambient electronic sounds. Jagged pacing is followed by long lunges. Though there’s not an obvious link between this movement and the parental reflections, Music is an engaging performer and holds our attention with ease.
Vardy’s self-devised and performed solo, The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I create it, is an abstract concoction that sees her swing and fold smoothly through the space. Against a jittery soundscape, Vardy appears coolly elegant. As the beat drops, she becomes loose, her hips rolling and circling, her spine rippling, as though the music has possessed her body. Having watched Vardy perform since she was a student, this seems like a new moment for her, a pleasing progression in her performance style.
The two solos don’t feel particularly connected by anything other than the fact that they appear on the same program – a marriage of convenience, perhaps? Nonetheless, the double bill makes for a pleasant start to the night.
Pictured top is Ana Music in ‘Susan’.
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